Enzymology contributes to better diagnostics, care, and new therapies for patients with oncological or metabolic diseases
Enzymes play a crucial role in nearly all biological processes. Non-functioning enzymes can cause diseases or lead to severe drug side effects. Drug side effects, caused by genetic variants in the patient, are a major cause of hospital admissions and deaths worldwide. Enzymology can prevent side effects, such as those in cancer therapies, by providing insights into the impact of DNA changes on drug efficacy. This is what Professor André van Kuilenburg, Chair of Enzymology of Metabolic and Oncological Diseases, stated in his inaugural lecture.
Enzymes are also essential for cancer cells themselves; understanding these enzymological processes can lead to new, tailored treatments. In metabolic diseases, where the chemical processes in the cell are disrupted, enzyme diagnostics are crucial for identifying existing and new diseases. Enzyme diagnostics can also guide genomic research and determine whether identified genetic variants affect enzyme function. Enzymology is certainty!