The Structure of Pyridine Coenzymes as Related to Binding

Abstract

Investigations in our laboratory as well as by others have been directed towards an understanding of the nature of the interaction between the pyridine nucleotides and the various proteins for which they serve as coenzymes. A number of approaches have been applied to such studies which include the use of coenzyme analogues, fluorescence techniques, kinetic measurements, and more recently, x-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. We have attempted to ascertain what role the various groupings of the coenzymes play in the binding as well as endeavoring to correlate the conformation of the nucleotides to their enzymatic activities. In the present paper, we would like to summarize briefly some of our more recent observations as well as to record our present views regarding the relationship of structure of the coenzyme to their binding characteristics.