It's very interesting. On one hand you know enzymes function as catalysts. So they are responsible for regulating and controlling any chemical reaction. But doesn't this strike to your mind whether something is required to regulate the enzymatic actions as well? Of course, a control mechanism is also set to operate the activities of enzymes.



Exemplifying the control mechanism

Let's pick up the simple example of bacterial action on the body cell and the reaction of antibiotics on it. Do you find any correlation? You too know that antibiotics are meant to inhibit the bacterial action in the body. You have heard about penicillin. This particular antibiotic now can be resisted by bacteria now. How is this possible?

Actually enzyme action inside the cells can be either accelerated or inhibited by bringing modification within the cell structure. In case of penicillin, the enzyme known as beta-lactamases catalyzes the hydrolysis of the beta-lactam ring present inside the antibiotic molecule. As a consequence the effect of the antibiotic is inhibited and the bacteria become resistant of it.

Categorizing the metabolic routes

Metabolic actions that take place inside the body cells differ from one organ to another. Now if a schematic categorization is chalked out for the enzymatic actions specific for each type of cell, a regulation on the enzymatic actions can be achieved.

If you consider the important fatty acids produced by the body cells, just try to track the separation between the synthesis zone and the utility area. Fatty acids are mostly produced in the Golgi apparatus and cytosol but they are activated in the mitochondrion as the basic source of energy. Mitochondrion is regarded as the powerhouse of the cell. How do enzymes coordinate between the synthesis and function of fatty acids? There are two different enzyme categories involved in the two actions. Therefore you can conclude that enzymatic actions can be regulated through division of labor if you would like to term it that way.

Activation with environmental change

Here the focus is the condition prevailing inside the cell. Enzymes have tendency to get activated with a difference in its prevailing environment. The cytoplasm of the cell is generally regarded as the zone where reduction processes take place. On the other hand periplasm is the oxidation belt. If an enzyme alters its activity area from the reduction site to the oxidation area, it activation rate is increased. This can also happen with the change of pH factor within the cell.

One such change is often found in the influenza virus where hemagglutinin undergoes a transformation. In turn the activity of the same enzyme under acidic condition is enhanced.

Thus you see how a catalyst is actually catalyzed in different modes to activate and de-activate from time to time with changing needs.