Enzyme activity conformation changes

Allosteric enzymes Allosteric activators or inhibitors are compounds that bind at sites other than the active catalytic site and regulate the enzyme through conformational changes affecting the catalytic site. 

In free CDK2 the active site cleft is blocked by the T-loop and Thr 160 is buried (Figure 6.20a). Substrates cannot bind and Thr 160 cannot be phosphorylated consequently free CDK2 is inactive. The conformational changes induced by cyclin A binding not only expose the active site cleft so that ATP and protein substrates can bind but also rearrange essential active site residues to make the enzyme catalytically competent (Figure 6.20b). In addition Thr... 

Allosteric site Site on the enzyme other than the active site to which a nonsubstate compound binds. This may result in a conformational change at the active site so that the normal substrate cannot bind to it. 

The working hypothesis is that, by some means, interaction of an allosteric enzyme with effectors alters the distribution of conformational possibilities or subunit interactions available to the enzyme. That is, the regulatory effects exerted on the enzyme s activity are achieved by conformational changes occurring in the protein when effector metabolites bind. 

NO-sensitive GC represents the most important effector enzyme for the signalling molecule NO, which is synthesised by NO synthases in a Ca2+-dependent manner. NO-sensitive GC contains a prosthetic heme group, acting as the acceptor site for NO. Formation of the NO-heme complex leads to a conformational change, resulting in an increase of up to 200-fold in catalytic activity of the enzyme [1]. The organic nitrates (see below) commonly used in the therapy of coronary heart disease exert their effects via the stimulation of this enzyme. 

In the case of liganded NRs, ligand binding is the first and ciucial molecular event that switches the function of these transcription factors from inactive to active state by inducing a conformational change in the LBD of the receptor (Fig. 1). This specific conformation allows the second step of NR activation that corresponds to the recruitment of coregulatoiy complexes, which contain chromatin-modifying enzymes required for transcription. The transcriptional coactivators are very diverse and have expanded to more than hundred in number. These include the pi 60 family of proteins,... 

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