Thymus-specific serine protease is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the PRSS16gene.[5][6]
This gene encodes a serine protease expressed exclusively in the thymus. It is thought to play a role in the alternative antigen presenting pathway used by cortical thymic epithelial cells during the positive selection of T cells.
The gene is found in the large histone gene cluster on chromosome 6, near the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I region. A second transcript variant has been described, but its full length nature has not been determined.[6]
Gruen JR, Nalabolu SR, Chu TW, et al. (1997). "A transcription map of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I region". Genomics. 36 (1): 70–85. doi:10.1006/geno.1996.0427. PMID8812418.