Pergamon Molec. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPON Aspects Med. Vol. 16, pp. 215-313, 1995 Copyright 0 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All riahts reserved. 0098--2997(95)00002-x 0098-2is97195 $29.00 Proteinase Inhibitors from the European Medicinal Leech zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Himdo medicinalis Structural, Functional and Biomedical Aspects* Paolo Ascenzit$, Gino Amiconi§, Wolfram Boden, Martin0 Bolognesi,l Massimo Coletta** and Enea Menegatti*** #Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, University of Torino, Via Pie tro Giuria 9, 10125 Torino, Italy $CNR, Center for Molecular Biology, and Department of Biochemical Sciences ‘Alessandro Rossi Fanelli’, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Piazza/e Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy VMax-Planck-lnstitut fiir Biochemie, D-82152 Martinsried bei Miinchen, Gennany [Center for Advanced Biotechnology /ST and Department of Physics, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 10, 16132 Genova, Italy **Department of Molecular, Cellular and Animal Biology, University of Camerino, Via Filippo Camerini 2, 62032 Camerino (MC), Italy “‘Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 77119, 44 100 Ferrara, Italy Contents CHAPTER 1 Introduction 217 CHAPTER 2 Relevance of Research on Proteinase inhibitors 221 CHAPTER 3 Hirudin 231 CHAPTER 4 Hirustasin 249 CHAPTER 5 Eglin 255 This paper is dedicated to Professor Antonio Ascenzi on the occasion of his 80th birthday. tAll correspondence should be sent to Professor Paolo Ascenzi at the following address: CNR, Center for Molecular Biology, and Department of Biochemical Sciences ‘Alessandro Rossi Fanelli’, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. 215