Title: allosteric site
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - allosteric site
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.14107
Status: current

Definition
Binding site on a protein, distinct from the site recognized by an endogenous agonist (i.e., the orthosteric site) in the case of a receptor, or substrate in the case of an enzyme, that when occupied by a ligand effects a conformational change in the protein, thus altering its signaling, catalytic properties, or its capability to interact with other macromolecules.

Related Term
- orthosteric site: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/14173

Source
- PAC, 2011, 83, 1129. 'Glossary of terms used in biomolecular screening (IUPAC Recommendations 2011)' on page 1132 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-09-05-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14107/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14107/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14107/xml

Citation: Citation: 'allosteric site' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.14107
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-09T10:54:50+00:00