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Topic: Gas Gangrene  (Read 6662 times)

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puzzled

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Gas Gangrene
« on: April 01, 2005, 09:56:39 PM »
Gas gangrene is caused by the anerobic bacteria, Clostridium perfringens.  This bacteria causes massive tissue destruction.  One of the enzymes that it secretes cleaves preferentially at the Y-Gly bond in the sequence Proline-Tyrosine-Glycine-Proline, where Tyrosine is most frequently a neutral amino acid.  

P-Y-G-P- -----> -P-Y-COO(-) + (+)NH3-G-P-

Propose why the enzyme doesn't affect the bacteria itself.  I'm thinking...because the enzyme doesn't lose any atoms?  I have no idea, and the websites I find only explain about gas gangrene itself and doesn't lead me to an answer.

Offline Donaldson Tan

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Re:Gas Gangrene
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2005, 04:50:35 PM »
the enzyme mechanism follows the lock-and-key hypothesis. i think you gotta examine the active site on the gangrene enzyme to see why it likes to attack the Y-site.
"Say you're in a [chemical] plant and there's a snake on the floor. What are you going to do? Call a consultant? Get a meeting together to talk about which color is the snake? Employees should do one thing: walk over there and you step on the friggin� snake." - Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of Glaxosmithkline, June 2006

puzzled

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Re:Gas Gangrene
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2005, 08:36:55 PM »
Thanks!  I got the idea now!

Offline AWK

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Re:Gas Gangrene
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2005, 05:05:19 AM »
Bacteria may produce many substances that inhibit auto-destruction
« Last Edit: April 04, 2005, 05:06:00 AM by AWK »
AWK

Offline Donaldson Tan

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Re:Gas Gangrene
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2005, 07:38:10 AM »
alternatively, the enzyme that causes tissue destruction exists in its de-activated form inside the bacteria. it requires a co-enzyme to activate it before it can attack its specific amino acid residual site. the co-enzyme and enzyme are most probably stored in different vesicles in the bacteria before both are released (secreted) together into the host body.

btw this seems more like a biology question. i will move it to the "chemical biology" section.
"Say you're in a [chemical] plant and there's a snake on the floor. What are you going to do? Call a consultant? Get a meeting together to talk about which color is the snake? Employees should do one thing: walk over there and you step on the friggin� snake." - Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of Glaxosmithkline, June 2006

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