CHAPTER ONE
1.0 BIOLOGICAL ROLES OF ENZYMES
First what are enzymes? Enzymes are large biological molecules responsible for the
thousands of chemical interconvertion that sustain life. They work by binding
to one or more specific molecules called reactants or substrates Wenger D.A., Rafi
M.A. Luzip, Datto J., Constantino-Ceccarini E. Krabb disease, genetic
aspect and progress toward therapy. Mol.genet metab. 2000 May, 70(f) 1-9.
Today in the world as the case of be in medical sciences, the use of enzymes in the
diagnosis of disease is one of the important benefits derived from the intensive
research in biochemistry since the 1940.
Enzymes have
provided the basis for the field of clinical chemistry. It is however only in the recent past few decades that
interest in diagnostic enzymology has
multiplied.
In an industries genetic engineering, scientists have began putting
genes that
makes up enzymes from human being into food crops in a dramatic extension of genetic
modification. The move which is causing disgust and revision among
critics, is bound to strengthen accusations that GM technology is crating "Frankenstein foods and
drive the controversy surrounding it to new heights.
Note: In the industry and
practical examination by the scientist enzymes are proteins that participate in cellular
metabolic processes with ability to enhance the
rate of reaction between biomolecules.
1.1 ENZYMES CLASSIFICATION
Enzymes are classified according the reaction they catalyze. The six
classes are:
1 . Oxidoreductases
2.
Tranferases
3.
Hydrolases
4.
Lyases
5.
Isomerases
6.
Ligases
Examples
Examples
1.
Alcohol dehydrogenase: An
oxidoreductase converting alcohols
to
2.
aldehydes/ketones.
3.
Aminotransferases: Transferases catalyzing the amino acid
degradation
by removing amino groups.
by removing amino groups.
3. Pyruvate
decarbotylase: A lyase that removes €02 from pyruvate.
Amj Hum Genet. 1971 September; 23(5): 513-532. PmCID: PmC1706762.
Amj Hum Genet. 1971 September; 23(5): 513-532. PmCID: PmC1706762.
1.2
ROLES OF ENZYMES ON MEDICAL SCIENCES:
Enzymes has been
identified that may be a powerful new tool for
fighting Alzheimer's disease. (BACEZ) is the enzyme that has been found to destroy betaamyloid, a toxic protein
fragment that litters Alzherimer
patient's brains. The most common memory disorder is Alzheimer's disease affecting over 5.5 million
Americans. Scientists have yet to discover any effective treatments.
1.3 THE USE OF ENZYMES IN MEDICINE
Enzymes are produced by living cells they are substances the fact as a catalystin living organisms, increasing the rate at which reactions take
place without itself being
effected in the process, without
them, reactions in cells would proceed
at a too slower rate to sustain life
The uses of important
enzymes is medicine include killing diseases causing micro organisms,
prompting wound healing, and diagnosing
certain diseases. Enzymes are used heavily in medicine. These applications
include using enzymes as direct pharmaceutical products.
The first example I
will look at is the use of enzymes in
medicine is analytical tests. Enzymes can because to detect and measure amount of
glucose in blood. The amount of glucose in the blood urine is a crucial
indicator in the diagnosis of diabetes,
this is when there is a deficiency of
insulin resulting in high glucose levels in the blood . It is detected using the enzyme glucose oxidase which
is impregnated onto a strip of paper, and a biosensor. This instrument uses glucose oxidase as its
biological system.
The enzyme catalyses
the reaction between glucose and
oxygen to gluconic acid. The biosensor then uses the
amount of gluconic acid produced to indicate the quantity of
glucose and oxygen there was in the blood this is
indicated by a colour change.
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 INDUSTRIAL
RESEARCH ON ENZYMES
In the
field of biotechnology there are many industrial application that result in biotech products that we use everyday at
home. Some of these are food science applications that utilize enzymes
to produce or make improvements in the
quality of different foods.
Rouault TA, Tong WH. Iron-Sulfur cluster biogenesis and human diseases.
Nends Gennet, 2008 August, Review: enzymes and their roles in the industry are milk contains proteins,
specifically caseins that maintain it liquid form.
Proteases are enzymes that are added to milk during cheese production, to hydrolyze caseins.
Enzymes have several valuable industrial and medical applications,. Due
to the catalytic activity of enzymes
they are able to be used in a variety
of ways; examples are in the fermenting of wine, the paper industry, starch industry, leather industry , baking
industry, beer brewing industry, washing
detergent industry and diagnostic industry
For many years we have used
enzymes to produce the things we
rely on for example in cheese, bread, wine
beer and yogurts Now due to our much more diverse commercial
applications for example using enzymes in industry the sale of enzymes is a multibillion pound industry.
Enzymes an replace acids in the starch processing industry, and alkalis
or oxidizing agents in fabric desizing reduces the use of sulfide in tanneries
Allow for more complete digestion of animal feed leading to less animal
waste and remove stains from fabric clothes
can be washed at lower temperature, this saves energy ,,
Enzymes can be used instead of using chlorine bleach for removing stains on cloth. The use enzymes also allows the level of surfactants
to be reduced and permits the changing
of clothes in the absences of phosphates
Enzymes also contributed to safer working conditions through elimination
of chemical treatments during production processes for example, in starch,
paper and textile processing , less, hazardous chemicals are required when enzymes are used.
