Hybridization between fructose diphosphate aldolase subunits derived from diverse biological systems: anomolous hybridization behavior of some aldolase subunit types

In the present studies we investigated the abilities of fructose diphosphate aldolase subunits derived from diverse biological sources to form stable heterotetramers with each other in vitro. Aldolase C subunits isolated from chicken brain readily "hybridized" with aldolase subunits derived from lobster muscle and wheat germ following reversible acid dissociation of mixtures of these enzymes; however, appreciable amounts of stable heterotetramers containing chicken C subunits and aldolase subunits isolated from two other invertebrates (Ascaris and squid) were not produced under the same conditions. In contrast to the situation with chicken C subunits, aldolase B subunits isolated from rat liver did not "hybridize" appreciably with lobster muscle or wheat germ aldolase subunits. The present observations are not consistent with the hypothesis that the abilities of different aldolase subunit types to form heterotetramers in vitro is governed solely by the evolutionary relationships which exist between the organisms from which the enzymes are derived.     

Purification and properties of the native form of rabbit liver aldolase. Evidence for proteolytic modification after tissue extraction.

Aldolase was purified from rabbit liver by affinity-elution chromatography. By taking precautions to avoid rupture of lysosomes during the isolation procedure, a stable form of liver aldolase was obtained. The stable form of the enzyme had a specific activity with respect to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate cleavage of 20-28 mumol/min per mg of protein and a fructose 1,6-bisphosphate cleavage of 20-28mumol/min per mg of protein and a frutose 1,6-bisphosphate/fructose 1-phosphate activity ratio of 4. It was distinguishable from rabbit muscle aldolase, as previously isolated, on the basis of its electrophoretic mobility and N-terminal analysis. Muscle and liver aldolases were immunologically distinct. The stable liver aldolase was degraded with a lysosomal extract to a form with catalytic properties resembling those reported for aldolase B4. It is postulated that liver aldolase prepared by previously described methods has been modified by proteolysis and does not constitute the native form of the enzyme.     

Quantitative cytochemical measurement of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity

Summary A system has been developed for the quantitative measurement of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in tissue sections. An obstacle to the histochemical study of this enzyme has been the fact that the substrate, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, is very unstable. In the present system a stable compound, fructose 1, 6-diphosphate, is used as the primary substrate and the demonstration of the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity depends on the conversion of this compound into the specific substrate by the aldolase present in the tissue. The characteristics of the dehydrogenase activity resulting from the addition of fructose 1, 6-diphosphate, resemble closely the known properties of purified glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Use of polyvinyl alcohol in the reaction medium prevents release of enzymes from the sections, as occurs in aqueous media. Although in this study intrinsic aldolase activity was found to be adequate for the rapid conversion of fructose 1, 6-diphosphate into the specific substrate for the dehydrogenase, the use of exogenous aldolase may be of particular advantage in assessing the integrity of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway.     

Quantitative cytochemical measurement of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity.

A system has been developed for the quantitative measurment of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in tissue sections. An obstacle to the histochemical study of this enzyme has been the fact that the substrate, gylceraldehyde 3-phosphate, is very unstable. In the present system a stable compound, fructose 1, 6-diphosphate, is used as the primary substrate and the demonsatration of the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity depends on the conversion of this compound into the specific substrate by the aldolase present in the tissue. The characteristics of the dehydrogenase activity resulting from the addition of fructose 1, 6-diphosphate, resemble closely the known properties of purified glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Use of polyvinyl alcohol in the reaction medium prevents release of enzymes from the sections, as occurs in aqueous media. Although in this study intrinsic aldolase activity was found to be adequate for the rapid conversion of fructose 1, 6-diphosphate into the specific substrate for the dehydrogenase, the use of exogenous aldolase may be of particular advantage in assessing the intergrity of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway.     

