Dynamic model for enzyme action

Protein thermodynamic structure theory is an integrated approach to the study of protein dynamics and the mechanisms of enzyme catalysis. in this paper,a hypothesis arising from this theory is examined. the timescale of an enzymatic reaction (ter) gives a key to characterizing enzyme conformational changes. the aspects of timescale important in our approach are: (i) it is logically related to internal motions of the main chain of a protein; (ii) it sets the upper limit on the size or scope of protein conformational changes. feature (i) is linked to the dynamic properties of enzyme-reactant complexes. feature (ii) is linked to the dynamic sites of the main chain (promoting motion) involved in enzyme activity. our analysis shows that a comprehensive understanding of enzymology can be established on the basis of protein thermodynamic structure theory. © 2011 bentham science publishers ltd.