Any enzyme cleaving a pyrophosphate bond between two phosphoric groups, leaving one on each of the two fragments; e.g., inorganic p., NAD+ p. (cleaves NAD, etc., to mononucleotides), ATP p. (cleaves inorganic pyrophosphate from ATP, leaving AMP). SEE ALSO: flavin adenine dinucleotide. SYN: diphosphatase.
- inorganic p. a phosphohydrolase catalyzing hydrolysis of inorganic pyrophosphate to two orthophosphates. SYN: inorganic diphosphatase.
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py·ro·phos·pha·tase .pī-rō-'fäs-fə-.tās, -.tāz n an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of a pyrophosphate to form orthophosphate
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py·ro·phos·pha·tase (pi″ro-fosґfə-tās) any enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of a pyrophosphate bond, cleaving between the two phosphate groups. See also inorganic pyrophosphatase.Medical dictionary. 2011.