Enzyems are highly selective catalysts.
Receptors are not very highly selective catalysts.
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Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions in the body, while receptors are proteins or molecules that bind to specific ligands (such as hormones or drugs) to trigger a cellular response. Enzymes utilize their active site to facilitate a reaction, while receptors transmit signals through cellular pathways.
When a receptor protein in a cell membrane acts as an enzyme, it catalyzes specific chemical reactions within the cell. This allows the receptor to trigger or modulate various signaling pathways in response to specific ligand binding, leading to cellular responses like gene expression changes, cell proliferation, or metabolism regulation.
A ligand is a molecule that binds to a receptor protein, while a receptor protein is a protein that recognizes and binds to specific ligands, triggering a biological response. Simply put, a ligand is like a key that fits into a receptor protein like a lock, initiating a signaling cascade in the cell.
A noncompetitive inhibitor binds to an enzyme at a site other than the active site, while an allosteric inhibitor binds to a different site on the enzyme, causing a change in the enzyme's shape and reducing its activity.
An allosteric inhibitor binds to a site on the enzyme that is different from the active site, causing a change in the enzyme's shape and reducing its activity. A noncompetitive inhibitor binds to either the enzyme or the enzyme-substrate complex, also reducing enzyme activity but without directly competing with the substrate for the active site.
pinocytosis is a non-specific process where the cell engulfs extracellular fluid and particles, while receptor-mediated endocytosis is a selective process that relies on specific receptors binding to ligands for internalization. Receptor-mediated endocytosis is more efficient and targeted compared to pinocytosis.