More than fine tuning

摘要

How do electric fields affect enzymatic processes? Binding and crystallo-graphic studies have shown that electrostatic interactions are important in the substrate-binding step that initiates enzyme catalysis. However, for the subsequent steps, experimental data have been limited. The study of electric field effects on the transition state was therefore largely restricted to theory. On page 1510 of this issue, Fried et al. use a recently developed technique to quantify the electrostatic contribution to the rate-limiting step of an enzymatic reaction. They show that the local electric field accelerates the reaction, a finding that is likely to apply to other catalytic reactions.