Proteins

Proteins are very important because they build the DNA ladder and they do all the enzymatic work in the cells that are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. Proteins regulate all of the metabolic reactions in the cell and serve as the enzymes needed to catalyze the body’s cellular reactions. Everything that can be seen in a physical biology is either made up of proteins or is the result of the functions of those proteins.

Genes make Proteins

Smaller segments of DNA are called genes and each gene holds an instruction set on how to produce a single protein, as well as generate the many messages to instruct the functions of the Proteins within the body.

Proteins Turn Genes On or Off

The process of turning genes on and off is known as Gene Regulation. Gene regulation can be controlled by Electromagnetic Signals coming from the environment or from other cells that activate proteins called transcription factors. A transcription factor is also called a sequence specific DNA binding factor and is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequences, thereby controlling the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to the messenger RNA. These Proteins bind to the regulatory regions of a gene and increase or decrease the level of transcription factors. By controlling the level of transcription factors, this process can determine the amount of protein produced and the level of function that protein was designed for, that is made by a gene at any given time. Gene Regulation can occur at any point during gene expression, but most commonly occurs when the information in a gene’s DNA is transferred to the messenger RNA. One of the ways the protein transcription factors can be interfered with in the human body is through the production of genetically modified foods and by adding toxic chemicals, in small doses, that are used as preservatives in commercially produced products that are marketed as foods.

See Also

Faulty Proteins