Proteins — The workers in our body
What is a protein? A middle schooler would say that proteins are what help to build muscles, that they are the building blocks to developing tissues or that they help in tissue repairing. But there is so much more to them and they are not as simple as they seem. A protein is what you would call, a complex molecule. It is composed of a series of compounds known as amino acids. These amino acids, join together in a unique sequence to form a protein molecule. The different sequence that these compounds join together in, determines the type of protein molecule formed
For example, Immunoglobulin A ( a type of protein used to fight invading diseases) has a unique sequence or combination of amino acids while histones ( a type of protein found in the DNA) has a different amino acid sequence.
FORMATION OF PROTEIN:
The amino acids join together, end to end, to form short strings known as peptides. Multiple peptide subunits join together to form protein molecules. This is why proteins are also known as polypeptides ( poly — multiple ). These chains of peptides fold in a three dimensional figure, forming the structure of the corresponding protein. The different combinations in which the peptides fold into the three dimensional figure determines the properties and functions of the formed protein
FUNCTION OF PROTEINS:
Proteins have various functions in the body. Almost anything that is functional are proteins. You may have heard of haemoglobin which is found in the blood, or keratin (found in the hair), which is most commonly advertised in shampoo commercials, or the term hormones and enzymes. All of these are various types of proteins. They all serve different jobs in the body to keep it healthy and they carry out all the necessary operations to keep the body functional.
