The Regulation of Enzyme as a Control for a Cell - Essay Example

The Regulation of Enzyme as a Control For a Cell Enzymes are protein substances that serves as catalyst of biological reactions in the body, they enable the body reactions to take consume less energy in terms of the initial activation energy that is required to enable the process takes place. The enzymes are also temperature sensitive and will always cease their operation due to inactivation or they can be denatured due to low and high temperature respectively. The optimal temperature when enzymes best operates is between 37-41 degrees Celsius, Enzymes play the very pivotal role in the body and thus requires constant regulation to ensure proper functionality. A cell on the other side is the smallest fundamental unit of life (Alberts 79). Within the cell are the cell organelles that are charged with specific roles in driving physiological processes of the body. Most of the physiological processes that take place in the body are initiated at the cellular level, at the same time; the cell operation is linked with the enzymes activity. An example is the process of gene expression in the body. Gene expression is the sequential transformation of a trait from the molecular level to phonotypical stage. It usually starts with the replication of the DNA (deoxyribonucleic Acid) (Hill 84). The replication of the DNA is enzyme catalyzed and the process continues to the transcription of the DNA to RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) which then gives the amino acid and is finally translated to proteins that manifests themselves phenotypically (Alberts 102). In the sequence of gene expression, the cell is charged with the responsi679114bility of determining what enzymes are to be produced and in what quantity. Regulation of enzyme concentration It is the responsibility of the cell to determine what enzyme is required in the body depending on the type of substrate that is present in the body. The situation shows how intimate the two work in enabling the body physiological processes to proceed without a halt. The alternative synthesis and degradation of the enzymes is referred to as the turnover number, this turnover number is dependant on the need of the enzymes in the cell and is regulated by the cell (Hill 166). Increasing the amount of the enzymes in the cell can be done by the cell in two way; elevating the synthesis rate of the enzymes or by slowing the rate of the enzyme degradation. The cell in this case has the role to regulate the enzyme content in it which is a stringent exercise owing to the fact that there are millions of enzymes in the body each effecting a unique role probably at the same time and has to be controlled and regulated concurrently. The regulation of the enzymes in the cell changes in every minute and the molecular mechanism that drives these changes are poorly understood. This turnover rate can be used for comparison purposes relating it with other enzymes or enzymes systems. The degradation of the protein by proteases for instance is compartmentalized within the cell and is carried out by the lysosome (Toone 66). This process takes place non-specifically or occurs in the proteasomes which are macromolecular complexes within the cell. This degradation process is a culmination of a complex series of pathways which requires the transfer of a 76 amino acid polypeptide referred to as ubiquitin to the preferred protein molecules (Toone 78). The provision of this pathway is understood to be highly conserved in he eukaryotic cells but the full operational mechanism is yet to be understood. The enzyme/Substrate Compartmentation The control of the enzymatic release by the cell is also extended to the metabolic processes that provide the cell with the energy that drives all the processes within the cell. The metabolic processes are segregated into specific sub cellular sites including the cytosol or within a number of specialized cells (Hill 186). The specialized cells include the mitochondrion, the golgi apparitus, lysosomes nucleus and the endoplasmic reticulum (Hill 199). All the processes that are driven by the organelles are under the control of enzymes which requires the intervention of the cell regulation. The other function of the cell in relation to the production of enzymes can be seen in the prokaryotes for example in the Escherichia Coli. These unicellular organisms do utilize lactose in the growth media. In the utilization of the lactose, the cells of the microorganisms will be producing three enzymes that are required in the utilization of the lactose (Toone 92). Interestingly, without the presence of the lactose the cells of the E. coli are sensitive not to produce the three enzymes that are required in the utilization of the lactose. The production of the enzymes is synthesized within the DNA molecule which is referred to as the structural genes (Hill 107). This gene is typical of synthesizing the three genes in a single stretch of the DNA molecule. In the structural gene, there are the promoter, terminator, operator and the three genes; lac Z, lacy, and lac A (Alberts 139). The promoter provides the grounds for the initiation of the process of translation of the enzymes. As in the different enzymes that are released, lacZ is referred to as β-galactosidase. This is the intracellular enzyme that functions to disintegrate the dissacharide lactose into it smaller component of galactose and glucose. Lac Y on the other side is referred to as the β-galactoside permease, this is a membrane bound protein that plays the all important role of allowing the passage of the lactose into the cell where they can be utilized for the metabolism of the lactose to produce energy for the cell fundamental function. The final lac gene is lac A, this gene helps in the transfer of the acetyl group derived from the compound acetyl-CoA (Alberts 144). The acetyl group which is transferred is taken to the β-galactosidases. lacA is also known as β-galactoside transacetylase (Alberts 146). In conclusion, the dependency level with regard to the enzymes production and cell control is proximate and this is because the cell houses the major organelles that regulate the cell requirement as well as the body requirement. The cell and the enzymes operate in tandem in meeting the physiological requirements of the cell. Works Cited Alberts, Bruce. Molecular biology of the cell. 4th ed. New York: Garland Science, 2002. Print. Hill, Lisa. Cells biology. Chandni Chowk, Delhi: Global Media, 2007. Print. Toone, Eric J.. Advances in enzymology and related areas of molecular biology. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2011. Print. Read More