Transcript Enzymes

ENZYMES AND CATALYSIS
Dr. Muhammad Zeeshan Hyder
Dept of Biosciences, CIIT Islamabad
Chapter 8
BIOCHEMISTRY, by Lubert Stryer
5th Edition
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Enzymes are the catalysts of biological systems
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They also mediate the transformation of one form of
energy into another.
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The most striking characteristics of enzymes are their
catalytic power and specificity. Catalysis takes place at a
particular site on the enzyme called the active site.
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Nearly all known enzymes are proteins. However, the
discovery of catalytically active RNA molecules provides
compelling evidence that RNA was an early biocatalyst.
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By utilizing the full repertoire of intermolecular forces,
enzymes bring substrates together in an optimal
orientation, the prelude to making and breaking
chemical bonds.
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They catalyze reactions by stabilizing transition
states, the highest-energy species in reaction
pathways.
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Enzymes Are Powerful and Highly Specific Catalysts
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Enzymes accelerate reactions by factors of as much as a million or more (Table 8.1). Indeed,
most reactions in biological systems do not take place at perceptible rates in the absence of
enzymes. Even a reaction as simple as the hydration of carbon dioxide is catalyzed by an
enzyme namely, carbonic anhydrase.
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The transfer of CO2 from the tissues into the blood and then to the alveolar air would be less
complete in the absence of this enzyme. In fact, carbonic anhydrase is one of the fastest
enzymes known. Each enzyme molecule can hydrate 106 molecules of CO2 per second. This
catalyzed reaction is 107 times as fast as the uncatalyzed one.
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Enzymes are highly specific both in the reactions that
they catalyze and in their choice of reactants, which
are called substrates.
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An enzyme usually catalyzes a single chemical
reaction or a set of closely related reactions. Side
reactions leading to the wasteful formation of byproducts are rare in enzyme-catalyzed reactions, in
contrast with uncatalyzed ones.
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The specificity of an enzyme is due to the precise
interaction of the substrate with the enzyme. This
precision is a result of the intricate three-dimensional
structure of the enzyme protein.
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Many Enzymes Require Cofactors for Activity
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The catalytic activity of many enzymes depends on the presence of small molecules
termed cofactors, although the precise role varies with the cofactor and the enzyme.
Such an enzyme without its cofactor is referred to as an apoenzyme; the complete,
catalytically active enzyme is called a holoenzyme.
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Cofactors can be subdivided into two groups: metals and small organic molecules.
The enzyme carbonic anhydrase, for example, requires Zn2+ for its activity.
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Glycogen phosphorylase which mobilizes glycogen for energy, requires the small
organic molecule pyridoxal phosphate (PLP).Cofactors that are small organic
molecules are called coenzymes. Often derived from vitamins, coenzymes can be
either tightly or loosely bound to the enzyme. If tightly bound, they are called
prosthetic groups.
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Many Enzymes Require Cofactors for Activity
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Loosely associated coenzymes are more like cosubstrates because they bind to and
are released from the enzyme just as substrates and products are. The use of the
same coenzyme by a variety of enzymes and their source in vitamins sets coenzymes
apart from normal substrates, however. Enzymes that use the same coenzyme are
usually mechanistically similar.
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Enzymes May Transform Energy from One Form into
Another
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In many biochemical reactions, the energy of the reactants is converted with
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For example, in photosynthesis, light energy is converted into chemical-bond
energy through an ion gradient.
In mitochondria, the free energy contained in small molecules derived from
food is converted first into the free energy of an ion gradient and then into a
different currency, the free energy of adenosine triphosphate.
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high efficiency into a different form.
Enzymes may then use the chemical-bond energy of ATP in many ways. The
enzyme myosin converts the energy of ATP into the mechanical energy of
contracting muscles. Pumps in the membranes of cells and organelles, which
can be thought of as enzymes that move substrates rather than chemically
altering them, create chemical and electrical gradients by using the energy of
ATP to transport molecules and ions.
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Enzymes Are Classified on the Basis of the Types of
Reactions That They
Catalyze
Many enzymes have common names that provide little
information about the reactions that they catalyze.
 For example, a proteolytic enzyme secreted by the pancreas is
called trypsin. Most other enzymes are named for their
substrates and for the reactions that they catalyze, with the
suffix "ase" added. Thus, an ATPase is an enzyme that breaks
down ATP,whereas ATP synthase is an enzyme that synthesizes
ATP.
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To bring some consistency to the classification of enzymes, in 1964
the International Union of Biochemistry established an Enzyme
Commission to develop a nomenclature for enzymes. Reactions were
divided into six major groups.
These groups were subdivided and further subdivided, so that a fourdigit number preceded by the letters EC for Enzyme Commission
could precisely identify all enzymes.
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Consider as an example nucleoside monophosphate
(NMP) kinase. It catalyzes the following reaction:
NMP kinase transfers a phosphoryl group from ATP to NMP
to form a nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) and ADP.
