ISOLATION, PURIFICATION AND SOME PROPERTIES - Biochemistry and Biotechnology: Research and Development - page 7

Chapter 2

I SOLATION , P URIFICATION AND S OME P ROPERTIES
OF L-L YSINE

-O XIDASE FROM T RICHODERMА SP . 6

К. V. Makrushin, 1 A. G. Medentzev, 1 A. Yu. Arinbasarova 1 ,
E. V. Lukasheva 2, * and T. T. Berezov 2
1 G.K. Scryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian
Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russia
2 Department of Biochemistry, Russian Peoples' Friendship University, Moscow, Russia

A BSTRACT

The variety of oncological diseases triggers the elaboration of new anti tumor drugs.
Considerable achievements in human cancer therapy were based on the different
sensitivity of normal and tumor tissues to the lack of the essential growth factors. This
fact caused the search for the new enzymes effecting some metabolic reactions essential
for the growing cancer cells. The first enzyme, which was used in oncology, was L-
asparaginase [1]. The preparations of this enzyme from various sources differed in their
properties, so that their immunological reactivity did not intersept. L-asparaginases were
effective for the treatment of lymphoid tumors, but did not show activity against other
types of tumors. Several other enzymes were investigated as the potential anti cancer
agents, but presently they do not play a significant role in tumor therapy [2].
It is well known that L-lysine is essential for human organism because there are no
reactions for its biosynthesis, so food is the only source of this amino acid. L-Lysine is
very important for biochemical processes. It stabilizes deoxy hemoglobin; the DNA-
binding proteins of chromatin are rich with lysine as well as the proteins of connective
tissues. Tumor cells are more sensitive to the lack of essential growth factors in
comparison with the normal cells. The depletion of L-lysine causes inhibition of tumor
cells growth. One of the enzymes destroying L-lysine is L-lysine alpha-oxidase (1.4.3.14)
(LO), which was isolated for the first time in Japan [3] from the Trichoderma viride Y-
244-2 grown on soaked wheat bran. Later LO was isolated in Russia from the strain
Trichoderma harzianum Rifai [4] . For the purposes of practical oncology it is very
important to have the enzymes, which catalyse the same reaction, but differ in their