Effect of phenylpyruvate on enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis in rat brain

1. The effects of phenylpyruvate, a metabolite produced in phenylketonuria, on the pyruvate dehydrogenase-complex activity were investigated in rat brain mitochondria. 2. Pyruvate dehydrogenase activity was measured by two methods, one measuring the release of ¹⁴CO₂ from [1-¹⁴C]pyruvate and the other measuring the acetyl-CoA formed by means of the coupling enzyme, pigeon liver arylamine acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.5). In neither case was there significant inhibition of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by phenylpyruvate at concentrations below 2mm. 3. However, phenylpyruvate acted as a classical competitive inhibitor of the coupling enzyme arylamine acetyltransferase, with a K_i of 100μm. 4. It was concluded that the inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase by phenylpyruvate is unlikely to be a primary enzyme defect in phenylketonuria.     

The effect of phenylpyruvate on pyruvate metabolism in rat brain

1. The effect of phenylalanine and phenylpyruvate on the metabolism of pyruvate by isolated mitochondria from rat brain was investigated. 2. Phenylpyruvate inhibited the fixation of H(14)CO(3) (-) in the presence of pyruvate by intact rat brain mitochondria, whereas phenylalanine and other metabolites of this amino acid had no inhibitory effect on this process. 3. Pyruvate carboxylase activity in freeze-dried rat brain mitochondrial preparations was also inhibited only by phenylpyruvate, and a ;mixed type' inhibition was observed. 4. The K(m) for pyruvate of rat brain pyruvate carboxylase was about 0.2mm. 5. The concentration of phenylpyruvate required for a 50% inhibition of H(14)CO(3) (-) fixation by the intact mitochondria and of pyruvate carboxylase activity was dependent on the concentration of pyruvate used in the incubation medium. 6. The possible significance of inhibition of pyruvate carboxylase activity by phenylpyruvate in the brains of phenylketonuric patients is discussed.     

Differential effects of 2-oxo acids on pyruvate utilization and fatty acid synthesis in rat brain

1. The effects of 2-oxo-4-methylpentanoate, 2-oxo-3-methylbutanoate and 2-oxo-3-methylpentanoate on the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1), citrate synthase (EC 4.1.3.7), acetyl-CoA carboxylase, (EC 6.4.1.2) and fatty acid synthetase derived from the brains of 14-day-old rats were investigated. 2. The pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme activity was competitively inhibited by 2-oxo-3-methylbutanoate with respect to pyruvate with a K(i) of 2.04mm but was unaffected by 2-oxo-4-methylpentanoate or 2-oxo-3-methylpentanoate. 3. The citrate synthase activity was inhibited competitively (with respect to acetyl-CoA) by 2-oxo-4-methylpentanoate (K(i)~7.2mm) and 2-oxo-3-methylbutanoate (K(i)~14.9mm) but not by 2-oxo-3-methylpentanoate. 4. The acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity was not inhibited significantly by any of the 2-oxo acids investigated. 5. The fatty acid synthetase activity was competitively inhibited (with respect to acetyl-CoA) by 2-oxo-4-methylpentanoate (K(i)~930mum) and 2-oxo-3-methylpentanoate (K(i)~3.45mm) but not by 2-oxo-3-methylbutanoate. 6. Preliminary experiments indicate that 2-oxo-4-methylpentanoate and 2-oxo-3-phenylpropionate (phenylpyruvate) significantly inhibit the ability of intact brain mitochondria from 14-day-old rats to oxidize pyruvate. 7. The results are discussed with reference to phenylketonuria and maple-syrup-urine disease. A biochemical mechanism is proposed to explain the characteristics of these diseases.     

Design of a specific phenyllactate dehydrogenase by peptide loop exchange on the Bacillus stearothermophilus lactate dehydrogenase framework.

Restriction sites were introduced into the gene for Bacillus stearothermophilus lactate dehydrogenase which enabled a region of the gene to be excised which coded for a mobile surface loop of polypeptide (residues 98-110) which normally seals the active site vacuole from bulk solvent and is a major determinant of substrate specificity. Oligonucleotide-overlap extension (using the polymerase chain reaction) was used to obtain double-stranded DNA regions which coded for different length and sequence loops and which also contained the same restriction sites. The variable length and sequence loops were inserted into the cut gene and used to synthesize hydroxyacid dehydrogenases with altered substrate specificities. Loops which were longer and shorter than the original were made. The substrate specificities of enzymes with these new loops were considerably altered. For many poor enzyme-substrate pairs, the effect of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate on the steady-state kinetic parameters suggested that the substrate was mainly bound in a nonproductive mode. With one longer loop construction (BL1), activity with pyruvate was reduced one-million-fold but activity with phenylpyruvate was largely unaltered. A switch in specificity (kcat/KM) of 390,000-fold was achieved. The 1700:1 selectivity of enzyme BL1 for phenylpyruvate over pyruvate is that required in a phenyllactate dehydrogenase to be used in monitoring phenylpyruvate in the urine of patients with phenylketonuria consuming an apparently phenylalanine-free diet.     

