Steady-state kinetic studies of the negative co-operativity and flip-flop mechanism for Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase.

1. A study of variations in experimental error of velocity measurement with substrate concentration for alkaline phosphatase reveals that the standard error is not constant or strictly proportional to velocity, but obeys a more complex dependence. 2. By using an approach based on error estimates at each individual substrate concentration, we show that the double-reciprocal plots in general are curved, necessitating a high-degree rate equation. The curves are analysed according to a recent classification of possible curve shapes for the 3:3 function, which is shown to be the lowest-degree rate equation satisfying the experimental data. 4. Other workers have supposed the enzyme to follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and it is shown that this assumption is approximately true at low temperatures in the absence of phosphate. 5. A study of the effects of phosphate concentration, pH and temperature on the kinetics shows that there is a gradual alteration in curve shape with these experimental variables, resulting in an apparent reduction in degree under certain special conditions, and particularly at low temperature. 6. It is shown that the steady-state kinetics do not require a flip-flop or half-of-sites reactivity mechanism as claimed, and a mechanism is proposed, a rate equation calculated and an analysis attempted. 7. An analysis of the product-inhibition effects for a linked two-sited Uni Bi enzyme is given. Alterations of asymptotic double-reciprocal slopes and limiting (1/nu) intercepts with products is discussed, and it is shown how the theory of product inhibition can be extended to complex kinetic situations to extract information as to molecular mechanism. 8. Deviations from Michaelis-Menten kinetics are expressed in terms of the magnitude of the appropriate Sylvester resultants.