Competitive Inhibition: The Biochemical Love Triangle

The biochemistry love triangle we didn't know we needed! In competitive inhibition, the inhibitor molecule has the hots for the enzyme's active site, blocking the substrate from binding. Notice how the meme cleverly points out that Km increases (↑) while Vmax stays the same - that's because the inhibitor is structurally similar enough to the substrate to bind to the enzyme, but can't undergo the reaction. Poor Wolverine (substrate) is just standing there watching his enzyme get stolen by a molecule that looks juuust enough like him to trick the enzyme. The enzyme-inhibitor relationship is totally reversible though - with enough substrate concentration, you can literally crowd out the inhibitor. Biochemical third-wheeling at its finest!