The stimulation of glycolysis by hypoxia in activated monocytes is mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase and inducible 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase

The activation of monocytes involves a stimulation of glycolysis, release of potent inflammatory mediators, and alterations in gene expression. All of these processes are known to be further increased under hypoxic conditions. The activated monocytes express inducible 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (iPFK-2), which synthesizes fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, a stimulator of glycolysis. During ischemia, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activates the homologous heart 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase isoform by phosphorylating its Ser-466. Here, we studied the involvement of AMPK and iPFK-2 in the stimulation of glycolysis in activated monocytes under hypoxia. iPFK-2 was phosphorylated on the homologous serine (Ser-461) and activated by AMPK in vitro. The activation of human monocytes by lipopolysaccharide induced iPFK-2 expression and increased fructose 2,6-bisphosphate content and glycolysis. The incubation of activated monocytes with oligomycin, an inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation, or under hypoxic conditions activated AMPK and further increased iPFK-2 activity, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate content, and glycolysis. In cultured human embryonic kidney 293 cells, the expression of a dominant-negative AMPK prevented both the activation and phosphorylation of co-transfected iPFK-2 by oligomycin. It is concluded that the stimulation of glycolysis by hypoxia in activated monocytes requires the phosphorylation and activation of iPFK-2 by AMPK.     

Nitric oxide switches on glycolysis through the AMP protein kinase and 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase pathway

After inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase by nitric oxide, astrocytes maintain energy production by upregulating glycolysis--a response which does not seem to be available to neurons. Here, we show that in astrocytes, after inhibition of respiration by nitric oxide, there is a rapid, cyclic GMP-independent increase in the activity of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase (PFK1), a master regulator of glycolysis, and an increase in the concentration of its most powerful positive allosteric activator, fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (F2,6P(2)). In neurons, nitric oxide failed to alter F2,6P(2) concentration or PFK1 activity. This failure could be accounted for by the much lower amount of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (PFK2, the enzyme responsible for F2,6P(2) biosynthesis) in neurons. Indeed, full activation of neuronal PFK1 was achieved by adding cytosol from nitric oxide-treated astrocytes. Furthermore, using the small interfering RNA (siRNA) strategy, we demonstrated that the rapid activation of glycolysis by nitric oxide is dependent on phosphorylation of the energy charge-sensitive AMP-activated protein kinase, resulting in activation of PFK2 and protection of cells from apoptosis. Thus the virtual absence of PFK2 in neurons may explain their extreme sensitivity to energy depletion and degeneration.     

Activation of glycolysis by insulin with a sequential increase of the 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase activity, fructose-2,6-bisphosphate level and pyruvate kinase activity in cultured rat hepatocytes

The involvement of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate [Fru(2,6)P2] and pyruvate kinase in the insulin-dependent short-term activation of glycolysis was studied in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes. The short-term influence of insulin on these parameters was dependent on the insulin concentration used for the long-term culture. Cells were cultured either with 10 nM or 0.1 nM insulin for 48 h, and are referred to as 'insulin cells' and 'control cells', respectively. Insulin cells exhibited a high level of Fru(2,6)P2. Addition of insulin to insulin cells led to an immediate stimulation of glycolysis (two-fold) and activation of pyruvate kinase. The concentration of Fru(2,6)P2 and activity of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase remained constant. Control cells exhibited a very low level of Fru(2,6)P2 and low activity of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase directly after the medium change. However, both parameters increased during a 1-2-h incubation in the absence of insulin. Although the level of Fru(2,6)P2 thus changed up to tenfold the glycolytic rate remained at a constant value. Addition of insulin to control cells led to a 5-8-fold stimulation of glycolysis but only after a 30-90-min lag phase. During this lag period insulin strongly increased sequentially the 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase, the level of Fru(2,6)P2 and the pyruvate kinase activity. The activation of the latter enzyme slightly preceded the onset of the insulin-stimulated glycolysis. Addition of insulin to control cells, which were preincubated for 3 h in the absence of insulin and in which the Fru(2,6)P2 level had risen insulin-independently, led to an immediate increase in glycolysis without a lag phase. It is concluded that in this insulin-sensitive cell system: the changes of glycolytic flux did not correlate with changes in the level of total Fru(2,6)P2 either in insulin or in control cells; an increase in the Fru(2,6)P2 concentration was not obligatory for the insulin-dependent stimulation of glycolysis in insulin cells; activation of pyruvate kinase and thus glycolysis by insulin did not proceed unless the Fru(2,6)P2 level had been elevated above a threshold level. The lack of correlation between total Fru(2,6)P2 levels and the glycolytic flux and the apparent existence of a threshold concentration for Fru(2,6)P2 suggest a permissive action for this effector in enzyme interconversion.     

Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate and mitogens increase fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in lymphocytes. Comparison of lymphocyte and rat-liver 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase

The influence of tumour promoters and growth factors on glycolysis and on fructose-2,6-bisphosphate concentration was studied in isolated mouse spleen lymphocytes and in purified B-cells. The intracellular concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and the rate of lactate release were increased 2-3-fold in spleen lymphocytes exposed to active phorbol esters, mitogenic lectins, interleukin 4 or lipopolysaccharide. The maximal effect was observed after 1 h of exposure. In these cells hexose 6-phosphates increased 2-fold and 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase activity remained unchanged after treatment with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate or with lectins. Exposure of B-cells to phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, interleukin 4 or lipopolysaccharide increased the glycolytic flux and the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate without relation to their mitogenic activity. Lymphocytes and rat liver 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase were partially purified using the same procedure. The lymphocyte enzyme was not inhibited by sn-glycerol 3-phosphate in contrast to the potent inhibition observed in liver. Treatment of both enzymes with the catalytic subunit of the cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase failed to inactivate 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase from lymphocytes. These differences suggest that lymphocytes and liver contain different forms of this enzyme.     

6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase from frog skeletal muscle: purification,kinetics and immunological properties

Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is the most potent activator of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase, a key regulatory enzyme of glycolysis in animal tissues. This study was prompted by the finding that the content of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in frog skeletal muscle was dramatically increased at the initiation of exercise and was closely correlated with the glycolytic flux during exercise. 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase, the enzyme system catalyzing the synthesis and degradation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, was purified from frog (Rana esculenta) skeletal muscle and its properties were compared with those of the rat muscle type enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli using recombinant DNA techniques. 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase from frog muscle was purified 5600-fold. 6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase and fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase activities could not be separated, indicating that the frog muscle enzyme is bifunctional. The enzyme preparation from frog muscle showed two bands on sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The minor band had a relative molecular mass of 55800 and was identified as a liver (L-type) isoenzyme. It was recognized by an antiserum raised against a specific amino-terminal amino acid sequence of the L-type isoenzyme and was phosphorylated by the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. The major band in the preparations from frog muscle (relative molecular mass = 53900) was slightly larger than the recombinant rat muscle (M-type) isoenzyme (relative molecular mass = 53300). The pH profiles of the frog muscle enzyme were similar to those of the rat M-type isoenzyme, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase activity was optimal at pH 9.3, whereas fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase activity was optimal at pH 5.5. However, the 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase from frog muscle differed from other M-type isoenzymes in that, at physiological pH, the maximum activity of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase exceeded that of fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase, the activity ratio being 1.7 (at pH 7.2) compared to 0.2 in the rat M-type isoenzyme. 6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase activity from the frog and rat muscle enzymes was strongly inhibited by citrate and by phosphoenolpyruvate whereas glycerol 3-phosphate had no effect. Fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase activity from frog muscle was very sensitive to the non-competitive inhibitor fructose 6-phosphate (inhibitor concentration causing 50% decrease in activity = 2 mol · l^-1). The inhibition was counteracted by inorganic phosphate and, particularly, by glycerol 3-phosphate. In the presence of inorganic phosphate and glycerol 3-phosphate the frog muscle fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase was much more sensitive to fructose 6-phosphate inhibition than was the rat M-type fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase. No change in kinetics and no phosphorylation of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase from frog muscle was observed after incubation with protein kinase C and a Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. The kinetics of frog muscle 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase, although they would favour an initial increase in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in exercising frog muscle, cannot fully account for the changes in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate observed in muscle of exercising frog. Regulatory mechanisms not yet studied must be involved in working frog muscle in vivo.Abbreviations BSA bovine serum albumin - Ca/CAMK Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (EC 2.7.1.37) - CL anti-l-type PFK-21 FBPase-2 antiserum - DTT dithiothreitol - EP phosphorylated enzyme intermediate - FBPase-2 fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.46) - F2,6P₂ fructose 2,6-bisphosphate - I_0,5 inhibitor concentration required to decrease enzyme activity by 50% - MCL-2 anti-PFK-2/FBPase-2 antiserum - M_r relative molecular mass - PEG polyethylene glycol - PFK-1 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase (EC 2.7.1.11) - PKF-2 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (EC 2.7.1.105) - PKA protein kinase A = cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (EC 2.7.1.37) - PKC protein kinase C (EC 2.7.1.37) - SDS sodium dodecylsulphate - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - U unit of enzyme activity     

Insulin-mediated regulation of heart atrial and ventricular 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase

Atrial 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase activity from the hearts of diabetic rats was decreased by 50%, but ventricular 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase activity was found not to be insulin-sensitive. This decrease in atrial 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase activity during diabetes was characterized by diminished levels of all three types of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase subunits. As shown by immunological titration and column chromatography, the population of native 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase isozymes in the ventricles was not measurably affected during insulin deprivation. However, the atrial isozyme population in diabetic rat heart appeared to contain, on a relative basis, higher levels of the isozymic forms containing the L-type subunit. Measurement of the levels of this subunit indicated that in diabetic atria it was less affected than the other subunits. In the ventricles, insulin deficiency did not promote significant losses of fructose-2,6-P2; but, in diabetic rats, the atrial levels of this activator were decreased by 80% and subsequently restored by insulin treatment. These data suggest that any insulin-mediated effects on ventricular 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase activity and resultant effects on ventricular glycolysis do not appear to be exerted through changes in enzyme concentration, but probably through changes in modulators other than fructose-2,6-P2. In contrast to the ventricles, it appears that insulin exerts its effects on atrial 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase activity and, in part, influences atrial glycolysis through alteration of fructose-2,6-P2 levels, enzyme concentration, and isozymic content.     

Heparin-like dextran derivatives as well as glycosaminoglycans inhibit the enzymatic activity of human cathepsin G

6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase catalyzes the synthesis and degradation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, activator of phosphofructokinase-1 and inhibitor of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase. These properties confer to this bifunctional enzyme a key role in the control of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Several mammalian isozymes generated by alternative splicing from four genes, designated pfkfb1–4, have been identified. The results presented in this study demonstrate the expression of the pfkfb3 gene in C2C12 cells and its downregulation during myogenic cell differentiation. We also show that the decrease of ubiquitous 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase isozyme levels, product of pfkfb3 gene, is due to its enhanced degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway.     

Synthesis of amide and sulfonamide substituted N-aryl 6-aminoquinoxalines as PFKFB3 inhibitors with improved physicochemical properties

In oncology, the “Warburg effect” describes the elevated production of energy by glycolysis in cancer cells. The ubiquitous and hypoxia-induced 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) plays a noteworthy role in the regulation of glycolysis by producing fructose-2,6-biphosphate (F-2,6-BP), a potent activator of the glycolysis rate-limiting phosphofructokinase PFK-1. Series of amides and sulfonamides derivatives based on a N-aryl 6-aminoquinoxaline scaffold were synthesized and tested for their inhibition of PFKFB3 in vitro in a biochemical assay as well as in HCT116 cells. The carboxamide series displayed satisfactory kinetic solubility and metabolic stability, and within this class, potent lead compounds with low nanomolar activity have been identified with a suitable profile for further in vivo evaluation.     

PFKFB3 Regulates Oxidative Stress Homeostasis via Its S-Glutathionylation in Cancer

Whereas moderately increased cellular oxidative stress is supportive for cancerous growth of cells, excessive levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are detrimental to their growth and survival. We demonstrated that high ROS levels, via increased oxidized glutathione (GSSG), induce isoform-specific S-glutathionylation of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) at residue Cys206, which is located near the entrance to the 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase catalytic pocket. Upon this ROS-dependent, reversible, covalent modification, a marked decrease in its catalytic ability to synthesize fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P₂), the key glycolysis allosteric activator, was observed. This event was coupled to a decrease in glycolytic flux and an increase in glucose metabolic flux into the pentose phosphate pathway. This shift, in turn, caused an increase in reduced glutathione (GSH) and, ultimately, resulted in ROS detoxification inside HeLa cells. The ability of PFKFB3 to control the Fru-2,6-P₂ levels in an ROS-dependent manner allows the PFKFB3-expressing cancer cells to continue energy metabolism with a reduced risk of excessive oxidative stress and, thereby, to support their cell survival and proliferation. This study provides a new insight into the roles of PFKFB3 as switch that senses and controls redox homeostasis in cancer in addition to its role in cancer glycolysis.     

Disruption of inducible 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase impairs the suppressive effect of PPARγ activation on diet-induced intestine inflammatory response

PFKFB3 is a target gene of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and encodes for inducible 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (iPFK2). As a key regulatory enzyme that stimulates glycolysis, PFKFB3/iPFK2 links adipocyte metabolic and inflammatory responses. Additionally, PFKFB3/iPFK2 is involved in the effect of active PPARγ on suppressing overnutrition-induced adipose tissue inflammatory response, which accounts for the insulin-sensitizing and antidiabetic effects of PPARγ activation. Using PFKFB3/iPFK2-disrupted mice, the present study investigated the role of PFKFB3/iPFK2 in regulating overnutrition-associated intestine inflammatory response and in mediating the effects of PPARγ activation. In wild-type mice, intestine PFKFB3/iPFK2 was increased in response to high-fat diet (HFD) feeding compared with that in mice fed a low-fat diet. However, intestine PFKFB3/iPFK2 was decreased in PFKFB3/iPFK2-disrupted mice and did not respond to HFD feeding. Furthermore, on an HFD, PFKFB3/iPFK2-disrupted mice displayed a significant increase in major intestine proinflammatory indicators such as toll-like receptor 4 expression, c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 and nuclear factor kappa B phosphorylation, and proinflammatory cytokine expression compared with wild-type littermates. Upon treatment with rosiglitazone, an agonist of PPARγ, intestine proinflammatory indicators were markedly decreased in wild-type mice, but to a much lesser degree in PFKFB3/iPFK2-disrupted mice. Overall, the status of HFD-induced intestine inflammatory response in all treated mice correlated inversely with systemic insulin sensitivity, indicated by the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance data. Together, these results suggest that PFKFB3/iPFK2 is critically involved in the effect of PPARγ activation on suppressing diet-induced intestine inflammatory response.     

