A biological catalyst produced in cells and capable of speeding up and specifying chemical reactions essential for life. A globular protein, it is specific to a particular reaction or group of similar reactions, and therefore there are a great number of them. The exact mechanism by which enzymes act is not fully understood, but it seems that certain parts of the enzyme molecule (the ‘active centers’) combine with a substrate molecule so that the substrate undergoes chemical changes much more rapidly than in the absence of the enzyme, but the enzyme itself remains unchanged. Most enzymes have the suffix -ase, which is added to the names of the substrate they act on. Thus, lactase is the enzyme that acts to break down lactose. <\/p>\n
See Acetylcholinesterase (AcHE)<\/a>, Acrosome<\/a>, Biochemistry<\/a>, Central dogma of molecular biology<\/a>, Co-factor<\/a>, Collagen<\/a>, Emphysema<\/a>, Enzyme<\/a>, Krebs cycle (or tr-carboxylic acid, TCA, cycle), Lactose intolerance, Lysosomes<\/a>, Methylation<\/a>, Mitochondria<\/a>, Mucins<\/a>, Neurotransmitters<\/a>, Organelles<\/a>, Pancreas<\/a>, Peptides<\/a>, Phosphorylation<\/a>, Protein tyrosine kinase<\/a>, Proteins <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/body><\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A biological catalyst produced in cells and capable of speeding up and specifying chemical reactions essential for life. A globular protein, it is specific to a particular reaction or group of similar reactions, and therefore there are a great number of them. The exact mechanism by which enzymes act is not fully understood, but it … <\/p>\n