METAP2 (Methionine aminopeptidase 2), also known as MAP2 is a a protein which belongs to the peptidase M24A family. MAP2 binds 2 cobalt or manganese ions and contains approximately 12 O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residues. It is found in all organisms and is especially important because of its critical role in tissue repair and protein degradation. The catalytic activity of human MAP2 toward Met-Val peptides is consistently two orders of magnitude higher than that of METAP1, suggesting that it is responsible for processing proteins containing N-terminal Met-Val and Met-Thr sequences in vivo. This protein functions both by protecting the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 from inhibitory phosphorylation and by removing the amino-terminal methionine residue from nascent protein. MAP2 protects eukaryotic initiation factor EIF2S1 from translation-inhibiting phosphorylation by inhibitory kinases such as EIF2AK2/PKR and EIF2AK1/HCR. It also plays a critical role in the regulation of protein synthesis.