Biochemistry : Enzyme Kinetics and Models

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Biochemistry

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Example Questions

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Example Question #2 : Other Kinetics Principles

You make a Hill plot reflecting the binding kinetics of a receptor and see that the slope (the Hill coefficient) is 1. What does this indicate about your receptor?

Possible Answers:

Binding is positively cooperative

The reaction is proceeding at a rate of 

Binding is non-cooperative

Binding is negatively cooperative 

The reaction is proceeding at a rate of 

Correct answer:

Binding is non-cooperative

Explanation:

If the Hill coefficient of the Hill plot is equal to 1, then binding is non-cooperative. If the Hill coefficient is greater than 1, binding is positively cooperative; if less than 1, binding is negatively cooperative. The Hill plot does not make any conclusions about the rate of a reaction, which involves Michaelis-Menten kinetics. 

Example Question #1 : Other Kinetics Principles

Given the following kinetic parameters, which of the following enzymes would show the most efficiency?

Possible Answers:

An enzyme with a  value of  and a  value of 

An enzyme with a  value of  and a  value of 

An enzyme with a  value of  and a  value of 

An enzyme with a  value of  and a  value of 

An enzyme with a  value of  and a  value of 

Correct answer:

An enzyme with a  value of  and a  value of 

Explanation:

To answer this question, we need to understand what enzyme efficiency is and how it's calculated.

Enzyme efficiency refers to how much substrate a given enzyme can convert into product for a given amount of substrate. In other words, an enzyme that is very efficient can convert substrate into product very quickly, even when there is not very much of that substrate around.

To calculate an enzyme's efficiency, we need to take into account these two factors by considering the variables they are associated with.

The  for a given enzyme represents the "turnover number." This value is a rate constant that is unique to a particular enzyme at a certain temperature (generally under physiological conditions). This rate constant refers to the maximum amount of substrate that an enzyme can convert into product in a given amount of time. Or, put another way, the rate constant gives the maximum reaction rate for a particular enzyme when that enzyme is completely saturated with substrate.

On the other hand, the  of an enzyme tells us the amount of substrate that needs to be present in order for the reaction rate to be at exactly half of its maximal value. This is almost the same as saying how much attraction a given enzyme has for its substrate. In fact, under certain conditions, we can use the  of an enzyme as an accurate measure of the affinity that the enzyme has for its substrate.

Relating these two values back to enzyme efficiency, we can calculate its value by taking the ratio of the two. In other words,

So, the greater the  and the lower the , the greater the enzyme's efficiency will be.

From the answer choices shown, we can see that the ratio is greatest for the enzyme that has a  of  and a  of , which gives an efficiency value of .

Example Question #7 : Other Kinetics Principles

If the chloride concentration is  in the cell and  in the blood, what is the electrochemical potential of chloride ions across the plasma membrane at  when the electrical potential across the membrane is  and the inside is negative?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Where  is Faraday's constant ,  is the charge of a chloride ion, which is , and  is  or . Be sure to keep units consistent.

 

Example Question #8 : Other Kinetics Principles

Which of the following coenzymes functions primarily by transferring one-carbon groups?

Possible Answers:

Pyridoxal phosphate

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

Flavin adenine dinucleotide

Thiamine pyrophosphate

S-adenosyl methionine

Correct answer:

S-adenosyl methionine

Explanation:

This question is asking us to identify a coenzyme that functions by transferring one-carbon groups. So let's take a look at each answer choice to determine what it does.

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide () and Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide () both function as carriers of high-energy electrons. Both of these coenzymes are heavily involved in taking high-energy electrons from various compounds as they are broken down during catabolic reactions. Once collected, these coenzymes deposit their high-energy electrons into the electron transport chain, allowing for a great deal of ATP to be generated for energy.

Pyridoxal Phosphate () is a coenzyme that is primarily involved in transamination reactions. These are reactions that take an amino group from amino acids, and transfer that amino group to an alpha-keto acid, converting it into an amino acid in the process. Thus, this coenzyme transfers amino groups.

Thiamine Pyrophosphate () is a coenzyme responsible for transferring two-carbon groups. For instance,  serves as a coenzyme for the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, which is responsible for converting pyruvate into acetyl-CoA.

Finally, S-Adenosyl Methionine () is a coenzyme mainly responsible for transferring one-carbon groups in their most reduced form, as methyl groups. As the most potent methyl group donor in biological systems,  functions as a coenzyme for many methyltransferase enzymes.

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