Canine erythrocyte pyruvate kinase. I. Properties of the normal enzyme

We have compared the kinetic, immunological, and electrophoretic properties of human and canine erythrocyte pyruvate kinase. Both enzymes are allosteric and subject to positive and negative regulation. The allosteric properties of the canine enzyme are more pronounced than those of the human enzyme; however, the properties of both enzymes are consistent with a regulatory function in the glycolytic pathway of their respective erythrocytes. Antiserum against the human enzyme gives precipitin lines of partial identity between the human and canine enzymes on immunodiffusion. The anti-human serum inactivates the enzymatic activity of both enzymes, although it is more effective against the human enzyme than the canine. The two enzymes have slightly different mobilities on starch gel electrophoresis. While we have demonstrated differences between erythrocyte pyruvate kinase from dogs and that from humans, we conclude that the enzymes are sufficiently similar in properties and function to allow use of the dog as a model for human erythrocyte pyruvate kinase deficiency.     

Pyruvate kinase variants of the Alaskan king-crab. Evidence for a temperature-dependent interconversion between two forms having distinct and adaptive kinetic properties

1. Pyruvate kinase of Alaskan king-crab leg muscle exists in two kinetically distinct forms, each of which displays a different temperature-dependence in the K_m for phosphoenolpyruvate. 2. A `cold' variant of the enzyme has hyperbolic kinetics and exhibits a minimal K<sub>m</sub> for substrate at 5°. At physiological concentrations of phosphoenolpyruvate the `cold' enzyme is active only below 10°. A `warm' pyruvate kinase has a minimal K<sub>m</sub> for substrate at about 12°. This enzyme displays sigmoidal kinetics and is likely to be inactive, at physiological substrate concentrations, at temperatures below 9°. 3. The combined activities of these two pyruvate kinases yield highly temperature-independent rates of catalysis, at physiological substrate concentrations, over the range of habitat temperatures encountered by the organism, namely 4–12°. 4. The two variants of pyruvate kinase do not appear to be isoenzymes in the conventional sense. Electrophoretic and electrofocus analyses revealed only single peaks of activity. 5. The results suggest that the `warm' pyruvate kinase and the `cold' pyruvate kinase are formed by a temperature-dependent interconversion of one protein species. This interconversion has major adaptive significance: as the temperature is lowered the `warm' enzyme is converted into the `cold' enzyme; the opposite situation obtains when the temperature is raised. Temperature changes thus mimic the effects noted for fructose 1,6-diphosphate on certain mammalian pyruvate kinases.     

An allele (Pk-1 b ) from wild-caught mice that affects the activity and kinetics of erythrocyte and liver pyruvate kinase

A true breeding strain was made from a wild-caught mouse with low erythrocyte pyruvate kinase (E.C. 2.7.1.40) activity. This variation showed additive inheritance and segregated as an allele at a single locus (Pk-1 ^b). Mice homozygous for the reduced blood pyruvate kinase activity cosegregated for reduced liver activity. In both these tissues the variant enzyme had a lowered heat stability and reduced K _m values for ADP. An increased stimulation by FDP was also detected in the liver pyruvate kinase. No difference in the isoelectric point of the variant enzyme in either erythrocyte or liver was observed when compared with the enzyme from C57BL mice (Pk-1 ^a/Pk-1 ^a). It is concluded that Pk-1 is the structural gene for the erythrocyte and the major liver pyruvate kinase. No other tissue pyruvate kinase showed altered characteristics.This work was supported by a Medical Research Council grant.     