Preparation and activity of guanidinated or acetylated erabutoxins.

1. The effects of phenylalanine and its metabolites (phenylacetate, phenethylamine, phenyl-lactate, o-hydroxyphenylacetate and phenylpyruvate) on the activity of 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.30) 3-oxo acid CoA-transferase (EC 2.8.3.5) and acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase (EC 2.3.1.9) in brain of suckling rats were investigated. 2. The 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase from the brain of suckling rats had a Km for 3-hydroxybutyrate of 1.2 mM. Phenylpyruvate, phenylacetate and o-hydroxyphenylacetate inhibited the enzyme activity with Ki values of 0.5, 1.3 and 4.7 mM respectively. 3. The suckling-rat brain 3-oxo acid CoA-transferase activity had a Km for acetoacetate of 0.665 mM and for succinyl (3-carboxypropionyl)-CoA of 0.038 mM. The enzyme was inhibited with respect to acetoacetate by phenylpyruvate (Ki equals 1.3 mM) and o-hydroxyphenylacetate (Ki equals 4.5 mM). The reaction in the direction of acetoacetate was also inhibited by phenylpyruvate (Ki equals 1.6 mM) and o-hydroxyphenylacetate (Ki equals 4.5 mM). 4. Phenylpyruvate inhibited with respect to acetoacetyl-CoA both the mitochondrial (Ki equals 3.2 mM) and cytoplasmic (Ki equals 5.2 mM) acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase activities. 5. The results suggest that inhibition of 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and 3-oxo acid CoA-transferase activities may impair ketone-body utilization and hence lipid synthesis in the developing brain. This suggestion is discussed with reference to the pathogenesis of mental retardation in phenylketonuria.     

Intramolecular coupling of active sites in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes from bacterial and mammalian sources.

A simple method was developed for assessing the intramolecular coupling of active sites in the lipoate acetyltransferase (E2) component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes from Escherichia coli, Bacillus stearothermophilus and ox heart and pig heart mitochondria. Samples of enzyme complex were prepared in which the pyruvate decarboxylase (E1) component was selectively and partly inhibited by treatment with increasing amounts of a transition-state analogue, thiamin thio-thiazolone pyrophosphate. The fraction of the E2 component acetylated by incubation with [2-14C] pyruvate, in the absence of CoA, was determined for each sample of partly inhibited enzyme and was found in all cases to exceed the fraction of overall complex activity remaining. This indicated the potential for transacetylation reactions among the lipoic acid residues within the E2 core. A graphic presentation of the data allowed comparison of the active-site coupling in the various enzymes, which may differ in their lipoic acid content (one or two residues per E2 chain). It is clear that active-site coupling is a general property of pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes of octahedral and icosahedral symmetries, the large numbers of subunits in each E2 core enhancing the effect.     

CONTROL OF PYRUVATE AND β-HYDROXYBUTYRATE UTILIZATION IN RAT BRAIN MITOCHONDRIA AND ITS RELEVANCE TO PHENYLKETONURIA AND MAPLE SYRUP URINE DISEASE

—The effects of the amino acids (phenylalanine, valine, leucine and isoleucine) which accumulate in phenylketonuria (PKU) and maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), and their analogue α-keto acids (phenylpyruvate, α-keto isovalerate, α-keto isocaproate, α-keto-β-Me valerate) have been studied on rat brain mitochondrial respiration. Both phenylpyruvate and α-keto isocaproate specifically inhibited the oxidation of pyruvate plus malate and β-hydroxybutyrate plus malate by rat brain mitochondria in the presence of ADP. However, no inhibitory effects of similar concentrations of phenylpyruvate or α-keto isocaproate were observed on the isolated semipurified pyruvate or β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenases from rat brain mitochondria. The transport of pyruvate and β-hydroxybutyrate across the brain mitochondrial membrane was studied by both uptake and exchange of radioactively labelled substrates. Both these processes were inhibited by phenylpyruvate and α-ketoisocaproate. The results are interpreted as providing evidence for both pyruvate and β-hydroxybutyrate translocases across the brain mitochondrial membrane, and that the inhibition of these systems by phenylpyruvate and α-keto isocaproate may be important lesions in phenylketonuria and maple syrup urine disease respectively.     

