Credit: University of Bath
Scientists from the UK s University of Bath explore racemases - an important type of enzyme that is linked to certain cancers and other life-threatening diseases while also being critical to cell function - in a paper published in the prestigious journal
Chemical Society Reviews. The scientists also propose new strategies for finding drugs that neutralise these enzymes.
Many racemases and epimerases perform vital roles in human and animal cells, and in disease-causing organisms. They facilitate proper nerve function, the degradation of toxic substances, the formation of bacterial cell walls and the conversion of certain drugs into their active form (the best known conversion is seen with ibuprofen, which is taken as a mixture of isomers and converted in the liver to the active S-isomer). But while normal levels of racemase and epimerase function are generally beneficial, increased levels can be harmful. Because of this, there is considerable interest in