II. POWERFUL FORCE GENERATED BY PROTEIN POLYMERIZATION 51 



enzyme develops, and this latter is the protein moiety of a colloidal 

 nature, possessing also no enzymatic activity. The development of 

 enzymatic activity on the combination of the two components may be 

 chiefly due to the high molecular weight of the complex so formed. 

 Likewise in this case some disturbances in the substrate configuration 

 caused by the non-specific or partially specific physicochemical force of 

 the apoenzyme molecule, resulting from the polymerization, may par- 

 ticipate in the development of enzymatic action. 



It is known that enzyme molecules or. in general, protein molecules 

 in a solution tend to associate or polymerize into larger molecules or 

 aggregates. This property may contribute to the exhibition of enzymatic 

 action. In spite of their protein nature, viruses are usually not affected 

 by proteolytic enzymes. This may be accounted for by the higher and 

 firmer polymerization of viruses than enzymes. Even if enzymes func- 

 tion as such on polymerization, the degree of polymerization may be 

 insignificant as compared with that of viruses. 



From a number of facts mentioned above it may be concluded that 

 the increase in molecular weight, or the polymerization of molecules, 

 seems to make the physicochemical force arising from the configura- 

 tion more effective. Life phenomena may be intimately correlated to 

 such forces coming from polymerization. Peculiar properties belonging 

 to the so-called colloidal substances may presumably depend upon such 

 forces. Since all the living bodies consist of colloids, the life phenome- 

 na should be based upon these colloidal substances, and therefore life 

 phenomena may be said to be developed by the long range forces. 



