Interaction of formycin A-5'-triphosphate with pyruvate carboxylase

Formycin triphosphate (FTP), a fluorescent analogue of ATP, is a competitive inhibitor of chicken liver pyruvate carboxylase with respect to ATP. The chicken liver enzyme is unable to utilise FTP as a substrate at a measureable rate, but FTP is a poor substrate for the sheep liver enzyme. When FTP binds to the enzyme, its fluorescence is enhanced and in this way the formation of enzyme-FTP complexes can be monitored. Using this property of FTP, the effect of Mg2+ and acetyl-CoA on the binding of nucleoside triphosphates to the chicken liver enzyme was examined. Mg2+ was found to enhance the binding of FTP whilst acetyl-CoA reduced the fluorescence intensity of a mixture of Mg2+, enzyme and FTP. Most probably, this was caused by a conformational change in the enzyme which changed the environment of the fluorophore.     

Ligand-induced conformational transitions and secondary-structure composition of chicken liver pyruvate carboxylase

Apparent conformational transitions induced in chicken liver pyruvate carboxylase by substrates, KHCO(3) and MgATP, and the allosteric effector, acetyl-CoA, were studied by using the fluorescent probe, 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulphonic acid and c.d. Fluorescence measurements were made with both conventional and stopped-flow spectrophotometers. Additions of acetyl-CoA and/or ATP to the enzyme-probe solutions quenched fluorescence of the probe by the following cumulative amounts regardless of the sequence of additions: acetyl-CoA, 10-13%; ATP, 21-24%; acetyl-CoA plus ATP, about 35%. Additions of KHCO(3) had no effect on the fluorescence. The rates of quenching by acetyl-CoA and MgATP (in the presence of acetyl-CoA) were too rapid to measure by stopped-flow kinetic methods, but kinetics of the MgATP effect (in the absence of acetyl-CoA) indicate three unimolecular transitions after the association step. The negligible effect of the probe on enzyme catalytic activity, a preservation of the near-u.v. c.d. effect of MgATP and acetyl-CoA in the presence of the probe and no observable unimolecular transitions after binding of the probe to the enzyme indicate that the probe had no deleterious effect on the enzyme. In contrast with results with 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulphonic acid, fluorescence of the epsilon-derivative of acetyl-CoA or ATP [fluorescent analogues; Secrist, Barrio, Leonard & Weber (1972) Biochemistry11, 3499-3506] was not changed when either one was added to the enzyme. Secondary-structure composition of chicken liver pyruvate carboxylase estimated from the far-u.v. c.d. spectrum of the enzyme is 27% helix, 7% beta-pleated sheet and 66% other structural types.     

Isolation of a carboxyphosphate intermediate and the locus of acetyl-CoA action in the pyruvate carboxylase reaction.

When chicken liver pyruvate carboxylase was incubated with either H14CO3- or gamma-[32P]ATP, a labeled carboxyphospho-enzyme intermediate could be isolated. The complex was catalytically competent, as determined by its subsequent ability to transfer either 14CO2 to pyruvate or 32P to ADP. While the carboxyphospho-enzyme complex was inherently unstable and the stoichiometry of the transfer was variable depending on experimental conditions, both the [14C]carboxyphospho-enzyme and the carboxy[32P]phospho-enzyme had similar half-lives. Acetyl-CoA was shown to be involved in the conversion of the carboxyphospho-enzyme complex to the more stable carboxybiotin-enzyme species, which was consistent with the effects of acetyl-CoA on isotope exchange reactions involving ATP. We were unable to detect the formation of a phosphorylated biotin derivative during the ATP cleavage reaction. In the presence of K+ and at pH 9.5, the acetyl-CoA-independent activity of chicken liver pyruvate carboxylase approached 2% of the acetyl-CoA-stimulated rate, which represents a 30-fold increase on previously reported activity for this enzyme.     

