Enzymes Flashcards
Enzyme definition
Proteins that speed up a chemical reaction in a living organism
The term ‘enzyme’ was created by…
Wilhelm Kühne
Eduard Büchner discovered…
Cell-free fermentation
Who showed that enzymes are pure proteins?
Who verified this?
James B. Sumner
Verified by Northrop and Stanley
What are the roles of enzymes in vet med?
- Speed chemical reactions in the intermediary metabolism
- Speed degradation during digestion
- Measure elevation of enzyme/substrate/product concentration in blood
Enzymes which don’t require cofactors to show full activity
Ser-proteases
Examples of cofactors
- Metal ions
- Water-soluble vitamin derivatives (coenzymes)
Example of an enzyme containing a metal cofactor (4 x Zn)
Carbonic anhydrase
Role of coenzymes
Intermediary carriers of:
- Electrons
- Specific atoms
- Functional groups in biochemical reactions
Enzyme + Coenzyme
Holoenzyme
Enzyme - Coenzyme
Apoenzyme
Annotate the figure
Grey: Apoenzyme
Green: Cofactor
Yellow: Substrate
Tightly bound organic cofactors
Prosthetic groups
How big a portion of the enzyme is the active site?
3-4 amino acids (relatively small portion)
The components of the active site
- Substrate binding site
- Catalytic site
Making it highly specific
After catalysing a reaction, enzymes are…
Unchanged
Give examples of Serine-proteases
- Chymotrypsin
- Trypsin
- Elastase
- Acetylcholinesterase
Chymotrypsin has a large pocket which can accommodate the side chains of…
- Phenylalanine
- Tyrosine
- Tryptophan
Give the substrate binding sites of Chymotrypsin
- Ser-189
- Gly-216
Give the substrate binding sites of Elastase
- Ser-189
- Val-216
Elastase accommodates which side chains?
- Phe
- Leu
The catalytic site of Ser-proteases
Ser-195
Ser-195 can be inhibited by…
diisopropylphospho-fluridate
(DIPF)
Give the models of enzyme binding
- Lock and Key
- Induced Fit
- Fluctuation theory
Lock and key model
The binding site acts as a rigid lock which is complementary to the substrate
Induced fit model
Substrate binding → Structurally interactive process
- The enzyme isn’t rigid
- Binding isn’t exactly complimentary
Fluctuation theory
- Confirmation of the enzyme’s active site always changes
- Binding only occurs if substrate is complimentary
What is required to initiate all reactions?
Activation energy
Activation energy definition
Ea
Free energy between initial and transitional state
Mechanism of enzyme action
- Enzymes only speed reaction rates
- Enzymes lower activation energy
Mechanism of enzyme action when the atoms of the molecules are rearranged
- Hydrate hull removed
- Existing bonds in the reactants broken
- New bonds of products formed
Which levels of specificity are expressed by enzymes
Specificity of:
- Reactants
- Susceptible bond
- Type of product produced
List the degree of specificity each specificity type has
Bond (reaction) specificity: Broad
Group (reaction) specificity: Medium
Substrate specificity: Strict
Stereospecificty: Very strict
Non-specific factors affecting enzymes
Affect the velocity of each enzymatic reaction
- Temp
- pH
- Denaturation
Specific factors affecting enzymes
Affecting only certain enzymes
- Conc. of reactants (substrate)
- Inorganic effectors
- Organic effectors
Effect of temperature on enzymatic activity
- The velocity of reaction increases with temperature
- High temperature kills cells
- Work best between 35-40°C (Mammals)
Optimal pH for enzymes
Between 6 - 8
Reaction velocities are proportional to…
The concentration of the substrate