macromolecules Flashcards

1
Q

Ritonavir

A

AIDS drug

competitive inhibitor for HIV protease, inhibiting its interaction with the substrate

this inhibitor mimics the tetrahedral intermediate that is expected to resemble the enzymes transition state

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

penicillin

A

irreversible inhibitor of glycopeptide transferase (which is essential for bacterial cell wall formation; by cross linking peptidoglycan chains during cell wall synthesis)

the reactive beta-lactam ring of penicillin resembles the normal peptide bond substrate of the enzyme; It reacts with Ser (-OH) in the active site and remains bound to it

penicillin is a “suicide inhibitor” as it remains covalently bound to the active site and is eventually degraded with the enzyme)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Sarin

A

irreversible inhibitor of acetylcholine esterase
it reacts with serine (-OH) on the active site and forms a stable enzyme-sarin complex

Explanation:
It has a highly electronegative F and therefore it readily dissociates to give F-, leaving the rest of the sarin irreversibly bound to the (-OH) Ser on the active site

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

covalent modification of CDK2

A

it’s reversible and phosphorylation results in inhibition

CDK2 is a Ser/Thr protein kinase important for cell division

one level of control for CDK2 is the insertion of a phosphate at the Tyr15 in the active site;
this prevents binding of a substrate, ATP, in the active site

Its activated when the phosphate is removed by a phosphatase, cdc25

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

covalent modification in zymogens

A

they are activated by proteolytic cleavage by proteases

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

A rare example of a monomeric allosteric enzyme

A

-Glucokinase

Explanation:
GK has a binding cleft between its two domains.

the domains reorient dramatically when the substrates bind; the substrates are glucose and ATP;

you can describe three states of the enzyme–>
‘super-open’– when no substrate is bound
‘intermediate’– when glucose is bound
‘closed’– when both glucose and ATP are bound

In the presence of glucose the intermediate state is slowly formed;
upon binding ATP the closed state is quickly formed;

NOW–IMP!
after the reaction the enzyme would go to the ‘super-open state’ UNLESS glucose is present at high concentrations, in which case, the GK just forms the intermediate state again after the closed state–> therefore, it is ready to catalyse a reaction more quickly

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

A rare example of a monomeric cooperative enzyme.

How does it work?

A

-Glucokinase

Explanation:
GK has a binding cleft between its two domains.

the domains reorient dramatically when the substrates bind; the substrates are glucose and ATP;

you can describe three states of the enzyme–>
‘super-open’– when no substrate is bound
‘intermediate’– when glucose is bound
‘closed’– when both glucose and ATP are bound

In the presence of glucose the intermediate state is slowly formed;
upon binding ATP the closed state is quickly formed;

NOW–IMP!
after the reaction the enzyme would go to the ‘super-open state’ UNLESS glucose is present at high concentrations, in which case, the GK just forms the intermediate state again after the closed state–> therefore, it is ready to catalyse a reaction more quickly

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

allosteric regulators of glucokinase?

A
  • allosteric site is 20 A from the active site
  • no natural activators known; artificial activators are drugs (have been shown to increase the insulin secretion in diabetic mice)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Homotropic versus heterotropic allostery

A

Homotropic- substrate binding to active site causes a conformational change from low activity to high activity;
this gives sigmoid kinetics

Heterotropic- there’s an additional allosteric site;
presence of activator stabilises the high activity form;
presence of inhibitor stabilizes the low activity form;
at high activator concentrations the curve becomes hyperbolic (all subunits-high affinity)
at high inhibitor concentrations sigmoid curve is flatted

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

PFK structure and allostery

A

Structure:

  • PFK is a tetramer
  • each monomer has one substrate site and one allosteric site (the allosteric sites are actually positioned at subunit interphases)

Allostery

  • PFK has two substrates- F6P and ATP
  • F6P binds cooperatively
  • ATP acts as an allosteric inhibitor (stabilises T-form)
  • AMP acts as an allosteric activator (stabilizes R-form)

note: ATP therefore has binding sites at both the active site and the regulatory site

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

about glycogen phosphorylase and control of its activity

A

-dimeric enzyme
-binds substrates cooperatively
-Control is both allosteric and covalent;
Phosphorylase a (high activity) and b(low activity) both exist in T (inactive) and R(active) forms;
-hormonal control by adrenaline and insulin has effects on covalent modification status of the enzyme

Covalent modification:
-phosphorylation at Ser14 converts phosphorylase b into a;

Allosteric modification: (for both a and b)

  • ATP and G6P stabilise the T phase and inhibit enzyme activity
  • AMP stabilises the R from and increases enzyme activity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what are the most commonly prescribed flu drugs? how do they work? what makes them successful?

A

Tamiflu and Relenza;

they are inhibitors of an essential influenza enzyme, neuraminidase.

they are successful because:

  • high selectivity (don’t affect human enzymes)
  • high affinity (requiring low concentrations)
  • high bioavailability (remaining in the patient)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

About 2 glycoproteins on surface influenza virus

A
  • haemagglutinin and neuraminidase
  • to infect a cell, H binds to sialic acid on the surface of cell
  • when viral particles are released, the H again binds to the sialic acid on the surface of the cell–> N is important to cut the sialic acid and hence is essential for the release of the mature infectious particles
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What was the first attempt at inhibitors for neuraminidase? why was it unsuccessful?

