This superfamily includes the N-terminal domain of peptidases that contain a zinc metallopeptidase motif (HEXXHX(8,28)E) and possess mucinase activity PMID:9192677. 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 PMID:9192677,PMID:16081094. 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 PMID:16081094. These bacterial domains are peptidases targeting 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 PMID:22299034.

PFAM:PF13402