Induced fit

Induced fit describes a conformational change in a protein when it binds a ligand, in contrast to a lock-and-key model of ligand binding. A classic example of induced fit is binding of glucose to hexokinase, depicted in a morph between 3o8m and 3o80 in the picture at right.

Morph of hexokinase in the open morph and glucose-bound closed 3o8m conformation. For reference, glucose (purple) is shown throughout the morph. Two views are shown, an overview as spacefill and a detail of the binding site in wireframe.

History of the concept

Induced fit was suggested by Koshland in 1958 , providing an alternative to the lock-and-key binding model that Emil Fischer proposed in 1899 .

Interactive examples

spinqualitylabelsall models Show:Asymmetric Unit Biological Assembly Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate   Export Animated Image   Print3D This is a morph of the closed and open form of hexokinase (be patient when loading this). The first and the last frame of the animation are models based on crystallographic data while the intermediate states are somewhat arbitrary, but chosen to show a smooth transition between conformations.

See Also

• A morph of induced fit when Tamiflu binds to Neuraminidase.

Proteopedia Page Contributors and Editors (what is this?)

Karsten Theis, Eric Martz, Eran Hodis