39 Enzymes
A substance that helps a chemical reaction to occur is called a catalyst, and the molecules that catalyze biochemical reactions are called enzymes. Most enzymes are proteins and perform the critical task of speeding up chemical reactions inside the cell. Most of the reactions critical to a living cell happen too slowly at normal temperatures to be of any use to the cell. Without enzymes to speed up these reactions, life could not persist. Enzymes speed up these reactions by binding to the reactant molecules and holding them in such a way as to make the chemical bond-breaking and -forming processes take place more easily.
It is important to remember that enzymes do not change whether a reaction is exergonic (spontaneous) or endergonic. This is because they do not change the amount of energy present in the reactants or products. They only reduce the activation energy required for the reaction to go forward (Figure 1). Activation energy is the amount of energy required for a reaction to proceed. Heating a chemical reaction adds energy, which can provide the needed activation energy. However, heating chemical reactions to the temperature at which they will proceed is not an option for cells. Instead, cells use enzymes that work by lowering the energy required to make the reaction happen.
An enzyme is unchanged by the reaction it catalyzes. Once one reaction has been catalyzed, the enzyme is able to participate in other reactions. Cells do not have to make a new enzyme every time they want to perform a specific chemical reaction.
The chemical reactants to which an enzyme binds are called the enzyme’s substrates. There may be one or more substrates, depending on the particular chemical reaction. In some reactions, a single reactant substrate is broken down into multiple products. In others, two substrates may come together to create one larger molecule. Two reactants might also enter a reaction and both become modified, but they leave the reaction as two products. The location within the enzyme where the substrate binds is called the enzyme’s active site. The active site is where the “action” happens. Since enzymes are proteins, there is a unique combination of amino acid side chains within the active site. Each side chain is characterized by different properties. They can be large or small, weakly acidic or basic, hydrophilic or hydrophobic, positively or negatively charged, or neutral. The unique combination of side chains creates a very specific chemical environment within the active site. This specific environment is suited to bind to one specific chemical substrate (or substrates).
For many years, scientists thought that enzyme-substrate binding took place in a simple “lock and key” fashion. This model asserted that the enzyme and substrate fit together perfectly in one instantaneous step. However, current research supports a model called induced fit (Figure 4). The induced-fit model expands on the lock-and-key model by describing a mor