This family of peptidases contains a zinc metallopeptidase motif (HEXXHX(8,28)E) and possesses mucinase activity [1]. It includes the viral enhancins as well as enhancin-like peptidases from bacterial species. Enhancins are a class of metalloproteases found in some baculoviruses that enhance viral infection by degrading the peritrophic membrane (PM) of the insect midgut [1,2]. Bacterial enhancins are found to be cytotoxic when compared to viral enhancin, however, suggesting that the bacterial enhancins do not enhance infection in the same way as viral enhancin. Bacterial enhancins may have evolved a distinct biochemical function [2]. These bacterial domains are peptidases targetting host glycoproteins and thus probably play an important role in successful colonisation of both vertebrate mucosal surfaces and the invertebrate digestive tract by both mutualistic and pathogenic microbes [3]. This family has been augmented by a merge with the sequences in the Enhancin Pfam family.

1: An intestinal mucin is the target substrate for a baculovirus enhancin. Wang P, Granados RR; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1997;94:6977-6982. PMID:9192677

2: Comparison of the bacterial Enhancin-like proteins from Yersinia and Bacillus spp. with a baculovirus Enhancin. Galloway CS, Wang P, Winstanley D, Jones IM; J Invertebr Pathol. 2005;90:134-137. PMID:16081094

3: A novel extracellular metallopeptidase domain shared by animal host-associated mutualistic and pathogenic microbes. Nakjang S, Ndeh DA, Wipat A, Bolam DN, Hirt RP; PLoS One. 2012;7:e30287. PMID:22299034