Assay of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by coupling with recombinant chicken liver arylamine N-acetyltransferase

The activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex has long been determined in some laboratories by coupling the production of acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) to the acetylation of 4-aminoazobenzene-4'-sulfonic acid by arylamine N-acetyltransferase. The assay has some advantages, but its use has been limited by the need for large amounts of arylamine N-acetyltransferase. Here we report production of recombinant chicken liver arylamine N-acetyltransferase and optimization of its use in miniaturized assays for the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and its kinase.     

Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Activity in Osmotically Shocked Rat Brain Mitochondria: Stimulation by Oxaloacetate

Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activity (PDHC) measured by CO2 release isotopic assay has generally been much lower than activity measured by the spectrophotometric arylamine acetyltransferase assay (ArAT). Decarboxylation of [1-14C]pyruvate was measured in osmotically shocked rat brain cortical mitochondria. Activity is dependent on the concentration of the substrate pyruvate. Activity of 74.6 units +/- 12.3 SD (n = 22) was observed at 4 mM pyruvate (1 unit = 1 nmol pyruvate decarboxylated/min/mg protein). Activity was dependent on added NAD, CoA, and thiamine pyrophosphate, implying increased mitochondrial permeability after osmotic shock. Freeze/thaw with sonication of the mitochondrial preparation reduced PDHC activity to 11.5 units +/- 3.0 SD (n = 4). Oxaloacetate produced a marked stimulation of activity. The optimal assay contained 3 mM oxaloacetate, and without oxaloacetate activity fell to 15.4 units +/- 9.9 SD (n = 8). These studies highlight the importance of optimal substrate concentrations in the CO2 release isotopic PDHC method. Higher PDHC activity is found with intact mitochondria and thus activity values should be interpreted in the light of the presence or absence of intact mitochondria in individual preparations.     

Effect of a Deficiency of Thiamine on Brain Pyruvate Dehydrogenase: Enzyme Assay by Three Different Methods

A simple and rapid method based on the NADH-linked reduction of a tetrazolium dye was described for the determination of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in rat brain homogenates. The method (method 3) gave a value of 36.06 +/- 1.24 nmol of pyruvate utilised/min/mg of whole brain protein. This value was higher than that obtained by measurement of the rate of decarboxylation of [1-14C]pyruvate (15.10 +/- 0.88 nmol/min/mg of protein; method 1) and was comparable with the rate of transfer of acetyl groups to an arylamine (39.04 +/- 1.32 nmol/min/mg of protein; method 2). A critique of the values reported by others by different methods was given. The pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in the mitochondria isolated from rat brain was in the "active" (nonphosphorylated) form. A deficiency of thiamine in rats was produced by treatment with pyrithiamine, an antagonist of thiamine. This treatment resulted in abnormal neurological signs, such as ataxia and convulsions. The measurement of the total activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase in the brain by all three methods showed no significant change in the enzymic activity in thiamine-deficient rats after treatment with pyrithiamine. The activities of the enzyme in the brains of pair-fed animals were similar to those in the controls.     

Domain structure and 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Bacillus stearothermophilus was treated with Staphylococcus aureus V8 proteinase, causing cleavage of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase polypeptide chain (apparent Mr 57 000), inhibition of the enzymic activity and disassembly of the complex. Fragments of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chains with apparent Mr 28 000, which contained the acetyltransferase activity, remained assembled as a particle ascribed the role of an inner core of the complex. The lipoic acid residue of each dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain was found as part of a small but stable domain that, unlike free lipoamide, was able still to function as a substrate for reductive acetylation by pyruvate in the presence of intact enzyme complex or isolated pyruvate dehydrogenase (lipoamide) component. The lipoyl domain was acidic and had an apparent Mr of 6500 (by sedimentation equilibrium), 7800 (by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis) and 10 000 and 20 400 (by gel filtration in the presence and in the absence respectively of 6M-guanidinium chloride). 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase inner core demonstrated that it did not contain the segments of highly mobile polypeptide chain found in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of the lipoyl domain demonstrated that it had a stable and defined tertiary structure. From these and other experiments, a model of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase chain is proposed in which the small, folded, lipoyl domain comprises the N-terminal region, and the large, folded, core-forming domain that contains the acetyltransferase active site comprises the C-terminal region. These two regions are separated by a third segment of the chain, which includes a substantial region of polypeptide chain that enjoys high conformational mobility and facilitates movement of the lipoyl domain between the various active sites in the enzyme complex.     

