Abstract
Certain arrangements of enzymatic (bimolecular) subsystems lead to characteristic threshold-type response. Two simple cases of such systems are studied here in terms of steady state behavior and explicit relationships between system and curve parameters. It is found that the curvature of the threshold curve is directly related to the equivalent Michaelis constant and, in the case of saturated threshold curve, the slope of the curve at the idealized threshold is limited by the ratio of saturation to threshold. This slope may be appreciably increased up to a stepwise response at the threshold if a multisubstrate complex of the enzyme is the only species which affects the enzyme mediated transport.
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Ličko, V. 1963. “Some Notes on the Theory of Reaction Rates: Enzymatic Reactions.”Bull. Math. Biophysics,25, 141–154.
Walter, C., R. Parker, and M. Yčas. 1967. “A Model for Binary Logic in Biochemical Systems.”J. Theoret. Biol.,15, 208–217.
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Ličko, V. Some biochemical threshold mechanisms. Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics 34, 103–112 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02477030
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02477030