Page 116 - The Miracle of Protein

114 THE MIRACLE OF PROTEIN

acid ‘signal sequence’, and that once they arrive at their desti-
nation, they are separated from this signal. 43
The protein, setting out with the aid of this signal, needs
help on its journey. Proteins assigned to this task deliver the

newly synthesized proteins to their proper destinations. Endo-
plasmic reticulum and Golgi bodies are examples of the impor-
tant organelles that direct the protein where it needs to go. For
example, after the protein garbagease is manufactured, it trav-
els a distance of about ten-thousandth of an inch (0.00025 of a
centimeter). On this journey from the cytoplasm to the lyso-

some, dozens of different proteins are needed to ensure its se-

In order to identify and destroy harmful bacteria and viruses,
our immune system produces antibodies that match their anti-
gens and destroy the foreign substances by taking advantage of
this key-lock harmony between them.