A graphical method for determining inhibition parameters for partial and complete inhibitors

Abstract

A new simple graphical method is described for the determination of inhibition type and kinetic parameters of an enzyme reaction without any replot. The method consists of plotting experimental data as v/(vo-v) versus the reciprocal of the inhibitor concentration at different substrate concentrations, where v and vo represent the velocity in the presence and in the absence of the inhibitor respectively with a given concentration of the substrate. Partial inhibition gives straight lines that converge on the abscissa at a point away from the origin, whereas complete inhibition gives lines that go through the origin. The inhibition constants of enzymes and the reaction rate constant of the enzyme-substrate-inhibitor complex can be calculated from the abscissa and ordinate intercepts of the plot. The relationship between the slope of the plot and the substrate concentration shows characteristic features depending on the inhibition type: for partial competitive inhibition, the straight line converging on the abscissa at-Ks, the dissociation constant of the enzyme-substrate complex; for non-competitive inhibition, a constant slope independent of the substrate concentration; for uncompetitive inhibition, a hyperbola decreasing with the increase in the substrate concentration; for mixed-type inhibition, a hyperbola increasing with the increase in the substrate concentration. The properties of the replot are useful in confirmation of the inhibition mechanism.