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The Role of Equilibria in the Regulation of Metabolism

Current Topics in Cellular Regulation, ISSN: 0070-2137, Vol: 1, Issue: C, Page: 45-55
1969
  • 55
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 3
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    55
    • Citation Indexes
      55
  • Captures
    3

Book Chapter Description

This chapter discusses the role of equilibria in the regulation of metabolism. For the analysis of the factors that determine the overall rates of metabolic pathways, it has been useful to classify the individual steps into two categories: (1) steps that, on account of the high activity of the enzyme concerned, are so rapid that they establish near-equilibrium between starting materials and end products of the step; and (2) steps that, for one reason or another, do not establish equilibrium. It is generally held that the enzymes of nonequilibrium steps play the predominant role in the control of the overall rate of pathways because the very high potential activity of the equilibrium enzymes is far in excess of the normal flux rate. The study of enzymatic control mechanisms has concentrated on nonequilibrium enzymes, the activity of which is relatively low and therefore potentially rate limiting. When an enzyme normally functions near its maximum capacity, any variations in this capacity are liable to be transmitted to the whole pathway. It is customary to single out enzymes taking part in metabolic sequences as regulatory enzymes because they are endowed with allosteric control properties. The effectiveness of such regulatory enzymes depends not only on their potential catalytic activity but also on the concentration of their substrates, which is regulated by the equilibrium state of other enzyme systems.

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