Kinetics and mechanism of action of muscle pyruvate kinase

1. The mechanism of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase was investigated by measurements of fluxes, isotope trapping, steady-state velocity and binding of the substrates. All measurements were made at pH8.5 in Tris/HCl buffer and at 5mm-free Mg(2+). 2. Methods of preparing [(32)P]phosphoenolpyruvate from [(32)P]P(i) in high yield and determining [(32)P]-phosphoenolpyruvate and [8-(14)C]ADP are described. 3. The ratio Flux of ATP to ADP/Flux of ATP to phosphoenolpyruvate (measured at equilibrium) increased hyperbolically with ADP concentration from unity to about 2.1 at 2mm-ADP, but was unaffected by phosphoenolpyruvate concentration. Since the ratio is greater than unity, one pathway for the addition of substrates must involve phosphoenolpyruvate adding first to the enzyme in a rate-limiting step. However, the substrates must also add in the alternative order, because of the non-linear increase in the ratio with ADP concentration and because the rate of increase is very much less than that predicted from the steady-state velocity data for an ordered addition. The lack of influence of phosphoenolpyruvate on the ratio is consistent with the rapid addition of ADP in the alternative pathway. At low ADP concentrations the alternative pathway contributes less than 33% to the total reaction. 4. Isotope trapping was observed with [(32)P]phosphoenolpyruvate, confirming that when phosphoenolpyruvate adds first to the enzyme it is in a rate-limiting step. The release of phosphoenolpyruvate from the ternary complex must also be a slow step. Trapping was not observed with [8-(14)C]ADP, hence the addition of ADP to the free enzyme must be rapid unless its dissociation constant is very large (>20mm). 5. Binding studies showed that 4mol of [(32)P]phosphoenolpyruvate binds to 1mol of the enzyme, probably unligated to Mg(2+), with a dissociation constant appropriate to the mechanism indicated above. Binding of [8-(14)C]ADP could not be detected, and hence the binding of ADP occurs by a low-affinity step. The latter is also demanded by the steady-state velocity data. 6. The ratio Flux of phosphoenolpyruvate to ATP/Flux of phosphoenolpyruvate to pyruvate (determined from the incorporation of label into phosphoenolpyruvate from [3-(14)C]-pyruvate or [gamma-(32)P]ATP during the forward reaction) did not differ significantly from unity. Steady-state velocity data predicted grossly different flux ratios for ordered dissociations of the products, and the results indicate that the dissociation must be rapid and random. The data also exclude a Ping-Pong mechanism. 7. Permissible rate constants for the above mechanism are calculated. The results indicate a high degree of cooperativity in binding, whatever the order of addition of substrate.     

Regulation of heart muscle pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase

