Enzymes transcript

---

Rare
squid
enzyme
may
counter
deadly
nerve
agents


Abstract:
Knowing
more
about
enzymes
‐

our
body‐building
proteins
‐
may
save
lives
and
help
us
live


longer.


An
obscure
enzyme
found
in
squid
could
save
people
from
the
agonizing
and
frequently
fatal
effects
of


nerve
agents.


The
squid
–
basically
10
arms
surrounding
a
mouth
–
has
an
invaluable
protein
that
produces
a
life‐

saving
chemical
reaction.
This
response
can
neutralize
dangerous
phosphorus‐based
nerve
agents,
such


as
Sarin,
which
killed
12
and
sickened
thousands
in
the
Tokyo
subway
attacks
of
1995.


Meticulous
research
by
an
international
team
of
collaborators
at
Los
Alamos
National
Laboratory
is


focusing
on
how
enzymes,
those
body‐building
proteins
essential
to
human
life,
can
be
used
to
fight


some
of
humanity’s
worst
fears.


“Some
enzymes
are
like
Swiss
army
knives,”
says
Marc‐Michael
Blum,
a
German
researcher
working
at


the
Lab’s
Protein
Crystallography
Station.
“Their
surfaces
look
almost
alike,
but
they
contain
very


different
tools.
Only
by
knowing
the
atomic
arrangement
of
those
tools,
including
the
positions
of
the


hydrogen
atoms,
can
you
figure
out
how
an
enzyme
really
works.”


Blum,
and
team
member
Julian
Chen,
a
Californian
teaching
in
Germany,
have
combined
efforts
with


Paul
Langan,
team
leader
of
the
Protein
Crystallography
Station,
Benno
Schoenborn,
inventor
of
neutron


protein
crystallography,
and
Andrey
Kovalevski,
a
Los
Alamos
postdoctoral
fellow.


Their
findings,
published
earlier
in
the
proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
draws
a
tight


picture
of
atomic
patterns
in
an
enzyme
–
and
the
placement
within
them
of
hydrogen,
the
most


abundant
element
in
the
universe.


The
team’s
not
only
focused
on
cracking
the
code
of
enzyme
makeup,
but
using
that
information
to
re‐

engineer
enzymes,
promoting

longer,
more
healthy
lives.


To
gain
a
toe
hold
on
this
scientific
peak,
these
scientists
harness
the
powers
of
protein
crystallography.


A
machine
at
Los
Alamos
enables
researchers
to
record
peaks
and
valleys
in
atomic
interaction
by
firing


the
neutral
subatomic
particle,
the
neutron,
at
a
tightly
packed
target
of
crystallized
protein.
The


resulting
electronic
patterns
reveal
the
intricate
composition
of
a
substance
at
the
molecular
level.


Once
researchers
know
what’s
in
an
enzyme
and
how
it
reacts
during
catalysis,
the
exacting
task
of


hand‐tailoring
a
protein
to
accomplish
a
specific
task
becomes
imminently
more
possible.



Most
nerve
agents
work
by
eventually
closing
down
the
body’s
ability
to
breath.
A
re‐engineered


enzyme
could
flick
the
“on”
switch
of
the
body’s
natural
defenses,
countering
a
nerve
agent’s
deadly


effects.

Long
and
complicated
research
points
to
squid
enzymes
potentially
serving
as
catalysts
to
speed


up
life‐saving
chemical
reactions
in
the
human
body.


---

“At
one
point,
my
Ph.D.
advisor’s
group
came
back
from
the
fish
market
with
a
couple
of
hundred


squid,”
recalls
Blum.
“We
needed
that
many
to
get
micrograms
of
the
enzyme.”
That
amount
of
the


precious
protein
was
enough
for
analyses
to
determine
the
unique
sequence
of
314
amino
acids
that


form
the
rare
enzyme.


The
team’s
future
research
will
expand
to
other
enzymes
and
how
they
can
be
used
to
make
life
better.



“We’ve
only
scratched
the
surface,”
says
Schoenborn.

“The
information
we
gather
will
increase
in
value


as
scientists,
especially
the
drug‐design
people,
need
more
details
about
enzyme
action.”