Inhibitors, steady-state kinetics affected

An inhibitor that binds exclusively to the free enzyme (i.e., for which a = °°) is said to be competitive because the binding of the inhibitor and the substrate to the enzyme are mutually exclusive hence these inhibitors compete with the substrate for the pool of free enzyme molecules. Referring back to the relationships between the steady state kinetic constants and the steps in catalysis (Figure 2.8), one would expect inhibitors that conform to this mechanism to affect the apparent value of KM (which relates to formation of the enzyme-substrate complex) and VmJKM, but not the value of Vmax (which relates to the chemical steps subsequent to ES complex formation). The presence of a competitive inhibitor thus influences the steady state velocity equation as described by Equation (3.1) ... 

Reverse transcriptase (RT) plays a critical role in the early steps of the life of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (304), and for over a decade has been one of the major targets of AIDS therapy. Polycitone A (280) was found to be a potent general inhibitor of retroviral reverse transcriptases and cellular DNA polymerases (305). Polycitone A exhibited potent inhibitory capacity of both RNA- and DNA-directed DNA polymerases. It inhibits retroviral reverse transcriptases (RTs) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV), murine leukemia virus (MLV) and mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)] as efficiently as cellular DNA polymerases of both DNA polymerases a and p and the prokaryotic Klenow fragment of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. The mode and mechanism of inhibition of the DNA-polymerase activity associated with HIV-1 RT by polycitone A (280) have been studied. The results suggest that the inhibitory capacity of the DNA polymerase activity is independent of the template-primer used. The RNase H function is hardly affected by this inhibitor. Polycitone A has been shown to interfere with DNA primer extension, as well as with the formation of the RT-DNA complex. Steady-state kinetic studies demonstrate that this inhibitor can be considered as an allosteric inhibitor of HIV-1 RT. The target site on the enzyme may be also spatially related to the... 

An understanding of metabolism and kinetics is pertinent to the overall goal of this Symposium, inasmuch as the rate and pathway of the biotransformations in a given species are important determinants of the dose-response relationship of the therapeutic agent and its elimination kinetics and terminal residues. Clearly, the current literature reveals that biotransformation reactions play a role in the overall behavior of chemicals and drugs in aquatic species and that the manipulation of the rates of these reactions by inducers or inhibitors of biotransformation can significantly affect important kinetic and therapeutic parameters, such as steady-state tissue levels, persistence, and metabolite profiles. 

The response of an enzyme sensor in the steady state depends largely on the ratio of the substrate concentration [5] to the enzyme Michaelis constant K. When [S K is large, the reaction rate reaches a maximal value V,, which is proportional to the number of active sites of the immobilized enzyme. The reaction rate is independent of the substrate concentration, and the product concentration at the contact with the electrode is the same for all high substrate concentration. The quantify of enzyme in the layer determines the linear zone in the response to the substrate concentration. This zone corresponds to first-order kinetics with respect to substrate concentration, whereas the region with a plateau has zeroth-order kinetic. When the substrate concentration is very high([5] K ), the biosensor is no longer capable of determining the substrate but may determine inhibitors which affect the minimal rate of the enzymatic reaction... 

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