lysozyme /ly·so·zyme/ (-zīm) an enzyme present in saliva, tears, egg white, and many animal fluids, functioning as an antibacterial agent by catalyzing the hydrolysis of specific glycosidic linkages in peptidoglycans and chitin, breaking down some bacterial cell walls.
lysozyme
lysozyme (lī´sōzīm),
ly·so·zyme (l  s -zm )n. An enzyme occurring naturally in egg white, human tears, saliva, and other body fluids, capable of destroying the cell walls of certain bacteria and thereby acting as a mild antiseptic. Also called muramidase. |
lysozyme
[lī′səzīm]
Etymology: Gk, lysein + en, within, zyme, ferment
an enzyme with antiseptic actions that destroys some foreign organisms. It is found in granulocytic and monocytic blood cells and is normally present in saliva, sweat, breast milk, and tears.
lysozyme (lī´sōzīm),
n an enzyme in major salivary secretions that may rupture bacterial cell walls and regulate the oral flora.
lysozyme
lyso—lyses bacteria; zyme—an enzyme naturally present in body fluids but ordinarily obtained from egg white for in vitro work. It hydrolyzes a specific glycoside bond in the peptidoglycan that forms bacterial cell walls, yielding the disaccharide N-acetylglucosamine-N-acetylmuramate. An important component of innate resistance.
lysozyme
An antibacterial enzyme present in the tears (as well as other tissues). In human tears, lysozyme makes up 21-25% of the total protein.
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