Tetanus is also commonly called lockjaw, because the infection primarily causes muscle contractions in the jaw and neck, but can eventually spread to other parts of the body. Without treatment, tetanus infection can be life-threatening.
Competitive inhibitors. The inhibitor (I) competes with the substrate (S) for the enzyme active site (also known as the S-binding site). Binding of either of these molecules in the active site is a mutually exclusive event. The substrate and inhibitor share a high degree of structural similarity.
Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. The binding of an inhibitor can stop a substrate from entering the enzyme's active site and/or hinder the enzyme from catalyzing its reaction. Enzyme inhibitors also occur naturally and are involved in the regulation of metabolism. For example, enzymes in a metabolic pathway can be inhibited by downstream products.