Recent advances in protease research using synthetic substrates.

2-Naphthylamine, 4-methoxy-2-naphthylamine, 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin and 7-amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin and X peptides have become a useful tool to study proteases by a battery of complementary methods; they now include biochemistry, section biochemistry, location cytochemistry, ultracytochemistry and isoelectric focusing. By the use of these procedures we hope that more insight will be possible in the functional role of proteases in health and disease in the near future.