A
  • transition state analogues

- poor selectivity–as, also affected human enzymes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

state the 2 modifications made to the transition state analogues (the first attempt at neuraminidase inhibitor) to result in the design of tamiflu!

A
  1. a positively charged group added to position 4, to form H-bonds with glutamate side-chains
  2. parts of the molecule that didn’t interact with the enzymes were replaced to make the molecule more lipophilic (so, cross membrane readily; improved bioavailability)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

`Tamiflu provides successful treatment against which influenza strain? which mutations have resulted in resistance among some of these viruses?

A

H1N1 strain

H274Y mutation

17
Q

Which strain is bird flu?

how is its response to tamiflu? why?

A

it has H5N1 strain
it is resistant to tamiflu; the binding pocket is much more open in the H5N1 strain as a result of which the binding of tamiflu is weak

18
Q

what was viagra initially developed for?

what is its mechanism of action?

A
  • it was initially developed as angina treatment
  • it blocks the active site of phosphodiesterase-5(PDE5)
  • PDE5 normally breaks down cGMP (a second messenger)
  • increased cGMP leads to various downstream signalling, including, relaxation of smooth muscle
19
Q

Amino acids with aliphatic and hydrophobic side chains (small to big)

A
Glycine 
alanine 
valine 
leucine, isoleucine 
...and proline
20
Q

amino acids with positively charged side chain

A

Arginine
lysine
histidine

(there are also basic)

21
Q

amino acids with negatively charged side chain

A

Aspartic acid

glutamic acid

22
Q

Amino acids with polar side chain

A

polar due to -NH2 group:

  • asparagine
  • glutamine

polar due to -OH group:

  • Serine
  • Threonine
  • Tyrosine (this is also aromatic)
23
Q

amino acids with aromatic side chains

A

phenylalanine
tryptophan
tyrosine

24
Q

amino acids with sulfur containing side chains

A

Cysteine

Methionine

25
Q

What causes scurvy?

A
  • scurvy is a Vit C deficiency which results in collagen breakdown
  • the enzyme that makes hydroxyproline from proline needs Fe(II) ions
  • Vit C maintains the Fe(II) ions in the reduced state, allowing the enzyme to work
26
Q

what is a cofactor? what is a coenzyme? state 2 types of coenzymes.

A

a cofactor provides chemical reactivity that is not found in the amino acid side chains.
cofactors involved in enzyme-catalysed reactions are called coenzymes

the 2 main classes of coenzymes are:

  1. prosthetic groups (covalently attached to protein)
  2. cosubstrates (released after reaction to be regenerated)
27
Q

give 2 common examples of prosthetic groups and their vitamin source

A
  1. FMN, FAD- from riboflavin(B2)
  2. TPP- from Thiamine (B1)
    etc
28
Q

give examples of cosubstrates and their vitamin source

A
  1. NAD+/NADP+ - Niacin (B3)
  2. CoA - Pantothenate (B5)
  3. tetrahydrofolate- Folic acid (B9)
29
Q

How many subunits in a potassium channel? how many helices form a monomer?

A

K+ channel is a tetramer

each subunit has three alpha helices

30
Q

How many subunits does Lactate dehydrogenase have? How many isoenzymes exist? how are the isoforms distributed among tissues?

A

LDH has 4 subunits

there are two genetically distinct subunits: A and B

There are 5 different isoenzymes of LDH found in tissues:

4A (heart) 
3A,B 
2A,2B (lungs) 
A, 3B (kidneys) 
4B (muscle)
31
Q

describe the structure of a zinc finger

A

-two His residues (lying 2 amino acids apart) and two Cys residues (lying 3 amino acids apart ) and separated by a length of amino acids

the structure is organised around the two His and the two Cys which bind a Zn (II) ion

32
Q

Prosthetic group of aminotransferase

A

B6 (pyridoxal phosphate)

It acts as a temporary parking spot for amine groups

33
Q

Leupeptin

A
  • inhibitor of trypsin

- competitive

34
Q

Type of residue selected by serine proteases

A

chymotrypsin– bulky hydrophobic
trypsin– positively charged
elastase–small

35
Q

HIV protease

A
  • an Asp protease
  • different from humans (as in HIV it has 2 chains that form a dimer)
  • the substrate has Phe and Pro residues on either side of the bond to be broken
36
Q

Proline racemase inhibitor

A
  • pyrolle-2-carboxylate
  • a planar intermediate mimic
  • when bound to the enzyme a flat pocket can be seen
37
Q

Saquinavir `

A
  • also a HIV protease inhibitor
  • often used with ritonavir
  • mimics the tetrahedral intermediate
38
Q

glycopeptide transpeptidase

A
  • cross links peptidoglycan during cell wall synthesis

- blocked by penicillin

39
Q

Irreversible inhibitors

A

penicillin

sarin