Difference Between Enzyme and Hormone
Table of Contents
Enzyme vs Hormone
It is interesting to know that all enzymes and most hormones are proteins. Enzymes and hormones are extremely important biochemical materials for all the living beings, yet there are many differences between each other. The structures, chemical properties, and operational mechanisms of these substances are different and interesting to know.
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins with special capabilities to increase the rate of chemical reactions. That means enzymes can catalyse the chemical reactions. Therefore, it could be understood as when there are enzymes being secreted inside the bodies of organisms, the rate of the biochemical pathways in those places goes high. The reason behind the capability of an enzyme to increase the rate of reactions is that it reduces the activation energy of a reaction. In general, enzymes are globular proteins, and they act on substrates. Usually, the size of an enzyme is larger than the substrate. Enzymes convert substrates into products, and these products are generally the small basic unit of the large substrate molecule. As an example, a large carbohydrate molecule could be converted into a number of glucose molecules through an enzyme. After each reaction, the enzyme could be reused, as it remains unchanged. It is very interesting to know that enzymes are highly specific to the substrates. That means each substrate has a specific enzyme that will not act on anything else. The mechanism of the substrate specificity of enzymes is described in the lock and key mechanism. Usually, the enzymatic reaction rate depends on some factors such as temperature, pH, and concentrations of enzyme and substrate. However, there are inhibitors to control the rate of enzymatic reactions.
Hormone
Hormone is a chemical mean of messaging inside the bodies of all multicellular organisms, where signals being passed from one place to another place of the body. Usually, the circulatory systems are used to transport those messages. Hormones are produced in glands and released into the circulatory system; after that, it acts on the target site. Depending on the type of gland that these are produced, hormones are of two types known as endocrine and exocrine. Endocrine hormones are directly released into the blood stream while exocrine hormones are released into ducts, to travel through diffusion or circulation. It is interesting to notice that only a very small amount of the hormone is enough to change the entire metabolic activity of a tissue. There are specific receptors attached in hormones, so that it will not act on non-target cells. Most of the hormones are proteins, but there are three types (Peptides, Lipids, and Poly Amines) according to the consistency.
What is the difference between Enzyme and Hormone? • All enzymes are proteins but not all the hormones. • Enzymes are secreted and act on the same place while the secretion and activation of hormones take place in different locations. • Enzymes control all biochemical reactions of the cell, whereas some of the biochemical reactions of the systems are controlled by hormones. • Enzymes take part in metabolism while hormones regulate metabolic activities. • Enzymes are substrate specific while hormones are specific to the target cell, tissue, or system. • The rate of reaction depends on many factors including concentrations in enzymatic activity whereas the concentration does not always matter in hormonal activities. • Enzymes are not changed after a reaction and could be used again, whereas hormones are degenerated after the reaction. • Inhibitor molecules control and lower the enzymatic activity while inhibitor hormones inhibit the hormonal activity. |
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