Definition of "asparaginase" []

• An enzyme isolated from bacteria that catalyzes the hydrolysis of asparagine and is used in the chemotherapeutic treatment of leukemia. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The U.S. food industry discovered an enzyme called asparaginase that can chew up asparagine in food products, so less acrylamide is formed."
• "Health Canada's safety assessment of the enzyme, which is called asparaginase, didn't turn up any health or safety concerns."
• "When a 12-year-old boy from Illinois with ALL arrived at St. Jude in 2001, Pui administered everything but the kitchen sink: the drugs prednisone, vincristine, daunorubicin, and asparaginase, followed by cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, and mercaptopurine."