Glycolytic enzyme levels in synaptosomes

The specific activities of glucosephosphate isomerase, aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase, glyceraldehydephosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase were all higher in the synaptoplasmic fraction from rat brain than in 100,000 g supernatant fraction of rat brain homogenates when the supernatants were prepared in high ionic strength solutions. Four enzymes in synaptosomes and two enzymes in homogenates were associated with particulate fractions as indicated by the large increase in specific activity of the enzymes when samples were treated with 0.3 M KCl before centrifugation. Glucosephosphate isomerase, aldolase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase were the enzymes that showed a large increase in specific activity following salt treatment of isolated, synaptosomal membrane while aldolase and pyruvate kinase were the two enzymes which showed a large increase in specific activity in the high speed supernatant fractions. Because the specific activities of many enzymes are found to be elevated not only in synaptosomes but in synaptosomal membrane fractions it is suggested that these enzymes may provide the potential for significantly enhanced glycolysis at these locations.     

Pathways of fructose conversion into glucose in foetal rat liver

1. Glucose, formed from [1-(14)C]fructose or [6-(14)C]fructose in rat-liver slices, has been isolated as gluconate and degraded to give the radioactivity in C-1, C-2-5 and C-6. 2. By using this method it has been shown that, in liver from foetal rats younger than 20 days, glucose is formed from fructose without splitting of the molecule by the aldolase reaction. The rate of glucose formation from fructose in liver from these foetuses is approximately half of the rate in adult liver. 3. The direct conversion of fructose into glucose in foetal rat liver is not via sorbitol as in seminal vesicles, as this pathway cannot be detected. 4. When liver slices are incubated with [U-(14)C]fructose of high specific activity, the labelled intermediates are similar whether from liver from 18-day foetal, newborn or adult rats. 5. These findings are discussed with reference to the changing pathways of fructose metabolism during perinatal development of the liver in the rat.     

Purification and characterization of two fructose diphosphate aldolases from Escherichia coli (Crookes'' strain)

Two fructose diphosphate aldolases (EC 4.1.2.13) were detected in extracts of Escherichia coli (Crookes' strain) grown on pyruvate or lactate. The two enzymes can be resolved by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose at pH7.5, or by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, and both have been obtained in a pure state. One is a typical bacterial aldolase (class II) in that it is strongly inhibited by metal-chelating agents and is reactivated by bivalent metal ions, e.g. Ca(2+), Zn(2+). It is a dimer with a molecular weight of approx. 70000, and the K(m) value for fructose diphosphate is about 0.85mm. The other aldolase is not dependent on metal ions for its activity, but is inhibited by reduction with NaBH(4) in the presence of substrate. The K(m) value for fructose diphosphate is about 20mum (although the Lineweaver-Burk plot is not linear) and the enzyme is probably a tetramer with molecular weight approx. 140000. It has been crystallized. On the basis of these properties it is tentatively assigned to class I. The appearance of a class I aldolase in bacteria was unexpected, and its synthesis in E. coli is apparently favoured by conditions of gluconeogenesis. Only aldolase of class II was found in E. coli that had been grown on glucose. The significance of these results for the evolution of fructose diphosphate aldolases is briefly discussed.     

Purification and properties of fructose diphosphate aldolase from Ascaris suum muscle

A fructose diphosphate aldolase has been isolated from ascarid muscle and crystallized by simple column chromatography and an ammonium sulfate fractionation procedure. It was found to be homogeneous on electrophoresis and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. This enzyme has a fructose diphosphate/fructose 1-phosphate activity ratio close to 40 and specific activity for fructose diphosphate cleavage close to 11. K_m values of ascarid aldolase are 1 × 10⁻⁶m and 2 × 10⁻³m for fructose diphosphate and fructose 1-phosphate, respectively. The enzyme reveals a number of catalytic and molecular properties similar to those found for class I fructose diphosphate aldolases. It has C-terminal functional tyrosine residues, a molecular weight of 155,000, and is inactivated by NaBH₄ in presence of substrate. Data show the presence of two types of subunits in ascarid aldolase; the subunits have different electrophoretic mobilities but similar molecular weights of 40,000. Immunological studies indicate that the antibody-binding sites of the molecules of the rabbit muscle aldolase A or rabbit liver aldolase B are structurally different from those of ascarid aldolase. Hybridization studies show the formation of one middle hybrid form from a binary mixture of the subunits of ascarid and rabbit muscle aldolases. Hybridization between rabbit liver aldolase and ascarid aldolase was not observed. The results indicate that ascarid aldolase is structurally more related to the mammalian aldolase A than to the aldolase B.     

