Isolation and characterization of the cytosolic and chloroplast forms of spinach leaf fructose diphosphate aldolase

Two different isoenzymes of fructose-P2 aldolase can be resolved by chromatography of crude spinach leaf extracts on DEAE-cellulose columns. The acidic isoenzyme comprises about 85% of the total leaf aldolase activity. The two forms differ in primary structure as judged by their distinctive amino acid compositions, tryptic peptide patterns, and immunological properties. Only the acidic isoenzyme was detected in extracts of isolated chloroplasts, suggesting that this molecule represents the chloroplast form of spinach leaf aldolase while the basic isoenzyme is of cytosolic origin. The cytosolic (basic) isoenzyme and chicken aldolase A4 are similar in the following respects. 1) They have similar specific catalytic activity (10-15 units/mg); 2) they are both highly sensitive to inactivation by very limited digestion with bovine pancreatic carboxypeptidase A; 3) they both have subunit molecular weights of 40,000; 4) they both have derivatized (blocked) NH2-terminal structures; 5) they are both resistant to thermal denaturation at 50 degrees C; and 6) they both regain catalytic activity following reversible denaturation at pH 2.3 or in 5.8 M urea. Also, the cytosolic aldolase cross-reacted immunologically with the single aldolases present in spinach seeds and in wheat germ. Further, this isoenzyme readily "hybridized" with chicken aldolase A4 in vitro. These observations demonstrate the close homology between the cytosolic aldolases derived from plant and animal origins. The chloroplast aldolase had a specific catalytic activity of about 8 units/mg and, like its cytosolic counterpart, was severely inactivated by limited digestion with carboxypeptidase A. However, this isoenzyme was distinct from the cytosolic aldolase in the following characteristics: 1) its "small" subunit size (Mr congruent to 38,000); 2) its underivatized NH2-terminal structure; 3) its high sensitivity to thermal denaturation at 50 degrees C; and 4) its inability to refold into an enzymatically active conformation following denaturation at pH 2.3 or in 5.8 M urea. The distinctive properties of the chloroplast aldolase may be expected for an enzyme which is synthesized as a higher molecular weight precursor on cytosolic polysomes and is then proteolytically processed to the "mature" form during its migration into the chloroplast organelle.     

Creatine kinase and aldolase isoenzyme transitions in cultures of chick skeletal muscle cells

Changes in the isoenzyme patterns and activities of the two enzymes creatine kinase (CPK) and fructose diphosphate aldolase have been followed during the course of differentiation of chick skeletal muscle cells in vitro. The characteristic isoenzyme transitions of both of these enzymes known to occur in developing muscle in situ can be demonstrated in extracts of cultured myogenic cells by cellulose polyacetate electrophoresis followed by specific enzymatic staining: MM-CPK replaces the embryonic BB-CPK, while aldolase isoenzymes containing A subunits replace the C-containing forms which predominate at earlier stages. The specific activities of both enzymes increase during in vitro differentiation. Although the major part of these concomitant changes occurs after myoblast fusion has reached a maximum level, analysis of their timing relative to the process of fusion indicates that the increases in the activities of both enzymes, as well as the accumulation of nuclei within myotubes, proceed exponentially from the beginning of the second day in culture. Fusion and enzyme accumulation are unaffected by addition of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (1 × 10^?4M) to the medium. In calcium-deficient medium, or in media containing 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) at concentrations from 0.2 to 7 × 10^?5M, fusion is almost completely blocked, while cell viability is maintained. The CPK and aldolase isoenzyme transitions fail to occur normally in both fusion-preventing media. This blockage of the normal differentiative changes is, however, less complete in the calcium-deficient cultures, which, in contrast to the BrdUrd containing cultures, contained a number of long bipolar cells thought to be able to differentiate without fusion. These results are interpreted as indicating that for most, but possibly not for all, myogenic cells in typical primary muscle cell cultures, fusion is a prerequisite for the parallel differentiative changes in CPK and aldolase isoenzymes. The possibility is discussed that a “cluster” of proteins, including CPK and aldolase, may be coordinately regulated during myogenesis.     

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.     

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.     

Aldolase mediates the association of F-actin with the insulin-responsive glucose transporter GLUT4.

