MP Biomedicals™ Lysozyme, MP Biomedicals™

An enzyme used in a variety of biochemical applications.

• For lysing E. coli and Streptomycetes for extraction purposes, such as extracting group specific antigen
• May act as a germinative agent of bacterial spores
• In humans, may be the mediator in the anti-tumor function of macrophages which secrete the enzyme
• There is evidence that cartilage lysozyme has a role in cartilage calcification
• The enzyme breaks down the cell walls of bacteria
• Used to prepare spheroplasts

Lysozyme hydrolyzes β(1→4) linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in peptidoglycan and between N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in chitodextrin.

• These links occur in the mucopeptide cell wall structure of certain microorganisms, such as Micrococcus lysodeikticus.
• Gram-positive cells are quite susceptible to this hydrolysis, as their cell walls have a high proportion of peptidoglycan.
• Gram-negative bacteria are less susceptible due to the presence of an outer membrane and a lower proportion of peptidoglycan. However, these cells may be hydrolyzed in the presence of EDTA that chelates metal ions in the outer bacterial membrane.
• The enzyme is active over a broad pH range (6.0–9.0). At pH 6.2, maximal activity is observed over a wider range of ionic strengths (0.02–0.100M) than at pH 9.2 (0.01–0.06M).