Phosphate and Vanadate in Biological Systems: Chemical Relatives or More?

Structural and functional analogies between acid phosphatases and vanadium haloperoxidases are reflected in the conservation of the amino acid residues contributing to the active sites of these enzymes. This has interesting consequences for the research on both enzyme systems. A first example is the newly proposed structure for the active site of human glucose-6-phosphatase: The picture shows parts of six of the nine transmembrane helices as well as the amino acids (black ovals) that presumably participate in the formation of the active site.