Enzyme inhibitors are molecules that bind to enzymes and decrease their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. Inhibitor binding is either reversible or irreversible. Irreversible inhibitors usually react with the enzyme and change it chemically. These inhibitors modify key amino acid residues needed for enzymatic activity. In contrast, reversible inhibitors bind non-covalently and different types of inhibition are produced depending on whether these inhibitors bind the enzyme, the enzyme-substrate complex, or both. Their discovery and improvement is an active area of research in biochemistry and pharmacology. A medicinal enzyme inhibitor is often judged by its specificity (its lack of binding to other proteins) and its potency (its dissociation constant, which indicates the concentration needed to inhibit the enzyme). A high specificity and potency ensure that a drug will have few side effects and thus low toxicity. Enzyme inhibitors also occur naturally and are involved in the regulation of metabolism. (more...)
...that Zimbabwe is the only cricket team to not lose its first Test match since Australia won the very first Test in 1877?
...that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 is a law passed by the United States Congress in December 2006 for the purpose of protecting the reputation and honor of US military heroism medals due to the larger number of fake military heroes in the USA?
...that, in addition to the seven-day week, the Javanese calendar incorporates a five-day week, which runs concurrently to produce a repeating cycle of 35 days?
A research expedition concludes that the Chinese River Dolphin(illustration pictured) is now likely extinct, marking the first extinction of a large mammal in recent decades.
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