A regulatory site (also known as an "allosteric site") is a site on an allosteric protein to which a modulator molecule (or allosteric regulator) binds. This ligand-binding site on a receptor or enzyme is distinct from the active site. Allosteric modulators alter enzyme activity by binding to the regulatory site. Some allosteric regulators activate enzymes, while others inhibit them. The working hypothesis is that when allosteric regulators bind to the regulatory site, the protein undergoes conformational changes which changes the enzyme's activity.
Famous quotes containing the word site:
“I am not aware that any man has ever built on the spot which I occupy. Deliver me from a city built on the site of a more ancient city, whose materials are ruins, whose gardens cemeteries. The soil is blanched and accursed there, and before that becomes necessary the earth itself will be destroyed.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)