Chemical surroundings, not size alone, help glucose-processing enzyme stay active as temperatures rise
Cells must produce energy despite changing conditions. But what keeps metabolic enzymes functional during temperature fluctuations? A team led by professor Simon Ebbinghaus and Dr. Harshita Rastogi at Ruhr University Bochum and the Research Center for Chemical Sciences and Sustainability investigated this question using the platelet isoform of phosphofructokinase-1 (PFKP), a central enzyme in…
Cells need to generate energy even when conditions change. The question is: what helps metabolic enzymes keep working during temperature changes? Scientists from Ruhr University Bochum and the Research Center for Chemical Sciences and Sustainability studied the platelet form of phosphofructokinase-1 (PFKP), a crucial enzyme in glucose metabolism.
They discovered thermal protection depends less on the size of surrounding molecules and more on their chemical interactions. These interactions can affect enzyme flexibility and substrate positioning, making PFKP more stable at higher temperatures. The study, published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, shows that chemical composition of the surrounding environment may play a more significant role in protecting enzymes from temperature-induced damage than merely the physical space around them.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
