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Mateusz Pomianek, Dorota Bartusik-Aebisher and David AebisherMedical College of The University of Rzeszów, PolandPart of the book: The Biochemical Guide to ProteinsAbstractChitinases belong to the group of glycosidic hydrolases, their presence allows organisms, inter alia, to obtain nutrients from the decomposed polysaccharide. Chitinases, which are hydrolytic enzymes, are widely distributed in the natural environment. Their role in the defense mechanisms of individual species and in obtaining nutrients necessary for the proper development of the organism is irreplaceable due to the high prevalence of the hydrolyzed polysaccharide, which is chitin. A full understanding of the way these enzymes work, and the optimization of the process of obtaining them, most often in the form of bacterial chitinases will significantly affect the development of agriculture, forestry, and may even bring development in medicine. The products produced in reactions involving this enzyme – chitooligosaccharides, have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. The use of these products would make it possible to use targeted therapies against, inter alia, cancer cells.Keywords: chitinases, N-acetylglucosamines, enzymes, polysaccharide, chitinase-synthesizing bacteriaReferencesDu J, Duan S, Miao J, Zhai M, Cao Y. Purification and characterization of chitinase fromPaenibacillus sp. Biotechnol. Appl. Biochem. 2021 Feb;68(1):30-40.Itoh T, Kimoto H. Bacterial Chitinase System as a Model of Chitin Biodegradation. Adv.Exp. Med. Biol. 2019;1142:131-151.Oyeleye A, Normi Y M. Chitinase: diversity, limitations, and trends in engineering forsuitable applications. Biosci. Rep. 2018 Aug 29;38(4):BSR2018032300.Pinteac R, Montalban X, Comabella M. Chitinases and chitinase-like proteins asbiomarkers in neurologic disorders. Neurol. Neuroimmunol. Neuroinflamm. 2020 Dec8;8(1):e921. doi: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000921. PMID: 33293459; PMCID:PMC7803328.Van Dyken S J, Locksley R M. Chitins and chitinase activity in airway diseases. J. AllergyClin. Immunol. 2018 Aug;142(2):364-369.
