Mechanism
Phosphopentose utilizes an acid/base type of catalytic mechanism. The reaction proceeds in such a way that trans-2,3-enediol phosphate is the intermediate. The two aspartic acids mentioned above act as proton donors and acceptors. Asp37 and Asp175 are both hydrogen bonded to the iron cation in the active site. When Asp37 is deprotonated, it attacks a proton on the third carbon of D-ribulose 5-phosphate, which forms the intermediate. In a concerted step, as Asp37 grabs a proton, the carbonyl bond on the substrate grabs a second proton from Asp175 to form a hydroxyl group. The iron complex helps stabilize any additional charges. It is C3 of D-ribulose 5-phosphate which undergoes this epimerization, forming D-xylulose 5-phosphate. The mechanism is clearly demonstrated in the figure.
Read more about this topic: Phosphopentose Epimerase
Famous quotes containing the word mechanism:
“The law isn’t justice. It’s a very imperfect mechanism. If you press exactly the right buttons and are also lucky, justice may show up in the answer. A mechanism is all the law was ever intended to be.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“The two elements the traveler first captures in the big city are extrahuman architecture and furious rhythm. Geometry and anguish. At first glance, the rhythm may be confused with gaiety, but when you look more closely at the mechanism of social life and the painful slavery of both men and machines, you see that it is nothing but a kind of typical, empty anguish that makes even crime and gangs forgivable means of escape.”
—Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)
“Life is an offensive, directed against the repetitious mechanism of the Universe.”
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)