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 POLLUTION
Pollution from the industrial processes can be reduced by enzymes previously only a
small range of enzymes have been available for the chemical industry. The U and C
researchers are the first to produce an enzymes capable of speeding up
oxidizing processes.
The new enzymes will be important in sensitive processes such as those involved in medicine
production in the pharmaceutical industry.
Environmental
pollution is growing more and more due to the in discriminated and frequently
deliberate release on hazardous, harmful substances research efforts have been
devoted to develop new, low-cost, low-technology , eco-friendly treatment
capable of reducing and even eliminating pollution in the atmosphere, the
hydrosphere and the soil environment.
Enzymes
could be developed to clean up pollution by explosives. The
quality of life on earth is linked
in extricably to re overall
quality of the environment .
unfortunately progress in science,
technology and industry
a large amount ranging from
raw sewage to nuclear waste is let out or dumped into the
ecosystem hereby posing a serious problem for survival of man find itself on earth
In the
past, wastes were traditionally
disposed by digging a hole and
filling it will waste materials. This
made of waste disposal was difficult
to sustain owing to lack of new
place everything to dump . New technologies waste disposal that use high temperature in
creation and chemical decomposition (eg base –catalyzed dechlorination,
ultra violet oxidation have several
drawbacks).
These
methods are complex, uneconomical, and lack
public acceptance. The associated
deficiencies in these methods have focused efforts towards harnessing modern day bioremediation
process as a suitable alternative.
The
pollution from the industrial processes
can be reduced by enzymes, previous only a small amount of enzymes
have been available for the
chemical industry .
Enzymes play a reasonable role in harvesting energy
from the survival photosynthesis , perform a wide range
of roles in the technology
of pollution treatment by
using biological systems to transform and convert various pollutant
3.1 REDUCES
POLLUTION OXIDIZING
Processes the bases of all chemical oxidizers are often dangerously unrefined, often
requiring high temperatures, extreme pressure and corrosive surroundings.
They can be designed to be unbelievable specific and are able to
operate under moderate conditions unlike their traditional chemical
counterparts.
Drugge U, Holmberg
M, Holmgren G, Almay B.G, Linder -Holm H., Hereditary
Myopathy with Lacti acidosis, Succinate dehydrogenase and aconitase deficiency
in northern Sweden, a genealogical study. Imed Genet.
1995
May; 32(5):3447.
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 GENETIC
ENGINEERING
Enzymes used in laundry detergent and medicines such as insulin. Genetic engineering also called genetic
modification of an organism that is generated
through genetic engineering is considered to be a genetically modified organism (GMO). The first GMOS were
bacteria in 1973; Gm mice
were generated in
1974, Insulin-producing bacteria were commercialized in 1982 and genetically
modified food has been sold since 1994.
Genetic engineering techniques have been applied in numerous field including research
agriculture, industrial biotechnology, and medicine. Enzymes used in laundry
detergent and medicines such as insulin and human growth hormone are now
manufactured in GM cells.
4.1 GENETICALLY MODIFIED
ORGANISM
Plant,
animals 'or micro-organism that have changed through genetic engineering are termed genetically modified
organism or GMOS. Bacteria were the first organisms to be genetically
modified. Plasmid DNA containing new genes
can be inserted into the bacteria will then express those genes. These genes can code for medicines or enzymes that
process food and other substrates. Plant
have been modified for insect protection, herbicide resistance, virus resistance,
enhanced nutrition, tolerance to environmental pressures and the production of edible vaccines.
Genetically
modified animals have been used for research, model animal and the production of agricultural or
pharmaceutical products. They include animals
with genes knocked out, increased susceptibility to diseases, hormones for
external growth and the ability to express protein in their milk.
4.2 BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING
Is the application of engineering principles and practices to the
purposeful manipulation of molecules of biological origin. Biomolecular engineers
integrate knowledge of biological processes with the core knowledge of chemical engineering
in order to focus on molecular level solution to issues and problems in the life science related to
the environment, agriculture, energy, industry,
food production, biotechnology and medicine.
Biomolecular engineering deals with the manipulation of many key biomolecules. These include, but are not
limited to, proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and lipids. These acid are
basic building blocks of life and by controlling,
creating and manipulating their form and function, there are many new avenues and advantages available to society.
ROLE OF ENZYMES
IN THE REMEDIATION OF POLLUTED ENVIRONMENTS
Environmental pollution is
growing more and
more due to
the indiscriminate and frequent deliberate release of hazardous, harmful
1.
