How are enzymes destroyed? – Drug Discovery Zone

Question: How are enzymes destroyed?
- Keywords:
  enzyme
Asked by anon-196023 to Sebastian, Paddy, Lee, Jennifer, Fiona, Eleanor on 7 Mar 2019.
- Sebastian Cosgrove answered on 7 Mar 2019:
  
  Enzymes are formed of many amino acids in a long chain. There are bonded together with a certain type of chemical bond called a peptide bond. This bond can be destroyed under very acidic or alkali conditions. Also, because these amino acid chains are so long they will fold all together and have bonding interactions between different parts of the chain. Heating the protein to higher temperatures then it likes this can disrupt thees interactions and denature the structure as well. Once it has ‘unfolded’ it is very hard for the chain to fold back up into the correct shape because there are so many ways it can fold!
  Enzymes that are found in mammals generally like it at about 37 degrees celsius (body temperature) so heating them above this temperature is often a way to destroy them!
- Fiona Scott answered on 7 Mar 2019:
  
  Enzymes are destroyed naturally in our bodies by a process called autophagy. It’s a bit like how the body recycles stuff it doesn’t need anymore to make more important things. Our cells collect enzymes it doesn’t need anymore into little bubbles called autophagosomes which contain lysosome enzymes which break down those enzymes into their individual amino acid building blocks, ready to be used again to make other enzymes needed by the cell.
  
  A new approach in drug discovery called PROTACs is gaining a lot of attention in the field recently. Instead of plugging an enzyme with a drug molecule rendering it useless, PROTAC drugs attach to the enzyme and attract other enzymes to break down that enzyme into its component parts. In theory, we can use PROTACs to destroy enzymes we haven’t been able to shut down thus far by traditional drug strategies.

Question: How are enzymes destroyed?

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