Properties of pyruvate kinase from soybean nodule cytosol

The properties of pyruvate kinase from soybean (Glycine max L.) nodule cytosol were examined to determine what influence the N₂ fixation process might have on this supposed key control enzyme. A crude enzyme preparation was prepared by chromatography of cytosol extract on a diethylaminoethyl-cellulose column. ATP and citrate at 5 mm concentrations inhibited pyruvate kinase 27 and 34%, respectively. Enzyme activation was hyperbolic with respect to both K⁺ and NH₄⁺ concentrations. In the presence of physiological concentrations of K⁺ and high phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) concentrations, NH₄⁺ inhibited enzyme activity. Comparisons of kinetic parameters (V_max and apparent K_a) for NH₄⁺ and K⁺ with inhibition curves indicated that inhibition was very likely a result of competition of the ions for activation site(s) on the pyruvate kinase. In addition, apparent K_a (monovalent cation) and K_m (PEP) were influenced by PEP and monovalent cation concentrations, respectively. This effect may reflect a fundamental difference between plant and animal pyruvate kinases. It is concluded that control of cytosol pyruvate kinase may be closely related to reactions involved in the assimilation of NH₄⁺.     

Kinetic and regulatory properties of pyruvate kinase isozymes from flight muscle and fat body of the cockroach,Periplaneta americana

Summary Pyruvate kinases from flight muscle and fat body of the cockroach,Periplaneta americana, were purified to homogeneity. The two tissues contained different forms of the enzyme which were separable by starch gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing (pI=5.75 for flight muscle and 6.15 for fat body). Both enzymes had molecular weights of 235,000±20,000.Flight muscle pyruvate kinase displayed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with respect to both ADP and P-enolpyruvate withK _m values of 0.27 and 0.04 mM, respectively.K _m for Mg²⁺ was 0.60 mM andK _a for K⁺ was 15 mM. The enzyme was weakly inhibitied by four compounds, ATP, arginine-P,l-alanine and citrate with apparentK _i values of 3.5, 15, 20 and 24 mM, respectively. Competitive inhibition by 3 mM ATP or 10 mM arginine-P raised theK _m for P-enolpyruvate to 0.067 or 0.057 mM. Fructose-1,6-P₂ did not activate the enzyme but reversed inhibitions by ATP and arginine-P.Fat body pyruvate kinase showed sigmoidal kinetics with respect to P-enolpyruvate with S_0.5=0.32 mM andn _H=1.43.K _m values for ADP and Mg²⁺ were 0.30 and 0.80 mM, respectively with aK _a for K⁺ of 10 mM. ATP andl-alanine were inhibitors of the enzyme; 2 mM ATP raised S_0.5 for P-enolpyruvate to 0.48 mM while 3 mMl-alanine increased S_0.5 to 0.84 mM. Neither citrate nor arginine-P inhibited the enzyme but citrate affected the enzyme by reversingl-alanine inhibition. Fat body pyruvate kinase was strongly activated by fructose-1,6-P₂ with an apparentK _a of 1.5 M. Fructose-1,6-P₂ at 0.1 mM reduced S_0.5 for P-enolpyruvate to 0.05 mM andn _H to 1.0.Flight muscle and fat body pyruvate kinases from the cockroach show properties analogous to those of the muscle and liver forms of mammalian pyruvate kinase. Fat body pyruvate kinase is suited for on-off function in a tissue with a gluconeogenic capacity. Strong allosteric control with a feed-forward activation by fructose-1,6-P₂ is key to coordinating enzyme function with glycolytic rate. The function of flight muscle pyruvate kinase in energy production during flight is aided by a lowK _m for P-enolpyruvate, weak inhibitor effects by high energy phosphates and deinhibition of these effects by fructose-1,6-P₂.     

New Insights on the Mechanism of the K+-Independent Activity of Crenarchaeota Pyruvate Kinases

