cofactor

1. One of two or more contributing factors.
2. A substance, such as a metallic ion or coenzyme, that must be associated with an enzyme for the enzyme to function.

A nonprotein component essential for the normal catalytic activity of an enzyme. Cofactors may be organic molecules (coenzymes) or inorganic ions. They may activate the enzyme by altering its shape or they may actually participate in the chemical reaction.

For more information on cofactor, visit Britannica.com.

A non-protein substance that is essential for the efficient functioning of an enzyme, binding with it during a reaction. Tightly bound cofactors are called prosthetic groups. ATP and NAD are cofactors.

An element or principle, e.g. a coenzyme, with which another must unite in order to function.

• ristocetin c. — see ristocetin cofactor.

Cofactor may refer to any of the following:

• Cofactor (linear algebra), the signed minor of a matrix
• Minor (linear algebra), an alternative name for the determinant of a smaller matrix than that which it describes
• Cofactor (biochemistry), a substance that needs to be present in addition to an enzyme for a certain reaction to take place.
• Shannon expansion (Shannon cofactor), a derived function of another function, a notion useful in computer science and mathematics.
• Cofactor (epidemiology) in epidemiology is a condition that exacerbates the effects of another condition; for instance, while chlamydia infection on its own will not cause cervical cancer, it increases the risk that HPV infection will do so.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)