Sandbox Reserved 1730

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This Sandbox is Reserved from August 30, 2022 through May 31, 2023 for use in the course Biochemistry I taught by Kimberly Lane at the Radford University, Radford, VA, USA. This reservation includes Sandbox Reserved 1730 through Sandbox Reserved 1749.

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Contents 1 Function 2 Relevance 3 Structural highlights 4 References

Function

Lysozyme binds to the membrane of bacterial cells and catalyzes the breakdown of those membranes killing the cell. The carbohydrates forming the membranes of the bacteria cells are what keep the cell together and functioning. When lysozyme binds to these membranes it catalyzes the reaction between the membrane and water, breaking the bonds between the carbohydrates and causing the membrane to fall apart. The positive charge of lysozyme is what draws it to the negative charge of the bacterial membrane.

Relevance

Lysozyme (muramidase) is an enzyme that can be found in many biological settings. The enzyme is located in saliva, tears, mucous, and human milk. Lysozyme is also found in large concentrations in egg whites from hens. Lysozyme is stable in typical conditions, thus there is a lot of research and information behind the function and structure of the enzyme.

Lysozyme serves a crucial role in our immune system due to its anti-bacterial properties. The enzyme breaks down the cell membranes of bacterial cells. Lysozyme in a single chain alkaline protein with 129 amino acid residues and four disulfide bonds. It catalyzes the breakdown of β-1,4-glycosidic bonds in the cell membrane of bacterial cells. Lysozyme is also known to have antiviral, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Lysozyme is also vital in the understanding of the roles of proteins in diseases and how an organism fends off those diseases. It has been used as a model to understand how enzymes catalyze reactions in the body^[1].

Structural highlights

Lysozyme is an enzyme with 129 amino acids and four disulfide bridges. The structure of Lysozyme has two major motifs, those being alpha helices and beta strands. Lysozyme had a total of four alpha helices and five beta strands. These two motifs are regularly found in different innate immune system responses. The helices are connected with a loop, with either 2 or 3 beta strands attached to them.

spinqualitylabelsall models Structure of Human Lysozyme Show:Asymmetric Unit Biological Assembly Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate   Export Animated Image

References

1. ↑ Merlini G, Bellotti V. Lysozyme: A paradigmatic molecule for the investigation of Proteins structure, function and misfolding Clinica Chimica Acta 357 (2005) 168 – 172 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009898105001932