Acetylation

Abstract

Acetylation of amino groups is one of the most common means employed for the chemical modification of enzymes. Several reasons account for this circumstance. First, amino groups tend to be located on the surface of the three-dimensional structure of proteins in contact with the ambient environment and, hence, readily accessible to chemical attack. Second, at least one acetylating agent is available which has the requisite properties of high specificity and rapid reactivity under mild conditions. Third, the extent of reaction can be assessed by relatively simple analytical means. Nonetheless, the analytical characterization of acetylation presents certain difficulties and, consequently, there are problems in interpretation of the relationship of acetylation to changes in biological activity. Changes of enzymatic activity can be observed consequent to acetylation, which may be due to a variety of causes. Thus, loss of activity may be correlated with the modification of a single functional group of the enzyme. © 1972, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.