To identify potential proteins interacting with the insulin-responsive glucose transporter (GLUT4), we generated fusion proteins of glutathione S-transferase (GST) and the final 30 amino acids from GLUT4 (GST-G4) or GLUT1 (GST-G1). Incubation of these carboxyl-terminal fusion proteins with adipocyte cell extracts revealed a specific interaction of GLUT4 with fructose 1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase. In the presence of aldolase, GST-G4 but not GST-G1 was able to co-pellet with filamentous (F)-actin. This interaction was prevented by incubation with the aldolase substrates, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate or glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. Immunofluorescence confocal microscopy demonstrated a significant co-localization of aldolase and GLUT4 in intact 3T3L1 adipocytes, which decreased following insulin stimulation. Introduction into permeabilized 3T3L1 adipocytes of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate or the metabolic inhibitor 2-deoxyglucose, two agents that disrupt the interaction between aldolase and actin, inhibited insulin-stimulated GLUT4 exocytosis without affecting GLUT4 endocytosis. Furthermore, microinjection of an aldolase-specific antibody also inhibited insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation. These data suggest that aldolase functions as a scaffolding protein for GLUT4 and that glucose metabolism may provide a negative feedback signal for the regulation of glucose transport by insulin.     

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.     

The distribution of enzyme and isoenzyme activities between parenchymal and haematopoietic cells in the liver of the foetal guinea pig

The hepatocyte and haematopoietic cell contents of the liver of the foetal guinea pig were measured over the latter half of gestation. Hepatocytes represented about 30% of liver volume at mid-gestation and this increased to 70-80% by term; cell volume remained fairly constant until 5-7 days before term, then more than doubled. Haematopoietic cells represented about 5% of liver volume at mid-gestation and this progressively fell to <1% by term. At 75% of gestation hepatocytes and haematopoietic cells were prepared from perfused foetal livers by collagenase digestion. Enzyme activity of the hepatocyte was, without exception, similar to that of the whole liver. In general, enzyme activity in the haematopoietic cells was similar to that in erythrocytes, with relatively low values for aldolase, glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, ;malic' enzyme, glutamate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase. The haematopoietic cell contribution to total enzyme activity in the foetal liver was usually much less than 10% and could thus not account for the major changes in hepatic enzyme activity over the latter half of gestation. Hepatocytes contained hexokinase isoenzymes I and III, aldolase isoenzymes A and B and pyruvate kinase isoenzymes 1, 2 and 4. The haematopoietic cells contained hexokinase isoenzyme I and two additional bands of activity with slightly greater mobility, aldolase isoenzyme A and pyruvate kinase isoenzymes 2 and 4.     

Fructose-6-phosphate aldolase is a novel class I aldolase from Escherichia coli and is related to a novel group of bacterial transaldolases

We have cloned an open reading frame from the Escherichia coli K-12 chromosome that had been assumed earlier to be a transaldolase or a transaldolase-related protein, termed MipB. Here we show that instead a novel enzyme activity, fructose-6-phosphate aldolase, is encoded by this open reading frame, which is the first report of an enzyme that catalyzes an aldol cleavage of fructose 6-phosphate from any organism. We propose the name FSA (for fructose-six phosphate aldolase; gene name fsa). The recombinant protein was purified to apparent homogeneity by anion exchange and gel permeation chromatography with a yield of 40 mg of protein from 1 liter of culture. By using electrospray tandem mass spectroscopy, a molecular weight of 22,998 per subunit was determined. From gel filtration a size of 257,000 (+/- 20,000) was calculated. The enzyme most likely forms either a decamer or dodecamer of identical subunits. The purified enzyme displayed a V(max) of 7 units mg(-)1 of protein for fructose 6-phosphate cleavage (at 30 degrees C, pH 8.5 in 50 mm glycylglycine buffer). For the aldolization reaction a V(max) of 45 units mg(-)1 of protein was found; K(m) values for the substrates were 9 mm for fructose 6-phosphate, 35 mm for dihydroxyacetone, and 0.8 mm for glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. FSA did not utilize fructose, fructose 1-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, or dihydroxyacetone phosphate. FSA is not inhibited by EDTA which points to a metal-independent mode of action. The lysine 85 residue is essential for its action as its exchange to arginine (K85R) resulted in complete loss of activity in line with the assumption that the reaction mechanism involves a Schiff base formation through this lysine residue (class I aldolase). Another fsa-related gene, talC of Escherichia coli, was shown to also encode fructose-6-phosphate aldolase activity and not a transaldolase as proposed earlier.     