Eukarya pyruvate kinases have glutamate at position 117 (numbered according to the rabbit muscle enzyme), whereas in Bacteria have either glutamate or lysine and in Archaea have other residues. Glutamate at this position makes pyruvate kinases K⁺-dependent, whereas lysine confers K⁺-independence because the positively charged residue substitutes for the monovalent cation charge. Interestingly, pyruvate kinases from two characterized Crenarchaeota exhibit K⁺-independent activity, despite having serine at the equivalent position. To better understand pyruvate kinase catalytic activity in the absence of K⁺ or an internal positive charge, the Thermofilum pendens pyruvate kinase (valine at the equivalent position) was characterized. The enzyme activity was K⁺-independent. The kinetic mechanism was random order with a rapid equilibrium, which is equal to the mechanism of the rabbit muscle enzyme in the presence of K⁺ or the mutant E117K in the absence of K⁺. Thus, the substrate binding order of the T. pendens enzyme was independent despite lacking an internal positive charge. Thermal stability studies of this enzyme showed two calorimetric transitions, one attributable to the A and C domains (T_m of 99.2°C), and the other (T_m of 105.2°C) associated with the B domain. In contrast, the rabbit muscle enzyme exhibits a single calorimetric transition (T_m of 65.2°C). The calorimetric and kinetic data indicate that the B domain of this hyperthermophilic enzyme is more stable than the rest of the protein with a conformation that induces the catalytic readiness of the enzyme. B domain interactions of pyruvate kinases that have been determined in Pyrobaculum aerophilum and modeled in T. pendens were compared with those of the rabbit muscle enzyme. The results show that intra- and interdomain interactions of the Crenarchaeota enzymes may account for their higher B domain stability. Thus the structural arrangement of the T. pendens pyruvate kinase could allow charge-independent catalysis.     

Studies of regulatory metabolism in Moniezia expansa: the role of phosphofructokinase (with a note on pyruvate kinase).

Some of the properties of a partially purified preparation of phosphofructokinase (PFK) from Moniezia expansa are described. PFK has a pH optimum between 7·4 and 8·0, and is activated by magnesium and divalent manganese ions. It exhibits sigmoid kinetics with fructose-6-phosphate, and ATP decreases the affinity of the enzyme for F6P. This inhibition is partially relieved by F6P, AMP and ammonium ions. GTP and ITP act as substrates for the PFK reaction but do not exert the same inhibitory effects. The effect of ATP on pyruvate kinase was also examined, and was found to inhibit both the activated and inactivated enzyme. Apparent K_m's for both enzymes are presented.Generally, PFK and pyruvate kinase from M. expansa show properties similar to the enzymes from mammalian sources. The presence of sigmoid kinetics for F6P and ATP at pH8 is, however, a significant departure from what is observed in PFK from mammalian sources. Possibilities exist in M. expansa for controls of metabolism similar to those found in mammalian tissues.     

Purification of porcine liver pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and characterization of its catalytic and regulatory properties.

Procedures are described for isolating highly purified porcine liver pyruvate and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes. Rabbit serum stabilized these enzyme complexes in mitochondrial extracts, apparently by inhibiting lysosomal proteases. The complexes were purified by a three-step procedure involving fractionation with polyethylene glycol, pelleting through 12.5% sucrose, and a second fractionation under altered conditions with polyethylene glycol. Sedimentation equilibrium studies gave a molecular weight of 7.2 × 10⁶ for the liver pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Kinetic parameters are presented for the reaction catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and for the regulatory reactions catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase. For the overall catalytic reaction, the competitive K_i to K_m ratio for NADH versus NAD⁺ and acetyl CoA versus CoA were 4.7 and 5.2, respectively. Near maximal stimulations of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase by NADH and acetyl CoA were observed at NADH:NAD⁺ and acetyl CoA:CoA ratios of 0.15 and 0.5, respectively. The much lower ratios required for enhanced inactivation of the complex by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase than for product inhibition indicate that the level of activity of the regulatory enzyme is not directly determined by the relative affinity of substrates and products of catalytic sites in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. In the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase reaction, K⁺ and NH⁺₄ decreased the K_m for ATP and the competitive inhibition constants for ADP and (β,γ-methylene)adenosine triphosphate. Thiamine pyrophosphate strongly inhibited kinase activity. A high concentration of ADP did not alter the degree of inhibition by thiamine pyrophosphate nor did it increase the concentration of thiamine pyrophosphate required for half-maximal inhibition.     

