Irina Gazaryan, Ph.D, DSc.
Director, Enzymology Laboratory
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Medicine in 21st century has largely become a molecular science. Enzymes are not only the biocatalysts that make biochemical reactions happen in biologically reasonable time, but also the major regulators of cell metabolism. Enzymatic regulation of cell metabolism is achieved both through feedback control of metabolic pathways at the level of substrates and products and through enzymatic modification of transcription factors. The latter determine the set of proteins and enzymes to be expressed in a specific tissue or under certain conditions. The cell decision to die or repair the damage is often based on the balance between the corresponding enzymatic systems. Almost 50% of drugs in clinical use are enzyme inhibitors.

The major and indispensable player in cell life is oxygen. Oxygenases of different structure and mechanistic origin play a key role in providing the cell with an adequate response to the change in the oxygen supply and pathogen attack. Oxygen sensing/activation can be achieved with Fe-dependent enzymes (heme-oxygenase and non-heme iron dioxygenase such as HIF prolyl- and asparagine hydroxylase) and flavoenzymes. Development of enzyme inhibitors as potential drug candidates requires both detailed characterization of new targets and development of cell-based and in vitro enzymatic assays suitable for the high-throughput format. The overall goal of my lab is to use the poser of recombinant protein synthesis, site directed mutagenesis and enzymology to guide understanding of proteins involved in utilizing oxygen as a signaling molecule