What is a lysozyme?
Q: What is a lysozyme?
A: A lysozyme is an enzyme which is part of the innate immune system. It is found in mucus secretions like saliva and helps protect against infection by chopping up bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Q: Who coined the term 'lysozyme'?
A: The term 'lysozyme' was coined in 1922 by Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), the discoverer of penicillin.
Q: Where can lysozyme be found?
A: Lysozyme can be found in a number of secretions, such as tears, saliva, milk, and mucus. It is also present in cytoplasmic granules of macrophages and granulocyte neutrophils.
Q: How does lysozyme work?
A: Lysozyme works by attacking polymers in the cell walls of bacteria, especially Gram-positive bacteria like Bacillus and Streptococcus.
Q: What was the first protein structure solved by X-ray diffraction methods?
A: Lysozyme was the first protein structure solved by X-ray diffraction methods.
Q: Was it also the first enzyme to have its sequence determined?
A: Yes, it was also the first enzyme to have its sequence determined that contains all twenty common amino acids.
Q: What did this work lead to?
A: This work led to an explanation of how enzymes speed up a chemical reaction by their physical structures.