Purification and properties of pyruvate kinase type M2 from rat lung

(1) Pyruvate kinase type M₂ from rat lung has been purified 840-fold with an overall yield of 20%. The enzyme gave a single band upon SDS-electrophoresis and isoelectrofocusing and had a specific activity of 1340 U/mg protein. The homotetramer of M_r = 224 000 and an isoelectric point of pH 5.8 had an amino acid composition closely resembling that of other pyruvate kinase isoenzymes type M₂, excepts that of the chicken liver. The enzyme was crystallized. (2) The enzyme has its pH optimum at pH 6.5. The K_0.5 value for phosphoenolpyruvate is 0.26 mM (n_H = 1.81) which decreases in the presence of 0.2 mM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to 0.056 mM (n_H = 1.06). 1 μM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate activates the enzyme at 0.1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate half-maximally. The K_m value for ADP at 1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate is 0.4 mM. The K_m value for other nucleoside diphosphates increases in the order ADP<GDP<IDP<UDP. (3) No evidence for an interconversion of pyruvate kinase type M₂ from rat or chicken lung was found. The enzyme was neither a substrate for the cAMP-dependent protein kinase from rabbit muscle nor for the cAMP-independent protein kinase from chicken liver. Since pyruvate kinase type M₂ from chicken liver is inactivated by phosphorylation catalyzed by a cAMP-independent protein kinase (Eigenbrodt, E., Abdel-Fattah Mostafa, M. and Schoner, W. (1977) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 358, 1047–1055) we suggest that the interconvertible form of pyruvate kinase type M₂ may represent a separate form of the pyruvate kinase type M₂ family.     

A possible role for C4 photosynthetic enzymes in tolerance of Zea mays to NaCl

Treatment of 14-day-old maize cultivars (Hybrid351 and Giza2) with 250 mM NaCl significantly reduced shoot fresh and dry weights and protein content during the subsequent 12 days. The magnitude of reduction was more pronounced in Giza than Hybrid. Both cultivars contained converging levels of protein for the enzymes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) under normal conditions; however, NaCl led to increase these levels in Hybrid and decrease them in Giza. Moreover, NaCl significantly inhibited the activities of PEPC, MDH and PPDK in both cultivars during the first 2 days, thereafter the inhibition nullified only in Hybrid; nonetheless, Rubisco was the least affected enzyme in both cultivars. In addition, NaCl slightly increased V _max of PEPC, MDH and PPDK in Hybrid with no change in K _m; nevertheless V _max dropped in Giza with an increase in K _m of only PEPC and MDH. Also K _cat, K _cat/K _m and V _max/K _m of all enzymes were lower in treated Giza than in treated Hybrid. The increased V _max of all enzymes in only Hybrid by NaCl confirms that they were synthesised more in Hybrid than in Giza. However, the decreased V _max in Giza concomitant with the increased K _m points to an interference of salinity with synthesis of enzymes and their structural integrity. This would lead to a noncompetitive inhibition for the enzymes. These findings declare that maize tolerance to NaCl was larger in Hybrid compared to Giza due to a role for C4 enzymes.     

Human erythrocyte pyruvate kinase deficiency: The use of a kinetic study of mutant enzymes for the detection of heterozygotes

Summary Erythrocyte pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency was detected in a boy of dutch origin. Immunologic, electrophoretic, and kinetic studies of the enzymes of propositus and the members of his family demonstrated that the boy was heterozygote for two different mutant PK alleles.The mutant enzyme, for which his mother was heterozygote, was characterized by a lower immunologic specific activity, a decreased affinity for the substrate phospho-enol-pyruvate, and a loss of homotropic interactions toward this substrate, an increased affinity toward the allosteric inhibitor MgATP^2-, a decreased affinity for the activator fructose-1,6-diphosphate, and a lowered pH optimum. Electrophoresis, K_m app. for MgADP, and the reactivity toward the purine nucleotide substrate analogues were normal.The mutant enzyme for which his father was heterozygote was characterized by a decreased affinity for the substrate phospho-enol-pyruvate and a loss of homotropic interactions toward this substrate. All other parameters mentioned above were normal.The use of a kinetic study of mutant enzymes for the detection of heterozygotes is discussed.     

Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis 168. Comparison of alkaline phosphatase from sporulating and vegetative cells

1. The purification of the `vegetative' alkaline phosphatase of Bacillus subtilis 168 was simplified by ionic elution of the enzyme from intact cells. 2. The enzyme has a molecular weight of about 70000 and treatment of the enzyme with 10mm-hydrochloric acid or 6.0m-guanidine hydrochloride, β-mercaptoethanol (0.1m) gives rise to enzymically inactive subunits. 3. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was determined. The N-terminal residue determined by the DNS chloride method is glycine. 4. The properties of this enzyme were compared with the `sporulation' alkaline phosphatase of the same strain. 5. Although the `sporulation' enzyme differs from the `vegetative' enzyme in its physiology of appearance and apparent mRNA stability, an examination of properties of the enzymes revealed no differences. 6. The enzyme from both cell forms is bound to the particulate fraction of cell extracts, but can be solubilized by high concentrations of magnesium chloride; removal of the magnesium chloride, by dialysis, results in precipitation of both enzymes. Both enzymes can be removed from intact cells by ionic elution. 7. The `vegetative' and `sporulation' enzymes have identical pH optima, K_m and K_i values and electrophoretic mobilities in cellulose acetate. 8. Their half-life is 28min at 65°C and their Q₁₀ is 1.25. 9. The molecular size determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 is about 69000. 10. `Vegetative' and `sporulation' forms gave precipitin lines that were continuous and non-spurred when tested against antiserum prepared against the `vegetative' enzyme. 11. The `sporulation' alkaline phosphatase appears to be associated with stage II of sporulation and appears to be induced by something specifically concerned in sporulation and not by phosphate starvation.     

Localization and characteristics of rat liver mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenases.

Two NAD-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes from rat liver mitochondria have been partially purified and characterized. One enzyme (enzyme I) has molecular weight of 320,000 and has a broad substrate specificity which includes formaldehyde; NADP is not a cofactor for this enzyme. This enzyme has K_m values for most aldehydes in the micromolar range. The isoelectric point was found to be 6.06. A second enzyme (enzyme II) has a molecular weight of 67,000, a K_m value for most aldehydes in the millimolar range but no activity toward formaldehyde. NADP does serve as a coenzyme, however. The isoelectric point is 6.64 for this enzyme. By utilization of the different substrate properties of these two enzymes it was possible to demonstrate a time-dependent release from digitonin-treated liver mitochondria. The high K_m, low molecular weight enzyme (enzyme II) is apparently in the intermembrane space while the low K_m, high molecular weight enzyme (enzyme I) is in the mitochondrial matrix and is most likely responsible for oxidation of acetaldehyde formed from ethanol.     

Functional analysis, overexpression, and kinetic characterization of pyruvate kinase from Plasmodium falciparum

The important role of pyruvate kinase during malarial infection has prompted the cloning of a cDNA encoding Plasmodium falciparum pyruvate kinase (pfPyrK), using mRNA from intraerythrocytic-stage malaria parasites. The full-length cDNA encodes a protein with a computed molecular weight of 55.6 kDa and an isoelectric point of 7.5. The purified recombinant pfPyrK is enzymatically active and exists as a homotetramer in its active form. The enzyme exhibits hyperbolic kinetics with respect to phosphoenolpyruvate and ADP, with K_m of 0.19 and 0.12 mM, respectively. pfPyrK is not affected by fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, a general activating factor of pyruvate kinase for most species. Glucose-6-phosphate, an activator of the Toxoplasma gondii enzyme, does not affect pfPyrK activity. Similar to rabbit pyruvate kinase, pfPyrK is susceptible to inactivation by 1 mM pyridoxal-5′-phosphate, but to a lesser extent. A screen for inhibitors to pfPyrK revealed that it is markedly inhibited by ATP and citrate. Detailed kinetic analysis revealed a transition from hyperbolic to sigmoidal kinetics for PEP in the presence of citrate, as well as competitive inhibitory behavior for ATP with respect to PEP. Citrate exhibits non-competitive inhibition with respect to ADP with a K_i of 0.8 mM. In conclusion, P. falciparum expresses an active pyruvate kinase during the intraerythrocytic-stage of its developmental cycle that may play important metabolic roles during infection.     