ENZYMES IN BLOOD
CLOTTING
Enzymes are vitally important in preventing excessive blood clotting and reducing the
tendency for platelets and red blood cells to 'clog'. Because of enzymes
part in removing metabolic waste and improving circulation proteases for example;
Trypsin and chymotrypsin can be used in fibrinolysis, this a process that
dissolves blood clots. One use is in the case of thrombosis, this is when blot clots
form in damaged blood vessels, if
these clots are carried to an small artery and may become blocked a heart attack or stroke can be caused. This can be
treated by enzymes such as trypsin
and protease. Digestion of the insoluble fibrin clot takes place and because the enzymes are proteins this results
in a conversion to amino acids,
consequently freeing the trapped blood cells and eliminating the clot. This
process is called fibrinolysis. Opposite to the prevention of clotting; the enzyme protease can be used as a
debriding agent they are used to
clean the wound and accelerate the healing process.
Enzymes can also be used in drug manufacture where the synthesis of
drugs is difficult therefore enzymes are used to perform the .chemical procedure. Enzymes
can also be used to aid digestion where they are used to supplement amylase,
lipase and protease produced mainly by the
pancreas. An example
is lactose intolerant people where they require actose as their bodies
are not producing it. Mold Penicillium notatum The last point in enzyme application in
medicine I will talk about is the production of antibiotics in particular penicillin. The major pharmaceutical;
products produced using
enzyme technology are the antibiotic, semi-synthetic penicillins.
Antibiotics are chemical substances produced by micro organisms which are effective. In
dilute solution in preventing the spread of other micro organisms. Most inhibit growth
rather than kill the micro organism on which
they act. One of the best known antibiotics is penicillin -discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. It was
found that it acts on growing bacteria, killing them and preventing their
growth. It is believed to compete
with paraaminobenzoic acid for the active site of an enzyme. In this way they do not kill the bacteria but simply
stop them from reproducing.
Although it has been very successful since its discovery in 1928 and has had an enormous
influence on the control of disease, antibiotics have one serious drawback
this is that due to the development of resistance towards antibiotics by
pathogens there is a continuing need to find new types. Each time a new one is used
resistant strains of micro organisms arise which further drugs have to be
developed. In my opinion new developed drugs should therefore be used with much more restraint and discrimination and more time should be
used searching for natural antibiotics
to the development of new strains using genetic engineering.
In this term paper I have outlined and explained only a small number of the uses of
enzymes in medicine however there are many more successfully developed uses. Examples
include, in the treatment of genetic defects, the development of artificial' organ
function, neoplasm, anti-inflammatory reagents, drug manufacture, the removal of choral
components
and to aid digestion.
In the 20th century the use of enzymes in pharmaceutical and industry is limited
to a low number of very successful applications. However it is the very success of such
applications that continues to help pave the way for new developments and it is
clear that there is no shortage of ideas. After having an insight to the application of enzymes in
the medical and pharmaceutical problems I
have realized that it is an exciting and promising field that is ripe for
development in the near future.
2.
THE ROLES OF ENZYMES IN GENETICS
So far only around
3000, enzymes are known in the human body, but many thousands more which have not
yet been discovered are felt to be responsible for keeping us alive. Their
importance is enormous. They represent our life energy! What is there origin? How far
can we go to trace this enzymatic life force activity for a single person? This book reviews
the
role of enzymes in the origin of life and their specialization through evolution.
The genes passed parents and present along the chromosomes determine the actual
coding. The DNA molecules within the chromosomes constitute the actual memory of the
cell. Within a single cell there are roughly 100000 genes, the majority of with
code for enzymes. Each gene, whether structural, receptor, etc, is associates with an
enzyme action, and is predetermined to perform a specific function.
3. THE ROLES OF ENZYMES
IN REPRODUCTION (MITOSIS)
With the help of
enzymes the numerous cells reproduce by division ever second to form new cells with
exactly the same genetic composition. These will replace older ones. At the same time, many older cells
are dying. All of required labor for the
renewal and elimination is performed by the enzymes encoded in those genes.
Although the limited number of other
cells do not actually divided to forms new once, such as some brains cells and
the ova within the ovaries, they are maintained in a state of good health by our enzymes.
REFERENCES
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pmc17067672
Drugge U. Holmberg M. Holmgren G. Almay B.G. Linderholm H. Heredity
Myopathy with lactic acidiosis, succinate dehygronase and aconitase deficiency
in northern Sweden. A genealogical study. J.med genet 1995 may; 32(5):344-7.
Kollberg G. Tulinius M. Melberg A. Darin N. Andersen O. Holmgren D. Oldfors A. Home E. Clinical Manifestation
and a new Iscu mutation in iron-sulphur cluster deficiency myopapthy.
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Aug. 24(8). 398-409. Epub 2008 Jul. 5 Review.
Wenger D.A., Rafi M.A., Luzip, Datto J., Constantino-Ceccarini E. Krabb Disease: genetic
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Kollerg G. Tulinius M.,
Meiberg A. Darinto Anderson O.,
Holngren D., Oldfors A. Home
E. Clinical manifestation and a new iscu mutation in iron-sulphur cluster deficiency myopathy.
Brain-2009
Aug; 132 '(pt. 8): 2170-9 doi:10, 1093/brian/awp
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