Enzymes as the Proteins - Essay Example

Enzymes do their best by working at lowering the energy levels and hence they are present whilst doing the same within a reaction. The rate of a chemical reaction starts getting faster as and when they occur. The uncatalyzed reactions are much slower than the enzymatic reactions which are happening within a cell. The difference is quite comparable since the downfall is pretty noticeable. Enzymes are not at all consumed or eaten up by the chemical reactions which are taking place within them but at the same time, the equilibrium is maintained during the whole activity which is a definitive plus point on the part of these very enzymes.

Enzymes are much more specific than the remaining catalysts as they usually account for the crystallization process of around 4000 biochemical reactions. It is a case in point here to understand that not all the biochemical catalysts are proteins as the ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules which are known as ribozymes facilitate their bit at catalyzing different sorts of reactions. Enzymes are specific because their activity can easily affect the other molecules which are present and so in return can leave a lasting impression on the whole chemical reaction that is taking place. On the same token, inhibitors are those molecules that decrease the activity that is going on within the enzymes.

The Inhibition Process

On the other hand, activators increase the same process altogether. There are several enzyme inhibitors in the form of drugs and different poisons. These enzymatic activities are also changed through the different temperatures, pH scales, concentrations present within the relevant substrates, and so on. Several enzymes are used for commercial purposes as they are employed in the synthesis of different antibiotics and the like. An enzyme’s name is derived from the respective substrate and even the chemical reaction that it brings in catalyzing and the word more or less ends in –ace. Some of the common examples of enzymes include lactase, DNA polymerase, and alcohol dehydrogenase to name a few. The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has put forward and indeed coined a specific nomenclature for enzymes with the help of the EC numbers. Some of the common examples include the Oxidoreductases, Transferases, Hydrolases, Lyases, Isomerases, and Ligases. All of these are within the top-level classification of the enzymes based on their respective mechanisms.

Carbonic Anhydrase II

The specificity of these enzymes is raised by the fact that they make use of certain chemical reactions and leave the rest alone. The shape of these enzymes is complementary and they have hydrophilic and hydrophobic traits within them thus making it possible for the relevant enzymes and the substrates to be the responsive force behind the very specificity of the enzymes. The specificity can also be measured by their different levels of stereospecificity, chemo selectivity, and lastly, regioselectivity. The role of the genome is immense here in this whole discussion since the enzymes which are few having the highest amount of specificity and the precision are entailed in the copying as well as the expression process coming under the umbrella of the genome. What these genomes do is proofread the very mechanisms and then take them from there. Some enzymes play their part in producing secondary metabolites and are known by the name of promiscuous. The reason for this name is that these secondary metabolites can act on different ranges within the substrates. Some evidence has been found in the wake of these substrates playing their active part in the evolution related to the fresh biosynthetic means.

Emil Fischer in 1894 suggested that enzymes are indeed quite specific and this is made possible due to the complementary geometric shapes and sizes of the enzymes and the substrate processes. What these shapes do to each other is to fit amongst each one and thus form the perfect mesh for one another. Hence the name ‘lock and key model’ is kept for this activity and indeed the whole enzymatic process. This process however has a drawback in the reality that it fails to address the key aspects which are related to the stabilization of the transition state which the enzymes achieve over a specified period now and then.

Induced Fit Model

The metabolic reactions can be controlled with enzymes in five separate ways. The first speaks of the enzyme production that includes the transcription and translation-related with the enzyme genes. This production process could be further enhanced or at times completely brought to a halt about the changes that are happening in a cell’s peculiar environment. The second manner is to have enzymes in a compartmentalized way so that different metabolic pathways and the resultant reactions can be regulated within the cellular compartments. This accounts for the fatty acids becoming synthesized by a singular set of enzymes present within the cytosol and so on. The third such manner is to control the activity of the enzymes by the inhibitors and the activators. The control process of enzymatic action facilitates the maintenance of a stable and well-to-do environment intrinsically within the living beings. The fourth method is to regulate through the post-translational modification procedure. This encompasses myristylation, glycosylation, and phosphorylation. The last method is to make enzymes activated through the localization due to different environmental conditions.