DNA Coding and Enzymes as a Catalyst - Research Paper Example

?Enzymes as a Catalyst There are many important organic reactions, which govern both the biological and physiological world. Within our body, hundreds of chemical processes occur simultaneously under a variety of conditions. Many of these processes are interconnected, meaning that there are biochemical pathways, which require the activation of multiple enzymes in order to achieve a desired biological product. Enzymes are biological molecules that are not consumed in a reaction and are special biological molecules, which are encoded for and activated, in the appropriate biological settings. Enzymes are a specific kind of protein that is used to catalyze biological reactions. They are encoded by the genetic material which is a map telling the catalysts how to form and function. Enzymes work by lowering the activation energy of the reaction, which means that the reaction can proceed much quicker. The enzyme-substrate complex is an important component in understanding how enzymes work. Enzymes bind to substrates in order to change the substrate and form a product. The enzyme and substrate are complementary to one another; therefore they usually can only bind with one enzyme. This is why the enzyme-substrate complex has been named as the “lock and key model”. In some cases, there is more than one substrate, which can bind to a particular enzyme. Competition of the substrate with the enzymes and chemical equilibrium is what keeps some biological systems in check, with producing some products more than others. In medical application, sometimes these enzyme levels need to be regulated. According to chemical principles, if you increase one amount of products in an equilibrium situation, the body will move so to remove this stress. In the case of medicines, they can be used to regulate these biochemical equilibriums, which can be thrown of as the result of diet, external factors, mutations, etc. Enzymes are a type of protein, meaning that they are created in the intercellular processes like every other kind of protein. DNA contains the original blueprint. Through the use of mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA, the protein is synthesized. Transcription is where the RNA copies the enzymatic genetic code and translation is where the tRNA and rRNA create the enzymatic protein from the translation of the mRNA. Enzymes come in many different configurations and can exist a numerous amount of conditions performing infinitely numerous diverse tasks in the body. For example, there are enzymes, which regulate protein synthesis such as helicase, DNA polymerase, etc. There are enzymes that regulate digestion, neurological functioning, etc. However, sometimes there are problems in enzymes, which cause them to not function appropriately either as a result of the way they were encoded or environmental factors. Errors in the encoding of DNA, deoxyribonucleic acids, can lead to mutations in key enzymes and defects in the enzymes. As a result, certain medical conditions and genetic mutations can lead to maladaptive processes in life. For example, Fibromyalgia is a medical condition in which a person experiences pain in the areas of joints, muscles and other tendons. This is due to a deficiency in an enzyme known as amylase, which is responsible for breaking down carbohydrates. As a result of a lack of this enzyme, this leads to another host of physiological problems. Body aches and stiffness result in multiple muscle groups and places on the body, with the pain ranging from moderate to severe. The pain is not the result of tissue degradation, but rather has to deal with grinding and inflexibility, which leads to the pain. Other known symptoms of Fibromyalgia are irritable bowl syndrome, depression, and lack of exercise, which can lead to problems with obesity and heart disease, as well as a ride range of other physiological conditions. Luckily, there are many techniques, which are used to treat this condition. The use of physical therapy as a way of strengthening the joints, muscles, and tendons is one of the most commonly used techniques for treatment. It starts out with easy, low impact exercises in small intervals, and then increasing the workouts as strength and endurance increase. In addition, diet changes can also help as a result of the deficiency of amylase. Therefore, by changing the diet, there is modification of the system by changing the intake of chemicals rather than trying to change the level of enzymes in the body. There are some prescription drugs which are commonly used are Cymbalta, Lyrica, and Savella. As stated previously, enzymes are a type of protein that exists in the body. Therefore, the conditions in which the enzymes are able to function are a narrow range of conditional factors. Because enzymes are proteins, there are certain external factors, which can affect the properties and affect the way in which the enzyme interacts with the substrate. Temperature can have an effect on the enzymes. For example, if the temperature in the human body gets unbalanced, the enzymatic reaction might not proceed correctly. Typically, when temperatures either get too hot or too cold, the enzyme ceases to function, which can cause the chemical equilibrium between substrate and product to become unbalanced. Another important factor to consider is the pH of the solution in which the enzyme is located. In the case of the human body, blood has a pH, which is slightly basic. The iron-oxygen complex, which makes up the chemical compound Hemoglobin, causes the pH to be basic. The basic properties in blood are what allow many of the physiological process to occur, thus if the pH of the blood were to change significantly, then it would not allow these biological process to occur and the enzymes would become denatured. Cofactors are also important in regulating the enzymatic processes in the body. Cofactors can either be organic compounds or they can be inorganic, such as a metal or ion. Some enzymatic reactions can require just one cofactor, whereas some reactions require many different types of cofactors to get the desired products. Lastly, what has been talked about previously deals with the concept of homeostasis. Our hypothalamus regulates our body to stay within a specified range of physiological conditions and to keep these in equilibrium. As a result, these types of physiological reactions can be manipulated depending on the quantities of the substrates, cofactors, and enzymes. Different types of conditions, such as medicines and diets, can effect these equilibrium concentrations. According to the Le Chatlier principle, equilibrium can only be reestablished by forcing the reaction backwards in order to “relieve the stress” on the chemical system. This works in the same principle of biological processes in that the hypothalamus will regulate as to keep the concentrations within the appropriate limits. Enzymes play an extremely critical part in governing the speed of the biological reactions in the body. Dictated by DNA coding, these proteins are assisted by cofactors, which also affect the rate of reaction in which the process occurs. Because enzymes are proteins, they exist in very specific conditions that can affect whether the enzyme works appropriately or not. Scientists and doctors alike attribute many diseases and genetic disorders to an improper transcription and translation of the protein to where either it does not function correctly, or does not function at all. Further research into enzymatic reactions and tailoring medicines to fix the appropriately targeted enzyme can open a new door to medical and biotechnological research in which the problem is corrected at the microcellular level. Works Cited "Fibromyalgia." PubMed Health. A.D.A.M Inc., 07 Feb 2011. Web. 19 Apr 2011. . Timberlake, Karen. Chemistry An Intro to Gen, Organic & Biological Chemistry. 10th ed. New York, NY: Pearson Education, 2011. Print. Read More