Inactivation of chemotactic peptides by aminopeptidase Ey from hen's (Gallus gallus domesticus) egg yolk.

Aminopeptidase Ey, purified from hen's (Gallus gallus domesticus) egg yolk, was studied for its specificity against N-blocked peptides. Only N-formylmethionyl peptides were hydrolyzed by the enzyme in the tested peptides. N-Formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMet-Leu-Phe) lost its chemotactic activity toward human neutrophil after incubation with aminopeptidase Ey.