ISOLATION AND PROPERTIES OF LIVER CELL NUCLEOLI

1. The significance of the term nucleolus has been discussed. 2. A detailed method for the isolation of nucleoli from already isolated rat or cat liver nuclei has been presented. 3. The presence of DNA in isolated liver cell nucleoli has been indicated by histochemical methods. 4. The percentages of DNA and RNA in the isolated nucleoli have been determined by chemical analysis. 5. The specific activities of aldolase, arginase, and catalase have been determined for two subnuclear fractions and for the isolated nucleoli of rat and cat liver, and the relative amounts of these enzymes in the same subnuclear fractions and nucleoli of rat liver have been measured. 6. The significance of the above findings has been discussed and consideration has been given to what types of isolated nuclei might best serve as starting material for the isolation of nucleoli. 7. A new hypothesis has been presented that nucleoli of the liver cell type may function primarily in furnishing (directly or indirectly) templates for the synthesis of the particular enzymes that must govern the chemistry of mitosis.     

Phospholipase D2 directly interacts with aldolase via Its PH domain

Mammalian phospholipase D (PLD) has been implicated in the cellular signal transduction pathways leading to diverse physiological events and known to be regulated by many cellular factors. To identify the proteins that interact with PLD, we performed a protein overlay assay with fractions obtained from the sequential column chromatographic separation of rat brain cytosol using purified PLD2 as a probe. A protein of molecular mass 40 kDa, which was detected by anti-PLD antibody with overlaying of the purified PLD2, is shown to be aldolase C by peptide-mass fingerprinting with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Aldolase A also showed similar binding properties as aldolase C and was co-immunoprecipitated with PLD2 in COS-7 cells overexpressing PLD2 and aldolase A. The PH domain corresponding to amino acids 201-310 of PLD2 was necessary for the interaction observed in vitro, and aldolase A was found to interact with the PH domain of PLD2 specifically, but not with other PH domains. PLD2 activity was inhibited by the presence of purified aldolase A in a dose-dependent manner, and the inhibition by 50% was observed by the addition of less than micromolar aldolase A. Moreover, the inclusion of the aldolase metabolites fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (F-1,6-P) or glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G-3-P) resulted in an enhanced interaction between PLD2 and aldolase A with a concomitant increase in the potential ability of aldolase A to inhibit PLD2, which suggests the existence of a possible regulation of the interaction by the change of intracellular concentrations of glycolytic metabolites.     

Novel kinetic and structural properties of the class-I D-fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from Escherichia coli (Crookes'' strain).

Investigation of aldolase 1, the class-I D-fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (EC4.1.2.13) from Escherichia coli (Crookes' strain), showed it to have unusual kinetic and structural properties. The enzyme appeared to be larger than was previously supposed and may be a decamer with a mol. wt. of approx. 340000. Its fructose 1,6-bisphosphate-cleavage activity was unaffected by these compounds. The enhancement exhibited a strong dependence on pH. These novel kinetic properties do not seem to be shared by any other fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, but recall the activation by polycarboxylic acids of the deoxyribose 3-phosphate aldolases from some other organisms. In view of its unusual properties, it is unlikely that aldolase 1 from E. coli is closely related to the class-1 aldolases that have been detected in several other prokaryotes, or to the typical class-1 enzymes from eukaryotes.     

Cooperative effect of fructose bisphosphate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase on aldolase action

The combination of binding and kinetic approaches is suggested to study (i) the mechanism of substrate-modulated dynamic enzyme associations; (ii) the specificity of enzyme interactions. The effect of complex formation between aldolase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate:NAD+ oxidoreductase (phosphorylating), EC 1.2.1.12) on aldolase catalysis was investigated under pseudo-first-order conditions. No change in kcat but a significant increase in KM of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate for aldolase was found when both enzymes were obtained from muscle. In contrast, kcat rather than KM changed if dehydrogenase was isolated from yeast. Next, the conversion of fructose 1-phosphate was not affected by interactions between enzyme couples isolated from muscle. The influence of fructose phosphates on the enzyme-complex formation was studied by means of covalently attached fluorescent probe. We found that the interaction ws not perturbed by the presence of fructose 1-phosphate; however, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate altered the dissociation constant of the enzyme complex. A molecular model for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate-modulated enzyme interaction has been evaluated which suggests that high levels of fructose bisphosphate would drive the formation of the 'channelling' complex between aldolase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.     

