PROPERTIES OF THE ACTIVE SITE OF ENZYMES*

In this paper some studies on enzyme properties which are believed to be pertinent to antibodies will be discussed. The particular studies chosen are; (a) the evidence that residues far removed from each other in the sequence play vital roles at the active site; (b) indications on the size of the active site; and (c) evidence for flexibility at the active site. Since the relation between enzyme and antibody is of primary interest an attempt will be made to emphasize the fundamental conclusions derived from the observations and to evaluate critically the deductions on structure and function which derive from these conclusions.