A critical review on properties and applications of microbiall-asparaginases

Abstract

l-Asparaginase is one of the main drugs used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a commonly diagnosed pediatric cancer. Although several microorganisms are found to produce l-asparaginase, only the purified enzymes from E. coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi are employed in the clinical and therapeutic applications in humans. However, their therapeutic response seldom occurs without some evidence of hypersensitivity and other toxic side effects. l-Asparaginase is also of prospective use in food industry to reduce the formation of acrylamide in fried, roasted or baked food products. This review is an attempt to compile information on the properties of l-asparaginases obtained from different microorganisms. The complications involved with the therapeutic use of the currently available l-asparaginases, and the enzyme's potential application as a food processing aid to mitigate acrylamide formation have also been reviewed. Further, avenues for searching alternate sources of l-asparaginase have been discussed, highlighting the prospects of endophytic microorganisms as a possible source of l-asparaginases with varied biochemical and pharmacological properties.

Production, characterization and bioinformatics analysis of l-asparaginase from a new Stenotrophomonas maltophilia EMCC2297 soil isolate

“…Thus applying l-asparaginase to tumor cells can deplete its content of l-asparagine rendering them unable to synthesize protein as well as RNA and DNA and inducing apoptosis in these cells (Bansal et al 2012). l-asparaginase is used in food industry to prevent the formation of acrylamide (carcinogenic toxicant) (Krishnapura et al 2016) in food products manufactured at temperatures exceeding 100 °C. Additionally, the amount of asparagine in leukemic patients and food materials can be detected by this enzyme (Batool et al 2016).…”

In silico identification and characterization of antineoplastic asparaginase enzyme from endophytic bacteria

“…So far, almost all enzyme engineering experiments have focused on these two enzymes . The microbial world is a rich source of enzymes with different structural and functional properties, and it is possible to isolate L‐asparaginase with better therapeutic properties and provide ideas for better enzyme engineering . Endophytes are a diverse group of microorganisms located in the internal tissues of leaves, roots, or stems in healthy plants.…”

Applications of Microbial Enzymes in Food Industry

“…Of the various microbially derived enzymes, asparaginases form a major class of pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and industrially significant enzymes widely used by man (165). Asparaginase, as the name implies, catalyses the breakdown of the asparagine to subsequent acid derivative aspartic acid and NH 3 and can be considered as the asparagine-depleting enzyme.…”

“…Asparagine is a nonessential amino acid to humans, whereas it is an essential amino acid for cancerous cells. Thus, the depletion of asparagine critically affects the growth of cancerous cells, which forms the basis of this enzyme as anticancer agent (165).…”