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Importance of enzymes in living organisms
Importance of enzymes in our body
Importance of enzymes in our body
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Direct Renin Inhibitors
In all living organisms, central molecules exist that are vital to the survival of any organism. These central molecules are called proteins. Proteins are biological molecules that consist of numerous amino acids performing endless amount of tasks within a living organism. One of the important types of proteins is an enzyme. Enzymes are considered biological catalyst, as they are involved in the metabolic mechanisms essential to living organisms. All enzymes are considered catalysts due to their metabolic functions. Enzymes are highly distinct in structure and as a result in function as well. Enzymes act on molecules called substrate to create a product. The creation of the product occurs as result of the lowering of the activation energy by the enzyme. Consequently, this increases the rate and speed of the reaction and thus producing more products. In this process, the enzyme is unaffected in structure, and for that reason, the enzyme goes on to aid in the formation of more products. An extremely important enzyme to humans’ health is renin.
Renin is a vital part of renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which controls the body’s blood pressure and extracellular fluid. The system, which acts a negative feedback mechanism to increase blood pressure, also plays a role in regulating action potentials due to changes in salt levels. The kidneys secrete renin, mainly the juxtaglomerular cells (JGCs), when changes in salt consumption or fall in blood pressure is detected. When a reduction in salt levels occurs, an upsurge in renin levels occur. This is only mediated when salt levels rise resulting in renin levels falling close to zero (Persson, 2003). Renin is classified as a hydrolase and contains 340 amino acids (Po...
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Squire, I. B., O'Kane, K. P. J., Anderson, N., & Reid, J. L. (2000). Bradykinin b2 receptor antagonism attenuates blood pressure response to acute angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition in normal men. Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, 36, 132-136. Retrieved from http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/36/1/132.full.pdf html
Taubman, M. B. (2003). Angiotensin ii: A vasoactive hormone with ever-increasing biological roles. Clinical: Journal of the American Heart Association, 92, 9-11. Retrieved from http://circres.ahajournals.org/content/92/1/9.full.pdf html
Vasopressin ( 8-arginine-vasopressin). (2010, July). Retrieved from http://online.factsandcomparisons.com.libproxy2.dyc.edu/MonoDisp.aspx?monoID=fandc-hcp13460&quick=754300|5&search=754300|5&isstemmed=True&NDCmapping=-1&fromTop=true
Renin angiotensin system activation: Because of decreased blood flow to the kidneys the compensatory mechanisms activate to hold on to sodium and water. When the Blood flow is decreased Angiotensin II is released causing vasoconstriction
Proteins are one of the main building blocks of the body. They are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. Even smaller units create proteins; these are called amino acids. There are twenty different types of amino acids, and all twenty are configured in many different chains and sequences, producing differing protein structures and functions. An enzyme is a specialized protein that participates in chemical reactions where they serve as catalysts to speed up said reactions, or reduce the energy of activation, noted as Ea (Mader & Windelspecht).
Background information:. Enzyme Enzymes are protein molecules that act as the biological catalysts. A Catalyst is a molecule which can speed up chemical reactions but remains unchanged at the end of the reaction. Enzymes catalyze most of the metabolic reactions that take place within a living organism. They speed up the metabolic reactions by lowering the amount of energy.
High Blood Pressure is anything that alters in peripheral vascular resistance, heart rate, or stroke volume that affects systematic arterial blood pressure. Long term effect of high blood pressure are serious and can cause heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and retinal damage. Hypertension is another medical word that substitutes the meaning of high blood pressure. It is known as the “silent killer” because it does not create any symptoms. The most common reason for high blood pressure is arteriosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is the thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries, occurring in old age. Four control systems have a job in maintaining blood pressure. These are the arterial baroreceptor and chemoreceptors’ system, regulation of body fluid volume, the renin- angiotensin system, and vascular autoregulation. Primary hypertension mostly occurs from a defect or malfunction in some or all of these
Enzymes are biological catalysts - catalysts are substances that increase the rate of chemical reactions without being altered itself. Enzymes are also proteins that fold into complex shapes that allow smaller molecules to fit into them. The place where these substrate molecules fit is called the active site. The active site is the region of an enzyme where substrate molecules bind and undergo a chemical reaction. The active site consists of residues that form temporary bonds with the substrate and residues that catalyse a reaction of that substrate. (Clark, 2016)
Enzymes have the ability to act on a small group of chemically similar substances. Enzymes are very specific, in the sense that each enzyme is limited to interact with only one set of reactants; the reactants are referred to as substrates. Substrates of an enzyme are the chemicals altered by enzyme-catalysed reactions. The extreme specific nature of enzymes are because of the complicated three-dimensional shape, which is due to the particular way the amino acid chain of proteins folds.
Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases including stroke and may also have a role in the development of vascular cognitive impairment and vascular dementia [1, 2]. Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (EC 3.4.15.1; ACE) plays an important role in the rennin-angiotensin system and it is a carboxyl-terminal dipeptidyl exopeptidase that catalyzes the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II [3-6]. ACE converts an inactive form of decapeptide, angiotensin I, to a potent vasoconstrictor, octapeptide, angiotensin II, in addition; since the ACE is a multifunctional enzyme it also catalyzes the degradation of bradykinin, which is known as a vasodilator [4, 7]. Therefore, inhibition of ACE activity leads to decrease in the concentration of angiotensin II and increases the level of bradykinin; consequently reduce blood pressure [8].