PYRUVATE METABOLISM BY HOMOGENATES OF HUMAN BRAIN: EFFECTS OF PHENYLPYRUVATE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ETIOLOGY OF THE MENTAL RETARDATION IN PHENYLKETONURIA

Abstract— The effect of phenylalanine and phenylpyruvate on the metabolism of pyruvate by homogenates of human brain was investigated. In the presence of 5 mM pyruvate as substrate homogenates of human cerebral cortex fixed about 1 μmol of H¹⁴CO₃^-_- per g of tissue in 30 min. Phenylpyruvate at a concentration of 5 raw inhibited the fixation of H¹⁴ CO₃^-_- by homogenates of human brain by approximately 50 per cent, whereas 5 mM phenylalanine had no effect. The inhibition of pyruvate carboxylation by phenylpyruvate was dependent upon the concentration of the inhibitor. The activity of pyruvate carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.1) in human cerebral cortex was 02–0.4 units, with a K_m for pyruvate of about 0.2 mM. Homogenates of human cerebral cortex decarboxylated [1-¹⁴C]pyruvate to ¹⁴CO₂ at a rate of about 5 μmol per g of tissue per 15 min, with a 20–50 per cent reduction in the presence of 5 mM phenylpyruvate; phenylalanine at the same concentration had no effect. The possible toxic effect of phenylpyruvate on the metabolism of pyruvate in the brains of untreated phenylketonuric patients is discussed.     

Spectrophotometric measurement of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activity in cultured human fibroblasts

A spectrophotometric assay for the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) has been adapted for use with cultured human firbroblasts. It is a coupled enzyme assay utilizing pigeon liver arylamine acetyltransferase to measure the acetyl-CoA produced by PDHC. Activity is proportional to fibroblasts protein and to tine and depends completely on added pyruvate, CoA and NAD. In extracts in which PDHC had been activated (dephosphorylated) by the method of Sheu et al. (Sheu, R.K.-F., Hu, C.C. and Utter, M.F. (1981) J. Clin. Invest. 67, 1463–1471), activities in control cell lines are 5–50 fold higher than in earlier reports. Low activity has been demonstrated in a line previously eported to be PDHC-deficient.     

Temperature-dependence of intramolecular coupling of active sites in pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes.

Intramolecular coupling of active sites in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes of Escherichia coli, ox heart and Bacillus stearothermophilus was measured at various temperatures. As the temperature was raised, the extent of active-site coupling was found to increase, approaching a maximum near the physiological growth temperature of the organism. Under these conditions, a single pyruvate dehydrogenase (lipoamide) dimer appeared able to cause a rapid (20s) reductive acetylation of probably all 24 polypeptide chains in the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase core of the enzyme complex from E. coli at 37 degrees C, and of most if not all of the 60 polypeptide chains in the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase cores of the enzymes from ox heart and B. stearothermophilus at 37 degrees C and 60 degrees C respectively. Experiments designed to measure the inter-core and intra-core migration of enzyme subunits suggested that, in the bacterial enzymes at least, this was not a major contributor to active-site coupling.     

Impairment of hepatic pyruvate metabolism in phenylketonuria

In patients with untreated classical phenylketonuria, elevated plasma levels of pyruvate, lactate, phenylalanine and phenylpyruvate were observed. After about 10 days on a low-phenylalanine diet, the levels of pyruvate, lactate and phenylpyruvate in plasma of treated patients returned to normal; the concentrations of phenylalanine in plasma were markedly lowered. In plasma from hyperphenylalaninemic subjects, phenylpyruvate was not detectable; pyruvate and lactate were within normal limits. Phenylpyruvate at a concentration of about 1 mM inhibited pyruvate carboxylation by human and rat liver homogenates by about 50%; phenylalanine had no effect on this process. The values of apparent Km for pyruvate and Ki for phenylpyruvate of human liver pyruvate carboxylase were approximately 0.27 mM and 1.4 mM, respectively. These studies suggest an impairment in hepatic pyruvate metabolism in untreated phenylketonuric patients.     

