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The Effects of Mutation of Amino Acid Asparaginase

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Asparaginase is an enzyme that has the effect of depleting asparagine, one of the amino acids, in cells. Mutations in asparaginase would eliminate problems with the enzyme's effects, which is important as asparaginase is used in the treatment of leukemia.

  1. Amino Acid

    • Amino acids are essential to the human body, serving as the components of protein in addition to regulating metabolism. According to the Biology Project, there are 20 amino acids, with each one responsible for a specific function. Some of the amino acids are produced by the body, while others must be ingested through food each day. This factor is essential in understanding how amino acids work.

    Function

    • One of the amino acids is asparagine, whose function is the metabolism of ammonia. Asparagine constitutes one of the amino acids that the body produces. Asparagine is essential for the growth of tumor cells for individuals who have leukemia. Because asparagine is produced by the body, this is a problem in the treatment of leukemia.

    Asparaginase

    • According to the National Cancer Institute's Drug Dictionary, asparaginase is an enzyme that is extracted from one of two bacteriums. Asparaginase plays a vital role in the treatment of leukemia, as the leukemic cells need protein synthesis to survive and grow. Those cancer cells use the amino acid asparagine for that synthesis. Since the body produces asparagine, there is no shortage of the amino acid. Asparaginase works to convert asparagine into aspartic acid and ammonia. Without asparagine, the leukemic cells cannot grow, thus the success with asparaginase as a treatment for leukemia. Mutations of asparaginase would have different properties, including a longer lifespan, fewer side effects and a resistance to patient immunity. A treatment with a longer life, fewer side effects and fewer patients with immunity to the treatment is a more effective product.

    Identification

    • Three significant problems have been identified with the use of asparaginase in the treatment of leukemia. According to Cancer Chemotherapy & Biotherapy, some patients develop an immunity to the enzyme, that is, after a period of time, the enzyme is no longer effective. A second problem is the short lifespan of asparaginase. A third are the possible side effects on a patient's brain function, such as seizures, coma and disorientation. All of these problems could be solved with mutations of the enzyme.

    Effects

    • The effects of the mutations would be highly significant. According to Cancer Therapy & Biotherapy, asparaginase is a potent substance in the treatment of leukemia. It provides statistically for a five-year disease free survival period for 80 percent of children and 35 to 50 percent rate of survival for adults over the same period of time. Asparaginase with a mutation that would avoid the immunity effect would raise the survival rates. A mutation that did not cause the cerebral problems would be of great benefit to the patient, as would a treatment that lasted longer in the body.

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