Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026

08:57
Simultaneous Measurement of Superoxide/Hydrogen Peroxide and NADH Production by Flavin-containing Mitochondrial Dehydrogenases
Published on: February 24, 2018
IMP dehydrogenase: structural schizophrenia and an unusual base
1Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, USA. hedstrom@brandeis.edu
Current Opinion in Chemical Biology
|August 22, 2006
Summary
Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) challenges the rigid enzyme model with its dynamic conformational changes during catalysis. Understanding IMPDH
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Enzymology
- Structural Biology
Background:
- Traditional enzyme models depict rigid structures facilitating reactions.
- Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) presents a contrasting view with significant conformational flexibility.
- IMPDH catalyzes a complex reaction cycle, unlike simpler enzymes like chymotrypsin.
Purpose of the Study:
- To challenge the rigid enzyme template model using IMPDH as a counterexample.
- To explore the unusual mechanistic features of IMPDH.
- To investigate the conformational dynamics and potential moonlighting functions of IMPDH.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of enzyme models.
- Characterization of IMPDH's catalytic cycle.
- Investigation of IMPDH's structural dynamics and functional versatility.
Main Results:
- IMPDH exhibits extensive conformational transitions, contradicting the rigid enzyme model.
- Unusual catalytic features include a potential general base catalyst (Arg residue) and a dynamic cation site.
- Evidence suggests IMPDH possesses moonlighting functions, implying additional conformational states.
Conclusions:
- IMPDH's dynamic nature provides a counterexample to the static enzyme template theory.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms governing IMPDH's conformational state interconversions.
- Understanding IMPDH's conformational dynamics is crucial for comprehending its complex catalytic and potential multiple roles.
Related Concept Videos
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
Intrinsically disordered proteins are a group of proteins that do not fold into specific three-dimensional structures. Their structural flexibility allows them to complement ordered proteins to perform functions that are inaccessible to rigid structures. They are more common in eukaryotes than prokaryotes and may either be exclusively intrinsically disordered or hybrid proteins, consisting of a mix of ordered and disordered regions. The absence of a rigid structure in these proteins can be...
¹³C NMR: Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer (DEPT)
When proton-coupled carbon-13 spectra are simplified by a broadband proton decoupling technique, structural information about the coupled protons is lost. Distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT) is a technique that provides information on the number of hydrogens attached to each carbon in a molecule. While the DEPT experiment utilizes complex pulse sequences, the pulse delay and flip angle are specifically manipulated. The resulting signals have different phases depending on...
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid fibrils are aggregates of misfolded proteins. Under most circumstances, misfolded proteins are either refolded by chaperone proteins or degraded by the proteasome. However, in the case of a mutation or a disease, these proteins can accumulate to form large clusters and often further assemble to form elongated fibers, called fibrils.
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Gene Families
Gene families consist of groups of genes proposed to have originated from a common ancestor. Typically these arise through events in which a gene or genes are mistakenly duplicated during cell division. Unlike their parent genes (which are subject to selection pressure to maintain function), these gene copies do not need to preserve their sequences and may evolve at a relatively faster rate.
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
DNA Base Pairing
Erwin Chargaff’s rules on DNA equivalence paved the way for the discovery of base pairing in DNA. Chargaff’s rules state that in a double-stranded DNA molecule,