Effect of glutamate on the control of fatty-acid synthesis in white adipose tissue of the rat. Inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase.

Glutamate (5mM) inhibited glucose conversion to fatty acids by approximately one-third in adipocytes from fed rats. This inhibition was significantly less in the pressence of pyruvate or 2-oxoglutarate. After incubation of adipose tissue from fed rats with glucose and insulin, pyruvate dehydrogenase activity was 180 plus or minus 17 mU/g wet weight. Addition of glutamine to the incubation medium decreased this activity significantly (118 plus or minus 14 mU/g wet weight). This inhibition by glutamate was also diminished when 2-oxoglutarate or pyruvate were present. Glutamate added to homohentates of adipose tissue had no effect on the activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase by Mg-2+. However, glutamate inhibited the active form of the enzyme and enhanced the rate of inactivation of the enzyme complex by ATP and Mg-2+. Aminooxyacetate, a transaminase inhibitor, did not reverse the effects of glutamate on pyruvate dehydrogenase nor fatty acid synthesis.     

Bovine kidney pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Limited proteolysis and molecular structure of the lipoate acetyltransferase component

1. Bovine kidney pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex is inactivated by elastase in a similar manner as described earlier for papain. The core component, lipoate acetyltransferase, is cleaved by elastase into an active fragment (Mr 26000) and a fragment with apparent Mr of 45000 as analyzed by dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. Due to the fragmentation of the core, the enzyme complex is disassembled into its component enzymes which retain their complete enzymatic activities as assayed separately. 2. A different mechanism was found for the inactivation of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex with trypsin and some other proteases (chymotrypsin, clostripain). In these cases, the pyruvate dehydrogenase component is inactivated rapidly by limited proteolysis. More slowly, the enzyme complex is disassembled simultaneously with fragmentation of the lipoate acetyltransferase which again results in an active fragment of Mr 26000 and another fragment of apparent Mr 45000. Upon prolonged proteolysis, the latter fragment is cleaved further to give products of Mr 36000 or lower. 3. The enzyme-bound lipoyl residues of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex have been labelled covalently by incubation with [2-14C]pyruvate. After treatment of this [14C]acetyl-enzyme with papain, elastase, or trypsin, radioactivity was associated exclusively with the 45000-Mr and 36000-Mr fragments but not with the active 26000-Mr fragment. 4. It is concluded that the bovine kidney lipoate acetyltransferase core is composed of 60 subunits each consisting of two dissimilar folding domains. One of these contains the intersubunit binding sites as well as the active center for transacylation whereas the other possesses the enzyme-bound lipoyl residues.     

A mutant pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli deleted in the (alanine + proline)-rich region of the acetyltransferase component

The acetyltransferase chains of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli contain conformationally mobile (alanine + proline)-rich segments that link the lipoyl domains to each other and to the subunit-binding and catalytic domain, and facilitate the intramolecular coupling of active sites in the complex. A deletion of 12 of the 32 residues of the (Ala + Pro)-rich segment of an acetyltransferase containing only one lipoyl domain was made by deleting the corresponding segment of the aceF gene. A pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was still produced and the catalytic activity of the restructured complex, including active-site coupling, was not detectably impaired.     

Dual role of a single multienzyme complex in the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate and branched-chain 2-oxo acids in Bacillus subtilis.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase and branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase activities of Bacillus subtilis were found to co-purify as a single multienzyme complex. Mutants of B. subtilis with defects in the pyruvate decarboxylase (E1) and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) components of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex were correspondingly affected in branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex activity. Selective inhibition of the E1 or lipoate acetyltransferase (E2) components in vitro led to parallel losses in pyruvate dehydrogenase and branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex activity. The pyruvate dehydrogenase and branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complexes of B. subtilis at the very least share many structural components, and are probably one and the same. The E3 component appeared to be identical for the pyruvate dehydrogenase, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase and branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complexes in this organism and to be the product of a single structural gene. Long-chain branched fatty acids are thought to be essential for maintaining membrane fluidity in B. subtilis, and it was observed that the ace (pyruvate dehydrogenase complex) mutant 61142 was unable rapidly to take up acetoacetate, unlike the wild-type, indicative of a defect in membrane permeability. A single pyruvate dehydrogenase and branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex can be seen as an economical means of supplying two different sets of essential metabolites.