The versatility of proteins: from biomolecules to
biopharmaceuticals
Ambika C. Banerjee
East India Pharmaceutical Works Ltd., 6, Little Russell Street,
Kolkata- 700 071, India.
Corresponding author:
Ambika C. Banerjee, Corporate Advisor, Research & Development,
East India Pharmaceutical Works Ltd., 6, Little Russell Street, Kolkata-
700 071, India.
E-mail: banerjeeac@yahoo.in, Tel: +919831175103
.
ABSTRACT
The vast majority of genes in any life form encode information for the
production of proteins through the biosynthesis of polypeptide chains from
amino acids having different side groups. Interactions among these side
groups and the environmental conditions cause the proteins to adopt
distinct three-dimensional structures or conformations that are critical to
their functions. Proteins are essential biomolecules that are involved in
almost all biological functions with unparallel versatility in performance:
Numerous different protein molecules take part in a wide variety of task.
Proteins are the main catalysts, structural elements, antibodies, signaling
messengers and molecular machines of cells and biological tissues;
moreover, proteins regulate gene expression for the differential production
of all gene products. In addition, these are often mediated through various
protein-protein interactions. In cancer, which is a disease of genes,
certain key proteins get altered to affect the cellular growth-control
machinery, causing uncontrolled proliferation of the cancer cells. Since
biological and environmental factors influence the gene products, a proper
understanding and use of the 'genome' information necessitate a
comprehensive analysis of the gene products, the 'proteome'. Manipulation
and improvement of proteins and enzymes for their use in chemical,
pharmaceutical, food and other industries are a major application of
biotechnology. Protein biopharmaceuticals which include engineered proteins
and antibodies with improved properties developed and designed for human
therapeutic use, have been synthesized by cloned genes in bacterial or
other suitable host cell systems using modern biotechnology.
Keywords
: Polypeptide; Conformation; Proteomics, Gene expression; Recombinant DNA
technology; Biopharmaceuticals.