Welcome

Dear all,

Welcome to my new blog. I'm setting this up as a result of two different workshops I've attended at DBM, the world's leading provider of strategic human resource solutions (http://www.dbm.com). In each of these workshops a blog was recommended as a way of networking with a larger audience than is easy to manage in person, and a way to promote my services to people who might want to engage them.

What do I do? As the title of the blog suggests, my last few positions have required my scientific expertise in the field of enzymology - the science of enzymes. I have worked for 19 years in the pharmaceutical industry, searching for enzyme-inhibiting drugs. While engaged in this pursuit I have also been teaching students and colleagues about enzymology and the drug discovery process - something I could do for others. I have also taken this opportunity to develop my communications skills - writing scientific manuscripts, preparing and delivering presentations, and putting together meetings. For this first post, I'll describe a bit about enzymes and how enzymology relates to drug discovery - for the beginner.


Enzymes are the proteins in your body that catalyze the chemical reactions that keep you alive. For example, enzymes in your digestive system break down the food you eat into the simple building blocks that your cells use to grow and reproduce. They are also present in your cells and are key participants in those building and reproductive processes.

The amount of each enzyme, its location, and its activity level are all controlled as a part of the intricate dance that is life. Sometimes these control mechanisms fail to work properly, and the enzyme's over-activity (or under-activity) leads to a disease, or a symptom of disease. Some of the most well-known drugs available are enzyme inhibitors.

• Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) inhibit the activity of the enzymes cyclooxygenase I and/or cyclooxygenase II (COX I and II). Inhibition of COX I and II relieves the warmth and swelling known collectively as inflammation - but since COX I is also present in platelets, the tiny cells important for clotting, COX inhibitors also can cause bleeding in the digestive tract, particularly if used often and in high dose.
• Lipitor and other well known cholesterol lowering drugs, known as statins, inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis in the liver by targeting the enzyme HGMCoA reductase. In response to this, your body removes LDL (bad cholesterol) from the blood. This leads to a reduction in both heart attack and stroke.
• Viagra, famed for its ability to relieve erectile dysfunction, is an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase V, an enzyme involved in maintaining an appropriate level of cyclic GMP, a key signalling molecule important for regulating blood pressure. The same key ingredient in Viagra is also present in Revatio, a drug used to control pulmonary arterial hypertension (elevated blood pressure in the arteries of the lung), which leads to shortness of breath, dizziness and fainting, particularly during exercise.

So enzymologists in the pharmaceutical industry are studying the enzymes important in disease, trying to find new drugs to inhibit (or increase) their activity.