The reduction of nitrate to nitrogen by metalloenzymes is a vital step in the nitrogen cycle. The importance of this pathway has inspired efforts to understand in greater depth the mechanisms involved. This book presents and discusses the latest information on multiple aspects of denitrification. Written by recognized specialists in the field, this book describes the bioinorganic aspects and the key enzymes involved in denitrification, including their structure, function and mechanisms. Active site modelling, novel methodologies for monitoring denitrification in vivo and biotechnological methods for water treatment are discussed. The book also focusses on the environmental implications of denitrification, such nitrate accumulation and the release of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere from excessive fertiliser use. An important topic in many biological, environmental and agricultural contexts, this book will aid teaching and help bioinorganic chemists and biotechnologists gain an up-to-date picture of the science behind the denitrification process.

Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) include a group of enzymes important in the degradation of components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and are thought to be universally related to pathology. This book examines the relationship between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and oral pathologies, including oral squamous cell carcinoma and separately, atherosclerosis. The molecular mechanisms regarding MMPs activation and the use of MMP inhibitors as an effective treatment in animal models of hypertension are reviewed. The status of MMPs and their regulators with infectious diseases of bacterial and protozoan origin that invade host through mucosal surfaces are explored. Finally, a clinical point of view is provided for the association between MMPs and bowel diseases.

In this book, the authors present current research in the study of the structure, biology and clinical significance of calpain, enzymes and enzyme activity. Topics discussed include monitoring the activation of calpain I for sensitive assessment of pathogenesis and neuroprotectant action; the myeloperoxidase enzyme as a diagnostic biomarker and target for new drug developments; the biological effects of calpain inhibitors on human phagocyte functions; ALDH activity of Artemia as a tool for the investigation of the toxicity of antifouling paints; and calpain as an indicator of organophosphorous-induced delayed neuropathy.

The focus of this book is the characterisations and hydrolysing mechanism of the non-specific enzymes toward chitosan choosing the three typical non-specific enzymes: cellulase, lipase and papain as objects. The authors studied the enzymatic characteristics, purification, product analysis, glycoside bond cleavage, active sites and gene cloning of these enzymes to expatiate their non-specific hydrolysis mechanism.

Encompasses the latest advances in the field. New series editor, Daniel Purich, is a well-known biochemist and enzymologist.

Our knowledge about the function of the melanocyte has expanded beyond boundaries not previously imagined. The melanocyte is no longer considered merely a factory for the production of the pigment melanin. Old data do not contradict the new but must be reinterpreted in light of modern concepts of molecular and cellular biology, enzymology, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics. Diseases of the pigmentary system must be understood in terms of modern science. The editors, each with special knowledge of the pigmentary system, have combined their expertise and talents to produce a book that will serve as the ultimate resource for the study of all aspects of pigment cell biology. There is no comprehensive, scholarly reference available which compiles both old and new data into a single source. This book fills that void. There are monographs to assist dermatologists caring for individuals with disorders of pigmentation, and textbooks with an introductory chapter on the physiology of pigmentation and a clinical chapter on the disorders manifested by common abnormalities of the pigmentary system. These resources continue to be invaluable, however they are written for a specific type and level of audience. This volume is encyclopedic in scope, so that the biologist, chemist, cosmetic scientist, and clinician, whether novice or sophisticated expert, can peruse any section of the book with confidence that it contains most of the worlds knowledge on pigmentation, including historical work. The bibliographies are also prepared to be as comprehensive and all-inclusive as possible. The first part of the book brings together the molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, and physiology of the normal melanocyte as known in the 1990s. The second part continues this theme, presenting a comprehensive discussion of most disorders of pigmentation described to date. Information about pathophysiology, treatment and other clinical data is included. The goal of the editors is to provide the ultimate reference for practicing physicians who care for patients with the rarest or most common disorders of pigmentation, the laboratory scientist studying disease in order to help the study of basic processes which affect the pigmentary system, and the cosmetic scientist who seeks comprehensive information on the pharmacopoeia available for treating pigmentary disorders. All specialists interested in some aspect of the pigmentary system can seek current answers to questions related to their work.

This book describes fundamental mechanisms in both chemistry and biology, in order to present up-to-date catalytic pathways and molecular features of a series of “hot” enzymes including cytochromes P450, peroxidases, laccases, oxidases, dehydrogenases, kinases and phosphatases. The text will allow the reader to learn quickly how to solve kinetic and mechanistic problems in chemistry, biochemistry and enzymology. Its accessible style will assist young and more experienced scientists in presenting with confidence their kinetic and mechanistic results in modern high-impact chemical and biochemical journals even without significant previous experience in such studies.

The kinetic mechanisms by which enzymes interact with inhibitors and activators, collectively called modifiers, are scrutinized and ranked taxonomically into autonomous species in a way similar to that used in the biological classification of plants and animals. The systematization of the mechanisms is based on two fundamental characters: the allosteric linkage between substrate and modifier and the factor by which a modifier affects the catalytic constant of the enzyme. Combinations of the physically significant states of these two characters in an ancestor-descendant-like fashion reveal the existence of seventeen modes of interaction that cover the needs of total, partial and fine-tuning modulation of enzyme activity. These interactions comprise five linear and five hyperbolic inhibition mechanisms, five nonessential activation mechanisms and two hybrid species that manifest either hyperbolic inhibition or nonessential activation characteristics depending on substrate concentration. Five essential activation mechanisms, which are taxonomically independent of the mentioned basic species, complete the inventory of enzyme modifiers. Often masked under conventional umbrella terms or treated as anomalous cases, all seventeen basic inhibition and nonessential activation mechanisms are represented in the biochemical and pharmacological literature of this and the past century, either in the form of rapid or slow-onset reversible interactions, or as irreversible modification processes. The full potential of enzyme inhibitors and activators can only be appreciated after elucidating the details of their kinetic mechanisms of action exploring the entire range of physiologically significant reactant concentrations. This book highlights the wide spectrum of allosteric enzyme modification in physiological occurrences as well as in pharmacological and biotechnological applications that embrace simple and multiple enzyme-modifier interactions. The reader is guided in the journey through this still partly uncharted territory with the aid of mechanistically-oriented criteria aimed at showing the logical way towards the identification of a particular mechanism.