Review abstract
Nature Chemical Biology 4, 474 - 482 (2008)
Published online: 18 July 2008 | doi:10.1038/nchembio.98
Allosteric regulation and catalysis emerge via a common route
Nina M Goodey1 & Stephen J Benkovic2
Abstract
Allosteric regulation of protein function is a mechanism by which an event in one place of a protein structure causes an effect at another site, much like the behavior of a telecommunications network in which a collection of transmitters, receivers and transceivers communicate with each other across long distances. For example, ligand binding or an amino acid mutation at an allosteric site can alter enzymatic activity or binding affinity in a distal region such as the active site or a second binding site. The mechanism of this site-to-site communication is of great interest, especially since allosteric effects must be considered in drug design and protein engineering. In this review, conformational mobility as the common route between allosteric regulation and catalysis is discussed. We summarize recent experimental data and the resulting insights into allostery within proteins, and we discuss the nature of future studies and the new applications that may result from increased understanding of this regulatory mechanism.
- Montclair State University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey 07043, USA.
- The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Chemistry, 414 Wartik Laboratory, College Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Correspondence to: Stephen J Benkovic2 e-mail: sjb1@psu.edu
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Protein dynamic studies move to a new time slotNature Structural Biology News and Views (01 Nov 2001)
Protein dynamics under light controlNature Chemical Biology News and Views (01 Aug 2008)
See all 9 matches for News And ViewsRESEARCH
A test of the role of the proximal histidines in the Perutz model for cooperativity in haemoglobinNature Structural Biology Article (01 Jan 1997)
See all 22 matches for Research