Consequently, it is a transferase, or member of group 2.
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Many groups in addition to phosphoryl groups, such as sugars and
carbon units, can be transferred. Transferases that shift a phosphoryl
group are designated 2.7.
Various functional groups can accept the phosphoryl group. If a
phosphate is the acceptor, the transferase is designated 2.7.4.
The final number designates the acceptor more precisely. In regard
to NMP kinase, a nucleoside monophosphate is the acceptor, and the
enzyme's designation is EC 2.7.4.4.
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Enzymes Alter Only the Reaction Rate and Not
the Reaction Equilibrium
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An enzyme cannot alter the laws of thermodynamics and
consequently cannot alter the equilibrium of a chemical
reaction. This inability means that an enzyme accelerates
the forward and reverse reactions by precisely the same
factor.
 Consider the interconversion of A and B. Suppose that, in
the absence of enzyme, the forward rate constant (k F) is
10-4 s-1 and the reverse rate constant (k R) is 10-6 s-1.
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The equilibrium concentration of B is 100 times that of A, whether or
not enzyme is present. However, it might take
considerable time to approach this equilibrium without enzyme, whereas
equilibrium would be attained rapidly in the presence of a suitable
enzyme.
Enzymes accelerate the attainment of equilibria but do not shift
their positions. The equilibrium position is a function only of
the free-energy difference between reactants and products.
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Enzymes Accelerate Reactions by Facilitating the Formation of
the Transition
State
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A chemical reaction of substrate S to form product P goes through a transition state
S that has a higher free energy than does either S or P. The double dagger denotes
a thermodynamic property of the transition state.
The transition state is the most seldom occupied species along the reaction
pathway because it is the one with the highest free energy.
The difference in free energy between the transition state and the substrate is
called the Gibbs free energy of activation or simply the activation energy,
symbolized by D G
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The energy of activation, or ΔG , does not enter into the
final ΔG calculation for the reaction, because the energy
input required to reach the transition state is returned
when the transition state forms the product.
 The activation energy barrier immediately suggests how
enzymes enhance reaction rate without altering ΔG of the
reaction: enzymes function to lower the activation energy,
or, in other words, enzymes facilitate the formation of the
transition state.
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The Formation of an Enzyme-Substrate Complex Is
the First Step in Enzymatic
Catalysis
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The substrates are bound to a specific region of the
enzyme called the active site. Most enzymes are
highly selective in the substrates that they bind.
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Indeed, thecatalytic specificity of enzymes depends
in part on the specificity of binding.
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The Active Sites of Enzymes Have Some Common
Features
The active site of an enzyme is the region that binds the
substrates (and the cofactor, if any). It also contains the
residues that directly participate in the making and
breaking of bonds. These residues are called the catalytic
groups.
 In essence, the interaction of the enzyme and substrate at
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the active site promotes the formation of the transition
state. The active site is the region of the enzyme that most
directly lowers the D G of the reaction, which results in the
rate enhancement characteristic of enzyme action.
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1. The active site is a three-dimensional cleft formed by
groups that come from different parts of the amino acid
sequence
2. The active site takes up a relatively small part of the
total volume of an enzyme.
3. Active sites are clefts or crevices.
4. Substrates are bound to enzymes by multiple weak
attractions.
5. The specificity of binding depends on the precisely
defined arrangement of atoms in an active site.
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Binding of enzyme with its substrate
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The binding of enzyme with its substrate was proposed initially as
“lock and key”
Now we know that enzymes are flexible and their shape is markedly
changed when the bind to their substrate.
This mode of binding is called as “induced fit”
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Most Biochemical Reactions Include Multiple
Substrates
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Sequential Displacement.
In the sequential mechanism, all substrates must bind to the enzyme before any
product is released. Consequently, in a bisubstrate reaction, a ternary complex of
the enzyme and both substrates forms.
Sequential mechanisms are of two types: ordered, in which the substrates bind the
enzyme in a defined sequence, and random.
Many enzymes that have NAD+ or NADH as a substrate exhibit the sequential
ordered mechanism.
Consider lactate dehydrogenase, an important enzyme in glucose metabolism. This
enzyme reduces pyruvate to lactate
while oxidizing NADH to NAD+.
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In the ordered sequential mechanism, the coenzyme always
binds first and the lactate is always released first. This sequence can
be represented as follows in a notation developed by W. Wallace
Cleland:
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The enzyme exists as a ternary complex: first, consisting of the
enzyme and substrates and, after catalysis, the enzyme and products.
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In the random sequential mechanism, the order of addition of
substrates and release of products is random.
 Sequential random reactions are illustrated by the formation of
phosphocreatine and ADP from ATP and creatine, a reaction
catalyzed by creatine kinase
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Although the order of certain events is random, the reaction still passes through the ternary
complexes including, first, substrates and, then, products.
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Double-Displacement (Ping-Pong) Reactions.
