Ribozyme

A ribozyme is an RNA molecule that catalyzes a chemical reaction. Its catalytic activity shows that RNA can function as both genetic material and an enzyme.

RNA folding: The process by which an RNA strand adopts a three-dimensional structure through intramolecular interactions. A ribozyme's folded structure brings reactive groups together and creates its catalytic site.
Peptidyl transferase center: The ribosomal site that catalyzes peptide-bond formation during protein synthesis. Its catalytic core is ribosomal RNA, making the ribosome a ribozyme.
Thomas Cech: An American biochemist who discovered self-splicing RNA in Tetrahymena and shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His experiments established that an RNA molecule could catalyze its own splicing.
Ribozyme therapy: An experimental therapeutic approach that uses engineered ribozymes to cleave selected RNA molecules. It turns sequence-specific RNA cleavage into a proposed way to reduce disease-related gene expression.
Protein enzyme: A biological catalyst made primarily of protein that accelerates chemical reactions without being consumed. Most cellular catalysis uses proteins, whereas ribozymes use RNA as the catalytic molecule.
RNA catalysis: The acceleration of chemical reactions by RNA molecules acting as catalysts. Ribozymes are specific instances of RNA catalysis.
RNase P: A ribonucleoprotein enzyme that processes precursor transfer RNAs by removing their extra 5′ leaders. Its RNA component can catalyze the cleavage reaction, though protein assists in cells.
Sidney Altman: A Canadian-American molecular biologist who showed that the RNA component of RNase P has catalytic activity. His work demonstrated catalytic RNA in a system distinct from self-splicing introns.
Gene knockdown: A reduction in gene expression caused by targeted interference with a gene's RNA or transcription. Engineered ribozymes can knock down expression by cleaving a target messenger RNA.
Deoxyribozyme: A DNA molecule selected in vitro for catalytic activity. Deoxyribozymes show that catalytic nucleic acids are not limited to RNA.

Linked from 14 pages