Galactosylceramide beta-galactosidase in Krabbe disease: partial purification and characterization of the mutant enzyme

Galactosylceramide β-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.46) has been partially purified from liver of a patient who died of Krabbe disease. Approximately 700-fold purification was achieved by solubilization, adsorption with immobilized concanavalin A, gel filtration through Bio-Gel A-1.5m and chromatography on immobilized sphingosine. The relative increase in crossreacting material and residual galactosylceramidase and lactosylceramidase I activities of the mutant enzyme was essentially identical to that obtained for the enzyme partially purified by the same procedure from normal liver control. An apparent molecular weight of about 750,000 and similar electrophoretic mobilities were observed for both enzymes. In contrast, catalytic properties and stability of the enzyme protein were severely affected in the mutant as compared to the normal enzyme. The apparent K_m values of the mutant enzyme for β-galactosidase activities toward galactosylceramide and lactosylceramide in the presence of pure sodium taurocholate were 14 and 4 times, respectively, higher than the normal values. Incubation for 4 min at 52 °C or dialysis against 1.3 m urea caused a 50% loss of residual enzymatic activity of the mutant enzyme, whereas a 35-min incubation or dialysis against 5.6 m urea was required for 50% inactivation of the normal enzyme. These findings indicate that the mutation in Krabbe disease leads to synthesis of normal quantities of catalytically and structurally altered protein.     

Enzymes of the normothermic and hibernating bat,Myotis lucifugus: Metabolites as modulators of pyruvate kinase

Summary The previous paper (Borgmann, A., and Moon, 1976) suggested that temperature differentially affected the binding of the substrates phosphoenol pyruvate (PEP) and ADP to bat tissue pyruvate kinases (PK) under hibernating and normothermic conditions. Since the regulatory properties of most mammalian type-L PKs are temperature dependent, a study of these properties for the bat enzymes was initiated.M. pectoralis PK ofM. lucifugus is modulator insensitive, although ATP does increase theK _m(PEP) slightly (Table 1). This effect is most pronounced at low temperatures for HM-PK (Fig. 1) and may be of some regulatory significance.Modulators affect bat liver PK in a manner analogous to other mammalian type-L enzymes, and marked quantitative differences exist between the NL-and HL-enzymes. TheK _m(PEP) is increased only slightly by alanine and ATP (Table 3), althoughV _max decreases markedly for NL-PK; fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP) decreases theK _m(PEP) and overrides the inhibitory action of ATP and alanine (Table 3). As temperature decreases, the proportional change inK _m(PEP) with or without effectors is unchanged (Table 3).HL-PK is markedly affected by these modulators. The extent of this interaction, as indicated byn _H-values (Table 3) andK _i orK _a values (Table 2; Figs. 1, 2, 3), between the effectors and the binding of PEP to HL-PK is relatively greater than for the NL-enzyme. However, the temperature sensitivity of these interactions is reduced (Table 3).Therefore, the strategies associated with enzymes of hibernating and normothermic bats are similar to those previously reported by Hochachka and Somero (1973) for certain enzymes of poikilotherms, and argues for the existence of distinct enzyme forms in the two physiological states.Abbreviations ala alanine - FDP fructose-1,6-diphosphate,HL, HM, hibernator liver, and muscle, respectively - LDH lactate dehydrogenase - NL, NM normothermic liver, and muscle, respectively - PEP phosphoenol pyruvate - PK pyruvate kinase     

Regulation of pyruvate kinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity in adult Fasciola hepatica (Trematoda).

