KINETICS OF AN AUTOCATALYTIC ZYMOGEN REACTION IN THE PRESENCE OF AN INHIBITOR COUPLED TO A MONITORING REACTION

A global kinetic analysis of a model consisting of an autocatalytic zy mogen-activation process, in which an irreversible inhibitor competes with the zymogen for the active site of the proteinase, and a monitori ng coupled reaction, in which the enzyme acts upon one of its substrat es, is presented. This analysis is based on the progress curves of any of the two products released in the monitoring reaction. The general solution is applied to an important particular case in which rapid equ ilibrium conditions prevail. Finally, we suggest a procedure to predic t whether the inhibition or activation route dominates in the steady s tate of the system. These results generalize our previous analysis of simpler mechanisms.