Enzyme Kinetics as an Approach to Understanding Mechanism:- Many Enzymes Catalyze Reactions with Two or More Substrates
We have seen how [S] affects the rate of a simple enzymatic reaction (S → P) with only one substrate molecule. In most enzymatic reactions, however, two (and sometimes more) different substrate molecules bind to the enzyme and participate in the reaction. For example, in the reaction catalyzed by hexokinase, ATP and glucose are the substrate molecules, and ADP and glucose 6-phosphate are the products:
ATP+ glucose → ADP + glucose 6-phosphate
The rates of such bisubstrate reactions can also be analyzed by the Michaelis-Menten approach. Hexokinase has a characteristic Km for each of its substrates (Table 6–6). Enzymatic reactions with two substrates usually in volve transfer of an atom or a functional group from one substrate to the other. These reactions proceed by one of several different pathways. In some cases, both substrates are bound to the enzyme concurrently at some point in the course of the reaction, forming a noncovalent ternary complex (Fig. 6–13a); the substrates bind in a random sequence or in a specific order. In other cases, the first substrate is converted to product and dissociates before the second substrate binds, so no ternary complex is formed. An example of this is the Ping-Pong, or double-displacement, mechanism (Fig. 6–13b). Steady-state kinetics can often help distinguish among these possibilities (Fig. 6–14).
FIGURE 6–13 Common mechanisms for enzyme-catalyzed bisubstrate reactions. (a) The enzyme and both substrates come together to form a ternary complex. In ordered binding, substrate 1 must bind before substrate 2 can bind productively. In random binding, the substrates can bind in either order. (b) An enzyme-substrate complex forms, a product leaves the complex, the altered enzyme forms a second complex with another substrate molecule, and the second product leaves, regenerating the enzyme. Substrate 1 may transfer a functional group to the enzyme (to form the covalently modified E), which is subsequently transferred to substrate 2. This is called a Ping-Pong or double-displacement mechanism.
