Page 152 - The Miraculous Machine that Works for an Entire Lifetime: Enzyme
P. 152
Harun Yahya
other than the active site. This neutralizes
the enzyme because inhibitor binding
changes the enzyme's tertiary structure
and the substrate's affinity for the ac-
tive site is reduced. However, non-
competitive inhibitors do not
eliminate all of an enzyme's activ-
ity; they only decrease it.
Penicillin is an excellent
example of this. By inhibiting
the enzymes that bacteria need Inhibitors inactivate enzymes by bind-
ing to them. Reactions that need to be
to make their cell walls, it caus- halted, and drugs that inhibit enzymes
es the bacteria to burst. 87 that cause diseases, both act by way of
enzyme inhibitors.
Various drugs have been
manufactured according to the
enzyme-inhibition system. These drugs work by inhibiting the action of
enzymes that bacteria or viruses need, prevent them from spreading,
and thus prevent many diseases from becoming any worse. In treat-
ments for HIV, the most successful developments to date are the result
88
of the use of enzyme inhibitors. Some cancers can also be prevented
by identifying the enzymes that benefit them and developing the ap-
propriate inhibitors.
Apart from surgery, all fields of medicine are in some way related
to enzymes. Dr. Joseph Kraut, who works on models of enzymes mag-
nified 200 million times, summarizes this:
Did you take an aspirin? You may bet that aspirin molecules will go and
stimulate an enzyme. This will accelerate or slow down the work of an
enzyme and guess what happens next. How quickly! Your headache has
already gone. 89
Enzyme-inhibitor molecules must exist in the same environment
as enzymes, because under certain circumstances, the way they put a
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