PGA4 (Pepsinogen 4, group I), or Pepsinogen A, is a member of the peptidase A1 family. Pepsin is expressed as a pro-form zymogen, pepsinogen, whose primary structure has an additional 44 amino acids. Pepsin is stored as pepsinogen so it will only be released when needed, and does not digest the body's own proteins in the stomach's lining. Five types of zymogens of pepsins, gastric digestive proteinases, are known: pepsinogens A, B, and F, progastricsin, and prochymosin. There are two major groups of pepsinogen, namely pepsinogen A (PGA) and pepsinogen C (PGC) (or progastricsin), and each frequently has isozymogens. The PGA3, PGA4 and PGA5 genes encode identical human pepsinogen A enzymes.
