The mechanism of a steroid hydrolase was recently determined. The enzyme has potential industrial applications in the large-scale production of cholesterol-lowering drugs. The first step of the mechanism, very similar to that of chymotrypsin, is shown below. Match the roles (below) to the active site amino acid side chains? a. Tyr 170, b. Lys 60, and c. Ser 57.
Tyr 170 - acts as a base catalyst to abstract a proton from the Ser 57.
Lys 60 - has a positively charged side chain that stabilizes the negatively charged phenolate anion on Tyr 170 by forming an ion pair.
Ser 57 - acts as a nucleophile.