Expression of differentiated functions in hepatoma cell hybrids: selection in glucose-free media of segregated hybrid cells which reexpress gluconeogenic enzymes.

Selective glucose-free media have been used to study the reexpression of liver-specific gluconeogenic enzymes in rat hepatoma X mouse lymphoblastoma somatic hybrids. The utilization for gluconeogenesis of dihydroxyacetone or oxaloacetate requires two enzymes: fructose diphosphatase as well as either triokinase for the former or phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase for the latter. By sequential selection with these substrates, the reexpression of the three gluconeogenic enzymes has been dissociated. The reexpression of these enzymes is correlated with the loss of mouse chromosomes. In addition, the characterization of the parental forms of aldolase B, another liver-specific enzyme, shows that reexpression corresponds to the simultaneous production of the rat and mouse enzymes. These results demonstrate the chromosomal origin of extinction and suggest that activation of mouse silent genes which accompanies reexpression can occur without loss of the parental determinations. The hypothesis that determination involves regulatory rather than structural genes is discussed.     

Evidence for an interaction between fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase.

Three distinct lines of evidence suggest interaction and possible complex formation between fructose 1,6-biphosphate aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13) and fructose 1,6-biphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) from rabbit liver. (1) Fructose 1,6-biphosphatase, which does not contain tryptophan, causes changes in the fluorescence emission spectrum of tryptophan in rabbit liver aldolase. (2) Aldolase reduces the affinity of binding of Zn²⁺ to the two high-affinity sites of fructose 1,6-biphosphatase. (3) Gel penetration coefficients are decreased for both enzymes when they are tested together, as compared to the coefficients observed when each is tested separately. These interactions were not observed when either liver enzyme was replaced by the corresponding enzyme purified from rabbit muscle; this specificity for enzymes purified from the same tissue excludes effects attributable to the catalytic activities of the enzyme. Maximum interaction was observed in the pH range between 8.0 and 8.5 and appeared to require the presence of two fructose 1,6-biphosphatase tetramers per tetramer of aldolase. The change in fluorescence emission spectrum was also observed, to a smaller extent, when muscle fructose 1,6-biphosphatase was added to a solution of muscle aldolase.     

The effect of low doses of x-rays on the biochemical processes in the brain and on urinary metabolites in fasted rats

The effect of mild doses of X-rays (three fractions, each of 100 R) on energy metabolism of the brain of starved rats has been investigated. It is inferred that X-radiation may cause serious detrimental changes of enzymes involved in glucose metabolism (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and fructose diphosphate aldolase) and in peroxidation (of catalase and lipid peroxidase), and of the acetylcholine activity which is determined by the cholinesterase level. Dynamics of changes in the protein and nucleic acid content of the brain has been studied. It has been shown that the level of 4-HIAA and 3M4HMA in the brain increases after irradiation of starved and normally fed rats.     

Construction and expression of human aldolase A and B expression plasmids in Escherichia coli host

E. coli expression plasmids for human aldolases A and B (EC 4.1.2.13) have been constructed from the pIN-III expression vector and their cDNAs, and expressed in E. coli strain JM83. Enzymatically active forms of human aldolase have been generated in the cells when transfected with either pHAA47, a human aldolase A expression plasmid, or pHAB 141, a human aldolase B expression plasmid. These enzymes are indistinguishable from authentic enzymes with respect to molecular size, amino acid sequences at the NH2- and COOH-terminal regions, the Km for substrate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and the activity ratio of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate/fructose 1-phosphate (FDP/F1P), although net electric charge and the Km for FDP of synthetic aldolase B differed from those for a previously reported human liver aldolase B. In addition, both the expressed aldolases A and B complement the temperature-sensitive phenotype of the aldolase mutant of E. coli h8. These data argue that the expressed aldolases are structurally and functionally similar to the authentic human aldolases, and would provide a system for analysis of the structure-function relationship of human aldolases A and B.     