Regulation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate metabolism in human fibroblasts

In the present work, the mechanism involved in the regulation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (fructose-2,6-P₂) metabolism in human fibroblasts has been studied. Various agents like serum, insulin and adrenaline known to affect glycolysis have been investigated for their ability to influence fructose 2,6-P₂ metabolism in confluent human fibroblasts. Serum appears to be the most potent activator of fructose-2,6-P₂ levels and capable of inducing a marked increase in 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (ATP: d-fructose-6-phosphate-2-phosphotransferase), EC 2.7.1. 105). To a lesser extent insulin has the same effects. The increase in enzyme activity elicited by serum and insulin does not require de novo protein synthesis since the process is insensitive to cycloheximide. Incubation of fibroblasts in the presence of adrenaline is responsible for a significant rise in fructose-2,6-P₂ levels without affecting 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase. Similar experiments performed on glucose-starved or cytochalasin B-treated cells show that the effects elicited by all the agents are strictly dependent on glucose availability.     

Contractile activity modifies Fru-2,6-P(2) metabolism in rabbit fast twitch skeletal muscle.

Modification of muscular contractile patterns by denervation and chronic low frequency stimulation induces structural, physiological, and biochemical alterations in fast twitch skeletal muscles. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is a potent activator of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase, a key regulatory enzyme of glycolysis in animal tissues. The concentration of Fru-2,6-P(2) depends on the activity of the bifunctional enzyme, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (PFK-2/FBPase-2), which catalyzes the synthesis and degradation of this metabolite. This enzyme has several isoforms, the relative abundance of which depends on the tissue metabolic properties. Skeletal muscle expresses two of these isoforms; it mainly contains the muscle isozyme (M-type) and a small amount of the liver isozyme (L-type), whose expression is under hormonal control. Moreover, contractile activity regulates expression of muscular proteins related with glucose metabolism. Fast twitch rabbit skeletal muscle denervation or chronic low frequency stimulation can provide information about the regulation of this enzyme. Our results show an increase in Fru-2,6-P(2) concentration after 2 days of denervation or stimulation. In denervated muscle, this increase is mediated by a rise in liver PFK-2/FBPase-2 isozyme, while in stimulated muscle it is mediated by a rise in muscle PFK-2/FBPase-2 isozyme. In conclusion, our results show that contractile activity could alter the expression of PFK-2/FBPase-2.     

Analysis of progress curves for enzyme-catalysed reactions. Automatic construction of computer programs for fitting integrated rate equations.

In epithelial cells isolated from rat small intestine, we have studied the influence of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a neurotransmitter which markedly increases enterocyte cyclic AMP, and of two cyclic AMP analogues (8-bromo cyclic AMP and N6,2'-O-dibutyryl cyclic AMP) on the rate of glycolysis, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate concentration and 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase activity, as well as on the rate of 3-O-methyl-D-[14C]glucose uptake. Our results show that, without affecting the rate of 3-O-methyl-D-[14C]glucose accumulation, VIP and cyclic AMP analogues were able to inhibit glucose consumption and L-lactate formation by isolated rat enterocytes. These effects occurred parallel to a significant decrease in the cellular concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and to a partial inactivation of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase. These findings support the hypothesis that VIP inhibits glycolysis in rat enterocytes through a cyclic AMP-dependent mechanism.     

The stimulation of heart glycolysis by increased workload does not require AMP-activated protein kinase but a wortmannin-sensitive mechanism

Increasing heart workload stimulates glycolysis by enhancing glucose transport and fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P(2)), the latter resulting from 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (PFK-2) activation. Here, we investigated whether adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) mediates PFK-2 activation in hearts submitted to increased workload. When heart work was increased, PFK-2 activity, Fru-2,6-P(2) content and glycolysis increased, whereas the AMP:adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine/creatine (PCr:Cr) ratios, and AMPK activity remained unchanged. Wortmannin, the well-known phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor, blocked the activation of protein kinase B and the increase in glycolysis and Fru-2,6-P(2) content induced by increased work. Therefore, the control of heart glycolysis by contraction differs from that in skeletal muscle where AMPK is involved.