Hypertension affects approximately 25% of adults worldwide and 16% of US adults and it is estimated to increase in prevalence by 60% over the next 10 to 15 years (1). Hypertension, or increased systemic blood pressure, is directly correlated with many morbidities, such as coronary heart disease (CHD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), congestive heart failure, and chronic renal dysfunction (reference). Essential hypertension, also known as primary hypertension, accounts for 95% of all known cases of hypertension. It is speculated that primary hypertension has a variety of attributing factors including genotype and other hereditary factors (1). High blood pressure or hypertension is currently the highest preventable risk factor for developing CVD, accounting for nearly 54% of deaths from stroke and 47% of deaths from coronary heart disease worldwide (2). Additionally investing in preventative measures for reducing high blood pressure could reduce direct and indirect medical costs by $156 billion in the US alone (2). Even though the exact interaction between sodium and blood pressure is not completely known, current evidence suggests that sodium plays a direct role in hypertension.
There are generally two categories of hypertension, primary hypertension and secondary hypertension. The causes of primary hypertension are usually unknown and it develops gradually over the years. As for secondary hypertension, the causes are mainly underlying other health problems and it develops in a sudden of time. (The Healthline Editorial Team 2013) First of all, hypertension can be related to renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). Renin is an enzyme secreted mainly via the juxtaglomerular apparatus of the kidney when the sodium retention and water retention are reduced in the blood. (Beevers, Lip, and O'Brien 2001) Renin will bind to a substrate which is angiotensinogen and form angiotensin I which is an inactive peptide. (Foëx and Sear 2004) After that, angiotensin I will be rapidly converted to an active peptide angiotensin II by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in lungs. As a result, vasoconstriction occurs due to presence of angiotensin II and this increases the blood pressure. Moreover, angiotensin II can stimulate the releasing of aldosterone by adrenal glands. Secretion of aldosterone raises the blood pressure by reabsorbing sodium salts and water to increase sodium and water retentions. (Beevers, Lip, and O'Brien 2001)
Cardiovascular disease is currently the nation’s leading non-communicable cause of morbidity and mortality. According to the American Heart Association, the most common form of cardiovascular disease is coronary artery disease, a condition in which the heart’s blood supply is reduced due to a narrowing of the coronary arteries. These arteries play a significant role in regulating the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart. As blood circulates through the arteries, it exerts a force against the vessel walls, known as blood pressure. To withstand this pressure, elastic fibers interspersed along the artery walls allow the arteries to expand and recoil. Abnormally high blood pressure, however, will cause these muscles to thicken as a result of tears in the damaged artery walls trapping particles that aggregate as plaque. Progressive build-up of plaque ultimately leads to a narrowing of the arteries, subsequently diminishing blood flow to the heart and other body organs. This cascade of events triggered by high blood pressure illustrates why hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Affecting 1 in every 3 adults in the United States alone, hypertension substantially raises the risk for heart disease in an affected individual who, most likely, does not show any signs or symptoms. In addition to the risks associated with this “silent killer,” comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol can drastically worsen health outcomes in hypertensive patients. Given the high prevalence and severe consequences of hypertension if undetected, researching this particular topic will increase our understanding of the causes of hypertension by identifying and narrowing down lead candidates for pot...
= == In relative terms enzymes are biological catalysts; control the rate of chemical reaction, different temperatures and pH’s affect their optimum rate of reaction in living organisms. In detail; enzymes are globular proteins, which catalyse chemical reactions in living organisms, they are produced by living cells – each cell has hundreds of enzymes. Cells can never run out of enzymes as they or used up in a reaction.
Many compensatory mechanisms are stimulated in heart failure. These mechanisms involve rising ventricular preload, or the Frank-Starling mechanism, by ventricular dilatation and volume expansion, peripheral vasoconstriction to firstly sustains perfusion to significant organs, myocardial hypertrophy to protect wall strain as the heart expands, kidney sodium and water retention to improve ventricular preload, and start of the adrenergic nervous system, which elevates heart beat and contractile function. The activation of neurohormonal vasoconstrictor systems, which include RAAS, the adrenergic nervous system, and non-osmotic release of vasopressin will control these compensatory mechanisms (Henry & Abraham).
(2013, July 8). Trauma Emergencies. Retrieved from https://ambulance.qld.gov.au/docs/09_cpg_trauma.pdf renin-angiotensin system. (2014). In Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Enzymes are protein molecules that are made by organisms to catalyze reactions. Typically, enzymes speeds up the rate of the reaction within cells. Enzymes are primarily important to living organisms because it helps with metabolism and the digestive system. For example, enzymes can break larger molecules into smaller molecules to help the body absorb the smaller pieces faster. In addition, some enzyme molecules bind molecules together. However, the initial purpose of the enzyme is to speed up reactions for a certain reason because they are “highly selective catalysts” (Castro J. 2014). In other words, an enzyme is a catalyst, which is a substance that increases the rate of a reaction without undergoing changes. Moreover, enzymes work with
The kidneys are a bean-shaped organ in the human body and they have different functions and are of vital importance for it. The kidneys are the pair of organs, which are able to regulate the reabsorption of ions such as potassium, sodium and calcium, which are fundamental substances for the cell. Furthermore, they are involved in the reabsorption of nutrients in the bloodstream and they can regulate the acidity of the blood. Besides the regulation of the fluids and ions, the kidneys are also responsible for the regulation of many different hormones that are involved in homeostasis and metabolism. Because of their importance in the regulation of substances in the body, when the kidneys stop working properly all the body is influenced by that creating disequilibrium in the maintenance of homeostasi...