Nucleo-cytoplasmic relationships of oestrogen receptors in rat liver during the oestrous cycle and in response to administered natural and synthetic oestrogen.

The mechanism of degradation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from rabbit muscle by the lysosomal proteinase cathepsin B was determined. Treatment of aldolase with cathepsin B destroys up to 90% of activity with fructose 1,6-bisphosphate as substrate, but activity with fructose 1-phosphate is slightly increased. Cathepsin L, another lysosomal thiol proteinase, and papain are also potent inactivators of aldolase, whereas inactivation is not caused by cathepsins D or H even at high concentrations, or by cathepsin B inhibited by leupeptin or iodoacetate. The cathepsin-B-treated aldolase shows no detectable change in subunit molecular weight, oligomer molecular weight or subunit interactions. Cathepsin B cleaves dipeptides from the C-terminus of th aldolase subunits. Four dipeptides are released sequentially: Ala-Tyr, Asn-His, Ile-Ser and Leu-Phe, and a maximum of five additional dipeptides may be released. There are indications that this peptidyldipeptidase activity of cathepsin B may be an important aspect of its action on protein substrates generally.     

Independent regulation of cytochromes and glycolytic enzymes in human fibroblasts

Growth of cultured human fibroblasts in low oxygen resulted in reciprocal changes in the levels of cytochrome oxidase and several glycolytic enzymes. After five days' growth in low oxygen, cytochrome oxidase specific activity fell to 40% of the level of control cultures, while lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), aldolase, and triose phosphate dehydrogenase (TDH) levels were increased by 2- to 3-fold. These changes were accompanied by a change in the LDH isoenzyme pattern resulting from an increase in the proportion of LDH A subunits; the aldolase electropherogram was unchanged. When fibroblasts were grown for five days in medium containing chloramphenicol, cytochrome oxidase specific activity fell to 10% of control values, but LDH, aldolase and TDH specific activities and LDH and aldolase electropherograms did not differ significantly from controls. These findings are interpreted to indicate that the increased accumulation of LDH, aldolase and TDH induced by low oxygen is not mediated by the rate of accumulation of cytochrome oxidase.     

Exploring CP12 binding proteins revealed aldolase as a new partner for the phosphoribulokinase/glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase/CP12 complex--purification and kinetic characterization of this enzyme from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Possible binding proteins of CP12 in a green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, were investigated. We covalently immobilized CP12 on a resin and then used it to trap CP12 partners. Thus, we found an association between CP12 and phosphoribulokinase (EC 2.7.1.19), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.13) and aldolase. Immunoprecipitation with purified CP12 antibodies supported these data. The dissociation constant between CP12 and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (EC 4.1.2.13) aldolase was measured by surface plasmon resonance and is equal to 0.48 +/- 0.05 mum and thus corroborated an interaction between CP12 and aldolase. However, the association is even stronger between aldolase and the phosphoribulokinase/glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase/CP12 complex and the dissociation constant between them is equal to 55+/-5 nm. Moreover, owing to the fact that aldolase has been poorly studied in C. reinhardtii, we purified it and analyzed its kinetic properties. The enzyme displayed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate, with a catalytic constant equal to 35 +/- 1 s(-1) and 4 +/- 0.1 s(-1), respectively. The K(m) value for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate was equal to 0.16 +/- 0.02 mm and 0.046 +/- 0.005 mm for sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate. The catalytic efficiency of aldolase was thus 219 +/- 31 s(-1).mm(-1) with fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and 87 +/- 9 s(-1).mm(-1) with sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate. In the presence of the complex, this parameter for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate increased to 310 +/- 23 s(-1).mm(-1), whereas no change was observed with sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate. The condensation reaction of aldolase to form fructose 1,6-bisphosphate was also investigated but no effect of CP12 or the complex on this reaction was observed.     

Separation of rat lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme C4 from other isoenzymes by affinity and ion-exchange chromatography.

