abzyme

cat·a·lyt·ic an·ti·bod·y

an antibody that has been altered to give it a catalytic activity.

Synonym(s): abzyme

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

Abzyme

Any of a number of hybrid catalytic molecules with antibody-like specificity. The hybrid is generated by combining an antibody with an enzyme; the “ab-” portion corresponds to the highly specific binding sequence, analogous to an immunoglobulin’s variable region, and the “-zyme” portion incorporates catalytic machinery. While most abzymes are synthetic and typically the antibody component is raised against a transition state analogue for the reaction to be catalysed, they may also occur in autoimmune disease, especially systemic lupus erythematosus.

abzyme

An antibody that has an enzyme-like (catalytic) action.

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

abzyme

a catalytic ANTIBODY, with variable regions possessing enzyme activity. An abzyme is capable of catalysing a chemical reaction by binding to and stabilizing the transition state intermediate.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005

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References in periodicals archive ?

Using this technology platform, Abzyme develops various types of antibodies including, but not limited to camelid and human single domain antibodies, human ScFv and full human IgG.

"Filing this application is very important milestone for Abzyme Therapeutics.

Abzyme Files Patent Application for Self-Diversifying Antibody Platform

To make an abzyme that specifically cleaves phenylacetate, the researchers obtained antibodies that bind to another longer-lived molecule that is similar in form to phenylacetate's fleeting transition-state.

Since all antibodies are structurally similar, the scientists expect that their success at getting the phenylacetate-cleaving abzyme to work in a reverse micelle will extend to other abzymes.

Since then, scientists have designed many catalytic antibodies, known also as abzymes. Each is tailor-made to do a specific chemical job, such as slicing one molecule in two or splicing two molecules into one.

Catalytic antibodies do greasy work

Not surprisingly, based on the fact that abzymes are slow catalysts as compared to the kinetic values determined for conventional DNases, the reaction turnover values for DNA-abzymes were two times lower (40).

Catalytic antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Dismissing the claims of a few scientists, Lerner for years answered that there was no compelling evidence to support the existence of natural abzymes.

Do Antibodies Pack a Deadly Punch?

* The variety of catalytic antibodies, or "abzymes," grew as chemists developed clever techniques for making and improving them (135: 28, 252; 136: 152).

Science News of the year

So far, scientists have designed most catalytic antibodies (called abzymes by some) using the principle of transitionstate stabilization formulated by Linus Pauling.

Teaching antibodies new tricks; antibodies that act like enzymes are filling chemists' heads with new visions

But Lerner says he will be able to design enzymatic antbodies, or "abzymes," that perform a range of chemical job such as making and breaking specific bonds between the amino acids that make up proteins.

Making antibodies act like enzymes

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