Allosteric repression: An Analysis

Abstract

A kinetic analysis of repression is presented based on the accepted sequence of molecular events and the assumption that the co-repressor-repressor interaction involves an allosteric transition. This leads to an expression which relates the two experimentally accessible variables—enzyme and signal—when the system is operating in vivo. A suitable plot allows the estimation of a coefficient, h max, which is related to the number of protomers, n, of the oligomeric repressor protein. This parameter is similar to but distinct from a Hill coefficient for allosteric inhibitions. Two examples from the literature are analysed in terms of the model.