Textbook - BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY - Hubskyi Yu.I. - 2000

INTRODUCTION. BIOCHEMISTRY AS A SCIENCE

Class="right">Das Sein ist ewig: denn Gesetze

Bewahren die Lebendgen Schatze,

Aus welchen sich das All geschmuckt.

Johann-Wolfgang Goethe

Existence is eternal, for laws

Preserve the living treasures

With which the universe adorns itself.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Biological chemistry (biochemistry) is a science that studies The chemical composition of humans, animals, plants, microorganisms, and Viruses, as well as the chemical (biochemical) Reactions Involving Bioorganic (primarily) and bionearganic compounds (Biomolecules) that make up these organisms.

The Structure of biomolecules—namely, their chemical structure and the spatial arrangement of individual atoms (configuration and conformation)—is a prerequisite for their interaction and transformation in biochemical reactions, which constitute the "molecular logic of the living state" (A. Lehninger, 1982). These biochemical transformations form The Essence of METABOLISM. Since the vast majority of metabolic reactions are carried out with the participation of protein catalysts—Enzymes—the primary objective of biochemistry is to study the course of enzymatic reactions, their mechanisms, and regulation.

In addition to purely chemical transformations accompanied by Changes in the Covalent Structure of biomolecules, physicochemical regularities play a decisive role in biological processes. These regularities form The basis of numerous interactions between complementary compounds—Proteins, Nucleic Acids, oligo- and Polysaccharides, and low-molecular-weight ligands, including inorganic substances. Such non-covalent (hydrogen, ionic, dipole-dipole, hydrophobic) interactions are involved in The formation of supramolecular complexes and biostructures, Enzymatic Catalysis, the binding of Hormones and mediators to receptors, IMMUNOGLOBULINS (Antibodies) with corresponding structures On the surface of lymphocytes and macrophages, intercellular "recognition," and so forth.

The Objects of Study in biochemistry are living organisms at various stages of evolutionary development: viruses, Bacteria, plants, animals, and The Human Body as a biological entity.

Main branches of biochemistry:

1. Static biochemistry.

2. Dynamic biochemistry.

3. Functional biochemistry.

Static biochemistry studies the Chemical composition of Living Organisms and the structure of bioorganic molecules—biomolecules that comprise them (proteins, Amino Acids, nucleic acids, NUCLEOTIDES, CARBOHYDRATES and their derivatives, Vitamins, hormones, etc.). Modern static biochemistry, in its research objects and methodology, is closely related to bioorganic chemistry. Unlike bioorganic chemistry, however, biochemistry focuses primarily on The Significance of specific biomolecules in the formation of cellular and tissue structures and the realization of the Organism's physiological Functions.

Dynamic biochemistry studies the chemical (biochemical) reactions that collectively comprise the metabolism of living organisms. Its main objectives are to study the course and mechanisms of metabolic reactions, particularly the transformations of such major biomolecules as carbohydrates, Lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids in living organisms. Simple bioorganic molecules formed during metabolism (Monosaccharides, Fatty acids, amino acids, low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids and their derivatives, nucleotides, etc.) are called metabolites.

Bioenergetics is a branch of dynamic biochemistry that studies the patterns of energy release, accumulation, and utilization in biological systems.

Understanding the structure and activity of living Cells is impossible without molecular biology and Molecular Genetics—branches of biochemistry and Cell biology that uncover the principles of Genetic information storage and expression through The Study of the Structure and function of informational macromolecules: DNA and RNA nucleic acids.

The Development of molecular biology and molecular genetics has fostered a fundamentally new stage in cell biology—Introduction/32.html">Genetic Engineering, or biotechnology, which explores the possibilities of targeted modifications of the nuclear genetic apparatus. Of particular importance is The Use of Recombinant DNA technology for the synthesis of physiologically active compounds such as Antibiotics, hormones, and enzymes.

Functional biochemistry is a branch of biochemistry that studies the biochemical reactions underlying specific physiological functions. In its essence, functional biochemistry is closely related to molecular physiology.

Specifically, functional biochemistry investigates: the BIOCHEMICAL FOUNDATIONS OF nutrient Digestion (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids) in the gastrointestinal tract; the biochemical mechanisms underlying such physiological processes as Muscle contraction, the Generation and Conduction of nerve impulses, higher integrative Functions of The Nervous system, the RESPIRATORY FUNCTION OF Blood, The regulation of acid-base balance in the body, exocrine and endocrine secretion, the detoxifying function of the Liver, the Excretory Function of the Kidneys, the protective function of The Immune System, and others.

The main object of research and study in medical biochemistry is the human body. Human biochemistry, or medical biochemistry, is a branch of biochemistry that explores the patterns of metabolism and their disruptions under conditions of both normal physiological functioning and the development of pathological processes of various origins, particularly those caused by biological, chemical, and physical damaging factors. To elucidate the biochemical mechanisms underlying various diseases, medical biochemistry widely employs the method of modeling specific pathological processes in experimental animals.

Clinical biochemistry is a subdivision (a research and practical field) of medical biochemistry that studies the biochemical processes occurring in the human body during illness, characteristic of specific diseases and associated with their Pathogenesis. Research in this field can be applied to diagnose damage to specific Organs, Tissues, or cellular structures. An important branch of clinical biochemistry is clinical (medical) enzymology. The focus of this field is the course of enzymatic reactions in the human body under various pathological conditions, evaluated by determining The activity of specific enzymes, Isoenzymes, and enzyme constellations in biological fluids and biopsy samples, and utilizing this information in diagnostic and therapeutic processes.