F. hepatica pyruvate kinase and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase were found to have properties of regulatory enzymes in the dissimilation of PEP and the control of metabolic flow. Mn²⁺ and K⁺ were required for pyruvate kinase activity. In the presence of fructose-1, 6-diphosphate (FDP), Mg²⁺ could substitute for Mn²⁺. FDP caused a 4-fold increase in the Mn²⁺ activated pyruvate kinase activity. This was accompanied by a 12-fold decrease in apparent K_m(PEP) and a 3-fold decrease in apparent K_{m (ADP)}. ATP markedly inhibited F. hepatica pyruvate kinase, but this inhibition was relieved by FDP. Estimates of metabolic levels indicated that the pyruvate kinase is saturated with PEP and ADP in vivo, but will be highly sensitive to fluctuations in the physiological concentrations of FDP and ATP. NADH doubled the activity of the PEP carboxykinase reaction and decreased the apparent K_{m (PEP)} for this enzyme 3-fold. While the maximal activity of the PEP carboxykinase reaction was substantially higher than the pyruvate kinase reaction, the steady state concentration of PEP suggests that the PEP carboxykinase will not be saturated with this substrate.     

Trichomonas gallinae: charaterization and regulatory properties of lactic dehydrogenase.

The lactic dehydrogenase (l-lactate: NAD oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.27, LDH)of Trichomonas gallinae was characterized and some of its regulatory properties studied. Electrophoretic analysis, with specific enzymatic staining of crude and dialyzed cell-free extracts and dialyzed ammonium sulfate fractions, all revealed a single band of enzymatic activity suggesting only one molecular form of the enzyme. The pH optima were found to be the following: 7.0 in the pyruvate to lactate direction and 9.0 in the reverse direction. Thermal inactivation studies showed a narrow temperature optimum peaking at 35 C. The K_m values for all four reaction components were determined and found to be: NADH, 70 μm; pyruvate, 88 μm; NAD, 65 μm; and l-lactate, 4.6 mM. T. gallinae LDH was absolutely specific for NAD, NADH, l-lactate, and pyruvate. The enzyme exhibited negative cooperativity, with both NADH and l-lactate, as evidenced by curvilinear Lineweaver-Burk kinetics and Hill coefficients of less than one. Several glycolytic intermediates lowered the K_m of NADH with variable effects on the K_m of pyruvate. The regulation of LDH by glycolytic intermediates is discussed.     

Spinach pyruvate kinase isoforms : partial purification and regulatory properties

Pyruvate kinase from spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) leaves consists of two isoforms, separable by blue agarose chromatography. Both isoforms share similar pH profiles and substrate and alternate nucleotide K_m values. In addition, both isoforms are inhibited by oxalate and ATP and activated by AMP. The isoforms differ in their response to three key metabolites; citrate, aspartate, and glutamate. The first isoform is similar to previously reported plant pyruvate kinases in its sensitivity to citrate inhibition. The K_i for this inhibition is 1.2 millimolar citrate. The second isoform is not affected by citrate but is regulated by aspartate and glutamate. Aspartate is an activator with a K_a of 0.05 millimolar, and glutamate is an inhibitor with a K_i of 0.68 millimolar. A pyruvate kinase with these properties has not been previously reported. Based on these considerations, we suggest that the activity of the first isoform is regulated by respiratory metabolism. The second isoform, in contrast, may be regulated by the demand for carbon skeletons for use in ammonia assimilation.     

Characterization and kinetics of isoenzymes of pyruvate kinase from developing castor bean endosperm

Isozymes of pyruvate kinase (PK) have been isolated from developing castor bean endosperm. One isozyme, PK_c, is localized in the cytosol, and the other, PK_p, is in the plastid. Both isozymes need monovalent and divalent cations for activity, requirements which can be filled by K⁺ and Mg²⁺. Both isozymes are inhibited by citrate, pyruvate, and ATP. PK_c has a much broader pH profile than PK_p and is also more stable. Both have the same K_m (0.05 millimolar) for PEP, but PK_p has a 10-fold higher K_m (0.3 millimolar) for ADP than PK_c (0.03 millimolar). PK_c also has a higher affinity for alternate nucleotide substrates than PK_p. The two isozymes have different kinetic mechanisms. Both have an ordered sequential mechanism and bind phosphoenolpyruvate before ADP. However, the plastid isozyme releases ATP first, whereas pyruvate is the first product released from the cytosolic enzyme. The properties of the two isozymes are similar to those of their counterparts in green tissue.