AbstractOver one third of all known proteolytic enzymes are serine proteases. Among these, the trypsins underwent the most predominant genetic expansion yielding the enzymes responsible for digestion, blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, development, fertilization, apoptosis, and immunity. The success of this expansion resides in a highly efficient fold that couples catalysis and regulatory interactions. Added complexity comes from the recent observation of a significant conformational plasticity of the trypsin fold. A new paradigm emerges where two forms of the protease, E* and E, are in allosteric equilibrium and determine biological activity and specificity. © 2009 IUBMB IUBMB Life 61(5): 510–515, 2009