Practise enzyme specificity and catalysis, reaction-rate investigations, temperature, pH, concentrations, inhibitors, colorimetry and kinetic evidence including Vmax and Km.
Prostaglandins are small lipids produced in many tissues of the body. One role of prostaglandins is to cause inflammation at the site of an injury or infection. Inflammation is the normal first response of the immune system to injury or infection.
Cyclooxygenase (COX) is an enzyme that catalyses one of the steps in the reaction pathway for the formation of prostaglandins from phospholipids. The reaction pathway occurs in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) of cells. Part of the reaction pathway is shown in Fig. 1.3.
Fig. 1.3
Sometimes inflammation can have side-effects, such as pain. Aspirin is a drug that can be used to reduce these side-effects.
Aspirin reduces the catalytic activity of the COX enzyme by modifying the R-group of one of the amino acids.
Suggest how modifying the R-group of an amino acid in the COX enzyme can reduce the catalytic activity of the enzyme.