Isomaltase () is an

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...

that breaks the bonds linking

saccharide In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...

s, which cannot be broken by

amylase An amylase () is an enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of starch (Latin ') into sugars. Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some other mammals, where it begins the chemical process of digestion. Foods that contain large amounts of ...

maltase Maltase (, ''alpha-glucosidase'', ''glucoinvertase'', ''glucosidosucrase'', ''maltase-glucoamylase'', ''alpha-glucopyranosidase'', ''glucosidoinvertase'', ''alpha-D-glucosidase'', ''alpha-glucoside hydrolase'', ''alpha-1,4-glucosidase'', ''alp ...

. It digests polysaccharides at the alpha 1-6 linkages. Its substrate, alpha-limit dextrin, is a product of amylopectin digestion that retains its 1-6 linkage (its alpha 1-4 linkages having already been broken down by amylase). The product of the enzymatic digestion of alpha-limit

dextrin Dextrins are a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch and glycogen. Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by α-(1→4) or α-(1→6) glycosidic bonds. Dextrins can be produced from ...

by isomaltase is

maltose } Maltose ( or ), also known as maltobiose or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an α(1→4) bond. In the isomer isomaltose, the two glucose molecules are joined with an α(1→6) bond. Maltose is the tw ...

. Isomaltase helps amylase to digest alpha-limit dextrin to produce maltose. The human sucrase-isomaltase is a dual-function enzyme with two GH31 domains, one serving as the isomaltase, the other as a sucrose alpha-glucosidase.

Nomenclature

The

systematic name A systematic name is a name given in a systematic way to one unique group, organism, object or chemical substance, out of a specific population or collection. Systematic names are usually part of a nomenclature. A semisystematic name or semitrivial ...

of sucrase-isomaltase is oligosaccharide 6-alpha-glucohydrolase. This enzyme is also known as: * Sucrase-alpha-dextrinase * oligo-1,6-glucosidase, * limit dextrin, * so maltase, * exo-oligo-1,6-glucosidase, * dextrin 6alpha-glucanohydrolase, * alpha-limit dextrin, * dextrin 6-glucanohydrolase, and * oligosaccharide alpha-1,6-glucohydrolase.

Mechanism

This enzyme catalyses the following

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and breaking ...

Hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile. Biological hydrolysi ...

of (1->6)-alpha-D-glucosidic linkages in some

oligosaccharide An oligosaccharide (/ˌɑlɪgoʊˈsækəˌɹaɪd/; from the Greek ὀλίγος ''olígos'', "a few", and σάκχαρ ''sácchar'', "sugar") is a saccharide polymer containing a small number (typically two to ten) of monosaccharides (simple sug ...

s produced from

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human die ...

and

glycogen Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body. Glycogen functions as one of ...

by enzyme EC 3.2.1.1.

uses water to cleave chemical bonds. Sucrase-isomaltase’s mechanism results in a net retention of configuration at the anomeric center.

External links

References

Hydrolases {{enzyme-stub