What is "lysozyme"

1922, from lyso- + suffix from enzyme.

n. (context biochemistry English) A bacteriolytic (or antibiotic) enzyme found in many animal secretions, and in egg white.

n. an enzyme found in saliva and sweat and tears that destroys the cell walls of certain bacteria [syn: muramidase]

Lysozymes, also known as muramidase or N-acetylmuramide glycanhydrolase, are glycoside hydrolases. These are enzymes that damage bacterial cell walls by catalyzing hydrolysis of 1,4-beta-linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in a peptidoglycan and between N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in chitodextrins. Lysozyme is abundant in a number of secretions, such as tears, saliva, human milk, and mucus. It is also present in cytoplasmic granules of the macrophages and the polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). Large amounts of lysozyme can be found in egg white. C-type lysozymes are closely related to alpha-lactalbumin in sequence and structure, making them part of the same family. In humans, the lysozyme enzyme is encoded by the LYZ gene.