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Enzymology

Not just an active site

Nature volume 404, pages 449–450 (2000)Cite this article

Enzymes are biological catalysts. At their simplest, they are proteins that bind a substrate molecule in a special pocket, known as the active site, on their surface. They then convert the substrate into product by enabling a chemical reaction to take place more rapidly than it would in free solution. Enzymes are often involved in the control of complex processes in living organisms, so their functions must be carefully regulated. This frequently occurs by the use of so-called ‘exosites’ on the enzyme surface that are distant from the active site. On pages 518 and 465 of this issue, Fuentes-Prior and colleagues1 and Dennis and co-workers2 offer fascinating new insights into the structure, function and medical importance of exosites in two enzymes involved in the blood-clotting process.

Blood is a marvellous fluid that not only transports food and oxygen to tissues and removes waste products, amongst many other functions, but also has the ability to repair damage to blood-vessel walls by blocking the holes with blood clots — a process known as haemostasis. Clots that grow too large or break away from their site of origin cause the blockage of blood vessels, or thrombosis. The balance between haemostasis and thrombosis is maintained by controlling the level of an enzyme known as thrombin3.

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Figure 1: Some of the molecules involved in blood coagulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Technologies, Pharmaceutical Research Division, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basle, CH 4070, Switzerland

    David W. Banner

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  1. David W. Banner
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Correspondence to David W. Banner.

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Banner, D. Not just an active site. Nature 404, 449–450 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35006540

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