Nucleotide sequence of a cDNA clone for human aldolase B

Two specific clones for human aldolase B were isolated from a human liver cDNA library using a rat aldolase B cDNA probe. The clones were identified by positive hybridization-selection and one of them was sequenced. The 127 C-terminal residues of the human protein were deduced from this nucleotide sequence analysis. They showed 92% homology with the corresponding previously published amino-acid sequence of rat liver aldolase B.     

Exploring substrate binding and discrimination in fructose1, 6-bisphosphate and tagatose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolases.

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase catalyses the reversible condensation of glycerone-P and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate into fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. A recent structure of the Escherichia coli Class II fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase [Hall, D.R., Leonard, G.A., Reed, C.D., Watt, C.I., Berry, A. & Hunter, W.N. (1999) J. Mol. Biol. 287, 383-394] in the presence of the transition state analogue phosphoglycolohydroxamate delineated the roles of individual amino acids in binding glycerone-P and in the initial proton abstraction steps of the mechanism. The X-ray structure has now been used, together with sequence alignments, site-directed mutagenesis and steady-state enzyme kinetics to extend these studies to map important residues in the binding of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. From these studies three residues (Asn35, Ser61 and Lys325) have been identified as important in catalysis. We show that mutation of Ser61 to alanine increases the Km value for fructose 1, 6-bisphosphate 16-fold and product inhibition studies indicate that this effect is manifested most strongly in the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate binding pocket of the active site, demonstrating that Ser61 is involved in binding glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. In contrast a S61T mutant had no effect on catalysis emphasizing the importance of an hydroxyl group for this role. Mutation of Asn35 (N35A) resulted in an enzyme with only 1.5% of the activity of the wild-type enzyme and different partial reactions indicate that this residue effects the binding of both triose substrates. Finally, mutation of Lys325 has a greater effect on catalysis than on binding, however, given the magnitude of the effects it is likely that it plays an indirect role in maintaining other critical residues in a catalytically competent conformation. Interestingly, despite its proximity to the active site and high sequence conservation, replacement of a fourth residue, Gln59 (Q59A) had no significant effect on the function of the enzyme. In a separate study to characterize the molecular basis of aldolase specificity, the agaY-encoded tagatose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase of E. coli was cloned, expressed and kinetically characterized. Our studies showed that the two aldolases are highly discriminating between the diastereoisomers fructose bisphosphate and tagatose bisphosphate, each enzyme preferring its cognate substrate by a factor of 300-1500-fold. This produces an overall discrimination factor of almost 5 x 105 between the two enzymes. Using the X-ray structure of the fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase and multiple sequence alignments, several residues were identified, which are highly conserved and are in the vicinity of the active site. These residues might potentially be important in substrate recognition. As a consequence, nine mutations were made in attempts to switch the specificity of the fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase to that of the tagatose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase and the effect on substrate discrimination was evaluated. Surprisingly, despite making multiple changes in the active site, many of which abolished fructose 1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase activity, no switch in specificity was observed. This highlights the complexity of enzyme catalysis in this family of enzymes, and points to the need for further structural studies before we fully understand the subtleties of the shaping of the active site for complementarity to the cognate substrate.     

Expression, purification, and characterization of natural mutants of human aldolase B. Role of quaternary structure in catalysis

Fructaldolases (EC 4.1.2.13) are ancient enzymes of glycolysis that catalyze the reversible cleavage of phosphofructose esters into cognate triose (phosphates). Three vertebrate isozymes of Class I aldolase have arisen by gene duplication and display distinct activity profiles with fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and with fructose 1-phosphate. We describe the biochemical and biophysical characterization of seven natural human aldolase B variants, identified in patients suffering from hereditary fructose intolerance and expressed as recombinant proteins in E. coli, from which they were purified to homogeneity. The mutant aldolases were all missense variants and could be classified into two principal groups: catalytic mutants, with retained tetrameric structure but altered kinetic properties (W147R, R303W, and A337V), and structural mutants, in which the homotetramers readily dissociate into subunits with greatly impaired enzymatic activity (A149P, A174D, L256P, and N334K). Investigation of these two classes of mutant enzyme suggests that the integrity of the quaternary structure of aldolase B is critical for maintaining its full catalytic function.