Lactate dehydrogenase C, an isoenzyme composed of C polypeptide subunits and found only in mature testes and spermatozoa, differs kinetically, chemically and immunologically from the five common isoenzymes of lactate dehydrogenase, each of which is a tetramer of A and/or B subunits. In the rat lactate dehydrogenase C exists in two molecular forms, isoenzymes C4 and A1C3. In addition to these two forms of lactate dehydrogenase C, rat testicular homogenate contains all the five isoenzymes of A and B type. Purification of isoenzyme C4 requires its separation from the other six isoenzymes, of which isoenzymes A1C3 and A3B1 are the most difficult ones to separate. In the present study isoenzyme A3B1, along with other enzymes, was separated from isoenzyme C4 by AMP-Sepharose chromatography by using a gradient of increasing concentration of NAD+-pyruvate adduct. In the next step, isoenzyme A1C3 was separated from isoenzyme C4 by DEAD-cellulose chromatography, resulting in a pure lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme C4 preparation.     

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.     

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.     

Enzyme co-localization in pea leaf chloroplasts: glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase,triose-P isomerase,aldolase and sedoheptulose bisphosphatase

Nearest neighbor analysis of immunocytolocalization experiments indicates that the enzymes glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, triose-P isomerase and aldolase are located close to one another in the pea leaf chloroplast stroma, and that aldolase is located close to sedoheptulose bisphosphatase. Direct transfer of the triose phosphates between glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase and triose-P isomerase, and from glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase and triose-P isomerase to aldolase, is then a possibility, as is direct transfer of sedoheptulose bisphosphate from aldolase to sedoheptulose bisphosphatase. Spatial organization of these enzymes may be important for efficient CO₂ fixation in photosynthetic organisms. In contrast, there is no indication that fructose bisphosphatase is co-localized with aldolase, and direct transfer of fructose bisphosphate from aldolase to fructose bisphosphatase seems unlikely.     

Sites of cleavage of rabbit muscle aldolase by purified cathepsin M from rabbit liver

Rabbit liver cathepsin M, a sulfhydryl proteinase similar in catalytic properties to cathepsin B, causes a decrease in the activity of rabbit muscle aldolase assayed with fructose 1,6-bisphosphate but not with fructose 1-phosphate. Proteolytic modification of aldolase by cathepsin M is limited to the removal of small peptides from the COOH-terminus, including the COOH-terminal hexapeptide NH2-Ile-Ser-Asn-His-Ala-TyrOH. Correlation of loss of aldolase activity with COOH-terminal modification indicates that only three of the four subunits of muscle aldolase contribute to the catalytic activity of the tetrameric enzyme.     

Identification of a splice-site mutation in the aldolase B gene from an individual with hereditary fructose intolerance.

Hereditary fructose intolerance (HFI) is a potentially fatal autosomal recessive disease of carbohydrate metabolism. HFI patients exhibit a deficiency of fructose 1-phosphate aldolase (aldolase B), the isozyme expressed in tissues that metabolize fructose. The eight protein-coding exons, including splicing signals, of the aldolase B gene from one HFI patient were amplified by PCR. Dot-blot hybridization of the amplified DNA with allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) probes revealed a previously described A149P mutation in one allele from the proband. The mutation in the other allele was identified by direct sequencing of the double-stranded PCR-amplified material from the proband. The nucleotide sequence of exon 9 revealed a 7-base deletion/1-base insertion (delta 7 + 1) at the 3' splice site of intron 8 in one allele. This mutation was confirmed by cloning PCR-amplified exon 9 of the proband and determining the sequence of each allele separately. ASO analysis of 18 family members confirmed the Mendelian inheritance of both mutant alleles. The implications of this unique splice-site mutation in HFI are discussed.     

Correlations between components of the glycolytic pathway

1. The contents of dihydroxyacetone phosphate, fructose diphosphate, pyruvate and lactate and the activities of aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase in the liver, kidney, testis, skeletal muscle, blood cells, sarcoma and hepatoma of rats were measured. 2. Correlations were established between components of the glycolytic pathway as follows: activities of aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase; contents of fructose diphosphate and pyruvate; activity of aldolase and content of fructose diphosphate; activity of lactate dehydrogenase and contents of fructose diphosphate and of pyruvate.