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In double-displacement, or Ping-Pong, reactions, one or more
products are released before all substrates bind the enzyme. The
defining feature of double-displacement reactions is the existence of
a substituted enzyme intermediate, in which the enzyme is
temporarily modified. Reactions that shuttle amino groups between
amino acids and a-keto acids are classic examples of doubledisplacement mechanisms.
The enzyme aspartate aminotransferase catalyzes the transfer of an
amino group from aspartate to a-ketoglutarate.
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After aspartate binds to the enzyme, the enzyme removes
aspartate's amino group to form the substituted enzyme
 intermediate. The first product, oxaloacetate, subsequently
departs. The second substrate, a-ketoglutarate, binds to
the
 enzyme, accepts the amino group from the modified
enzyme, and is then released as the final product,
glutamate.
 In the Cleland notation, the substrates appear to bounce on
and off the enzyme analogously to a Ping-Pong ball
bouncing on a table.
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Enzymes Can Be Inhibited by Specific
Molecules
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The activity of many enzymes can be inhibited by the
binding of specific small molecules and ions.
This means of inhibiting enzyme activity serves as a major
control mechanism in biological systems.
The regulation of allosteric enzymes typifies this type of
control.
In addition, many drugs and toxic agents act by inhibiting
enzymes.
Inhibition by particular chemicals can be a source of insight
into the mechanism of enzyme action: specific inhibitors
can often be used to identify residues critical for catalysis.
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Enzyme inhibition can be either reversible or irreversible.
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An irreversible inhibitor dissociates very slowly from its target
enzyme because it has become tightly bound to the enzyme, either
covalently or noncovalently.
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Some irreversible inhibitors are important drugs.
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Penicillin acts by covalently modifying the enzyme transpeptidase,
thereby preventing the synthesis of bacterial cell walls and thus killing
the bacteria.
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Aspirin acts by covalently modifying the enzyme cyclooxygenase,
reducing the synthesis of inflammatory signals.
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Reversible inhibition, in contrast with irreversible inhibition, is
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In competitive inhibition, an enzyme can bind substrate (forming an
ES complex) or inhibitor (EI) but not both (ESI).
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The competitive inhibitor resembles the substrate and binds to the
active site of the enzyme.
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The substrate is thereby prevented from binding to the same active
site.
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A competitive inhibitor diminishes the rate of catalysis by reducing
the proportion of enzyme molecules bound to a substrate.
characterized by a rapid dissociation of the enzyme-inhibitor complex.
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In noncompetitive inhibition, which also is reversible, the
inhibitor and substrate can bind simultaneously to an enzyme
molecule at different binding sites.
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A noncompetitive inhibitor acts by decreasing the turnover number
rather than by diminishing the proportion of enzyme molecules that
are bound to substrate.
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Noncompetitive inhibition, in contrast with competitive inhibition,
cannot be overcome by increasing the substrate concentration.
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A more complex pattern, called mixed inhibition, is produced when
a single inhibitor both hinders the binding of substrate and decreases
the turnover number of the enzyme.
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Vitamins Are Often Precursors to Coenzymes
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Vitamins are small biomolecules that are needed in small amounts in
the diets of higher animals.
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The water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C (ascorbate, an antioxidant)
and the vitamin B complex (components of coenzymes).
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Ascorbate is required for the hydroxylation of proline residues in
collagen, a key protein of connective tissue.
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The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamin A (a precursor of retinal), D (a
regulator of calcium and phosphorus metabolism), E (an antioxidant
in membranes), and K (a participant in the carboxylation of
glutamate).
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A Few Basic Catalytic Principles Are Used by Many
Enzymes
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Enzymes commonly employ one or more of the following strategies to
catalyze specific reactions:
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1. Covalent catalysis. In covalent catalysis, the active site contains a
reactive group, usually a powerful nucleophile that becomes
temporarily covalently modified in the course of catalysis.
The proteolytic enzyme chymotrypsin provides an excellent example
of this mechanism.
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2. General acid-base catalysis. In general acid-base catalysis, a
molecule other than water plays the role of a proton donor or
acceptor.
Chymotrypsin uses a histidine residue as a base catalyst to enhance
the nucleophilic power of serine
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3. Metal ion catalysis. Metal ions can function catalytically in several ways.
For instance, a metal ion may serve as an electrophilic catalyst, stabilizing a
negative charge on a reaction intermediate.
Alternatively, the metal ion may generate a nucleophile by increasing the acidity of
a nearby molecule, such as water in the hydration of CO2 by carbonic anhydrase.
Finally, the metal ion may bind to substrate, increasing the number of interactions
with the enzyme and thus the binding energy.
This strategy is used by NMP kinases.
4. Catalysis by approximation. Many reactions include two distinct substrates.
In such cases, the reaction rate may be considerably enhanced by bringing the two
substrates together along a single binding surface on an enzyme.
NMP kinases bring two nucleotides together to facilitate the transfer of a
phosphoryl group from one nucleotide to the other.
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Thank you
protease
DNA
Two views of the
adenovirus protease, an
enzyme required for
viral replication.
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