The dependence of flux, sensitivity and response of the flux on the concentrations of substrate and modifiers for cooperative enzymes.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A N Lane.
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The alpha and beta 2 subunits of tryptophan synthase were investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering. The molecular parameters are: radius of gyration, alpha: 1.95 nm, beta 2: 3.01 nm; maximum particle diameter, alpha: 5.8 nm, beta 2: 10.5 nm; and hydrated volume, alpha: 60 nm3, beta 2 160 nm3. The shape of the alpha subunit can best be described by a circular cylinder, slightly tapered at one end. An elongated elliptical cylinder with its cross section larger in the middle than at the ends was found to be a model equivalent in scattering to the beta 2 subunits. The alpha 2 beta 2 enzyme complex was found to have a radius of gyration of 4.01 nm, a maximum length of 13.5 nm, and a hydrated volume of 270 nm3. No satisfactory fit of the scattering data was obtainable by mere apposition of the models of the alpha and beta 2 subunits. Two cylinders overlapping laterally fit the experimental data considerably better, suggesting changes in the conformation of the subunits on forming the alpha 2 beta 2 complex.
The kinetics of the binding of L-tryptophan to the alpha 2 holo beta 2 complex of tryptophan synthase from Escherichia coli have been measured by rapid-mixing techniques under conditions where tryptophan release is mainly rate-determining in tryptophan synthesis. The dependence of the three observable rate processes on the concentration of L-tryptophan suggests a mechanism in which a rapid binding step is followed by two isomerizations. The effect of the substrate analogue indolepropanol phosphate on the kinetics of binding and synthesis from L-serine and indole supports a branched mechanism with an unproductive enzyme-ligand complex being the major species. The productive enzyme-ligand complex absorbs light at 473 nm but not at 500 nm. These observations, and binding studies with D-tryptophan, suggest that at least two alterative modes of binding of L-tryptophan exist on the enzyme. The effects of protons, indole and indolepropanol phosphate on the three rate processes explain the dependence of kcat on the three non-competitive ligands.