Enzyme induction is the process of increasing enzyme production in response to changes in the cell’s environment. Inducing molecules can include drugs, toxins, and hormones. Understanding this process is important for pharmaceutical research and toxicology. Hormone-related medical conditions can also lead to induction. Enzyme inhibition is the opposite process and is used in medical treatment. Together, induction and inhibition control various reactions in the body.
Enzyme induction is a process in which the production of an enzyme is activated or increased in response to changes in the environment surrounding an individual cell. The increase in expression creates a chain reaction as the enzyme begins to work in the body. Enzymes that are susceptible to induction are said to be “inducible” and there are a number of them in the body that can kick into production when needed, otherwise remaining dormant.
In enzyme induction, a cell is exposed to a molecule that promotes the production of enzymes by the cell. The molecule binds to a repressor, a chemical compound designed to limit or prevent the production of enzymes, so that the obstacle is removed. The enzyme is produced by the cell until it is no longer needed. In some cases, the hijacking of this process can be used to harm the body, as seen with bacteria and some types of toxins.
Inducing molecules can include drugs, toxins and hormones produced by the body. As a result, understanding how the induction process works is critical to understanding the many different reactions that occur within the body. Pharmaceutical researchers need to know how the drugs they develop will interact with the body and also need to consider the possibility of drug interactions, where multiple drugs lead to enzyme induction and can cause people to experience adverse drug reactions. Toxicologists also study the role of chemicals in the body on enzyme production to determine how toxins cause damage and what can be done to stop or reverse the damage.
Medical conditions related to overproduction or underproduction of hormones in the body can lead to induction, as can treatments where hormones are introduced. Researchers who study the endocrine system look at how and why the body makes hormones and what these hormones do when they are released into the bloodstream. In cases where enzyme induction is triggered by changing hormone levels, it may be important to understand what enzymes do and how the body shuts down their production.
The opposite of induction is inhibition, where chemical signals interfere with enzyme production. Enzyme inhibition is used to mediate a number of processes in the body and can also be harnessed in medical treatment for patients with rising enzyme levels caused by disease, exposure to toxins, and other problems. Induction and inhibition together are used by the body to control a variety of reactions and interactions that play a role in everything from natural cell death to digestion.
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