Entsyymikorjaus

Entsyymikorjaus (en: enzyme repair) is a term used in Finnish biochemistry and biotechnology to describe strategies that restore or improve the function of enzymes that are damaged, misfolded, or inhibited. The concept covers a range of approaches from stabilizing enzymes in industrial processes to developing therapeutic methods that restore enzymatic activity in living organisms.

Mechanisms and approaches include stabilization and protection of enzymes from denaturation, immobilization on solid supports to increase stability and reusability, and chaperone-assisted refolding of misfolded proteins. In medical contexts, strategies include enzyme replacement therapy, gene therapy to correct mutations, and the use of small molecules or proteostasis modulators that enhance proper folding and catalytic activity. Post-translational modifications and directed evolution can also be used to create more robust enzymes.

Applications: In industry, enzyme repair techniques help sustain catalytic efficiency in biocatalysis, food processing, and biofuel production. In medicine, enzyme repair concepts underpin treatments for enzymopathies where patients lack functional enzymes. Diagnostics may rely on engineered enzymes with enhanced stability or activity.

Challenges include delivering therapies to the right tissues, avoiding immune responses, ensuring long-term stability, and high development costs. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with related fields such as enzyme stabilization, enzyme replacement therapy, and protein engineering.

See also: enzyme replacement therapy, protein engineering, proteostasis, gene therapy.