Question

An enzyme X can bind oxygen. In an experiment to study the effect of allosteric inhibition, a researcher used an allosteric inhibitor of the enzyme X. He observed that allosteric inhibition reduced the oxygen-binding affinity of the enzyme X. Which of these is the MOST LIKELY explanation for this observation?

Answer 1

The allosteric inhibitor changed the conformation of the enzyme to a state where it could not bind more oxygen in its active site. An allosteric inhibitor does not bind the active site but binds another site on the enzyme called an allosteric site. These allosteric regulation are significant in feedback and feedforward regulation of enzyme activity.