1. The activity of pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase was assayed by the incorporation of [(32)P]phosphate from [gamma-(32)P]ATP into the dehydrogenase complex. There was a very close correlation between this incorporation and the loss of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity with all preparations studied. 2. Nucleoside triphosphates other than ATP (at 100mum) and cyclic 3':5'-nucleotides (at 10mum) had no significant effect on kinase activity. 3. The K(m) for thiamin pyrophosphate in the pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction was 0.76mum. Sodium pyrophosphate, adenylyl imidodiphosphate, ADP and GTP were competitive inhibitors against thiamin pyrophosphate in the dehydrogenase reaction. 4. The K(m) for ATP of the intrinsic kinase assayed in three preparations of pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase was in the range 13.9-25.4mum. Inhibition by ADP and adenylyl imidodiphosphate was predominantly competitive, but there was nevertheless a definite non-competitive element. Thiamin pyrophosphate and sodium pyrophosphate were uncompetitive inhibitors against ATP. It is suggested that ADP and adenylyl imidodiphosphate inhibit the kinase mainly by binding to the ATP site and that the adenosine moiety may be involved in this binding. It is suggested that thiamin pyrophosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, adenylyl imidodiphosphate and ADP may inhibit the kinase by binding through pyrophosphate or imidodiphosphate moieties at some site other than the ATP site. It is not known whether this is the coenzyme-binding site in the pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction. 5. The K(m) for pyruvate in the pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction was 35.5mum. 2-Oxobutyrate and 3-hydroxypyruvate but not glyoxylate were also substrates; all three compounds inhibited pyruvate oxidation. 6. In preparations of pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase free of thiamin pyrophosphate, pyruvate inhibited the kinase reaction at all concentrations in the range 25-500mum. The inhibition was uncompetitive. In the presence of thiamin pyrophosphate (endogenous or added at 2 or 10mum) the kinase activity was enhanced by low concentrations of pyruvate (25-100mum) and inhibited by a high concentration (500mum). Activation of the kinase reaction was not seen when sodium pyrophosphate was substituted for thiamin pyrophosphate. 7. Under the conditions of the kinase assay, pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase forms (14)CO(2) from [1-(14)C]pyruvate in the presence of thiamin pyrophosphate. Previous work suggests that the products may include acetoin. Acetoin activated the kinase reaction in the presence of thiamin pyrophosphate but not with sodium pyrophosphate. It is suggested that acetoin formation may contribute to activation of the kinase reaction by low pyruvate concentrations in the presence of thiamin pyrophosphate. 8. Pyruvate effected the conversion of pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate into pyruvate dehydrogenase in rat heart mitochondria incubated with 5mm-2-oxoglutarate and 0.5mm-l-malate as respiratory substrates. It is suggested that this effect of pyruvate is due to inhibition of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase reaction in the mitochondrion. 9. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase activity was inhibited by high concentrations of Mg(2+) (15mm) and by Ca(2+) (10nm-10mum) at low Mg(2+) (0.15mm) but not at high Mg(2+) (15mm).     

The role of pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase in pyruvate synthesis during autotrophic growth by the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway

Pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR) catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA and CO(2). The catalytic proficiency of this enzyme for the reverse reaction, pyruvate synthase, is poorly understood. Conversion of acetyl-CoA to pyruvate links the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway of autotrophic CO(2) fixation to the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle, which in these autotrophic anaerobes is the stage for biosynthesis of all cellular macromolecules. The results described here demonstrate that the Clostridium thermoaceticum PFOR is a highly efficient pyruvate synthase. The Michaelis-Menten parameters for pyruvate synthesis by PFOR are: V(max) = 1.6 unit/mg (k(cat) = 3.2 s(-1)), K(m)(Acetyl-CoA) = 9 micrometer, and K(m)(CO(2)) = 2 mm. The intracellular concentrations of acetyl-CoA, CoASH, and pyruvate have been measured. The predicted rate of pyruvate synthesis at physiological concentrations of substrates clearly is sufficient to support the role of PFOR as a pyruvate synthase in vivo. Measurements of its k(cat)/K(m) values demonstrate that ferredoxin is a highly efficient electron carrier in both the oxidative and reductive reactions. On the other hand, rubredoxin is a poor substitute in the oxidative direction and is inept in donating electrons for pyruvate synthesis.     

Kinetic characterization of yeast pyruvate carboxylase isozyme Pyc1 and the Pyc1 mutant, C249A

The yeast Pyc1 isoform of pyruvate carboxylase has been further characterized and shown to differ from the Pyc2 isoform in its K(a) for K(+) activation. Pyc1 differs from chicken liver pyruvate carboxylase in the lack of effect of acetyl-CoA on ADP phosphorylation by carbamoyl phosphate, which may be a result of differences in the loci of action of the effector between the two enzymes. Solvent D(2)O isotope effects have been measured with Pyc1 on the full pyruvate carboxylation reaction, the ATPase reaction in the absence of pyruvate, and the carbamoyl phosphate-ADP phosphorylation reaction for the first time for pyruvate carboxylase. Proton inventories indicate that the measured isotope effects are due to a single proton transfer step in the reaction. The inverse isotope effects observed in all reactions suggest that the proton transfer step converts the enzyme from an inactive to an active form. Kinetic measurements on the C249A mutant enzyme suggest that C249 is involved in the binding and action of enzyme activators K(+) and acetyl-CoA. C249 is not involved in ATP binding as was observed for the corresponding residue in the biotin carboxylase subunit of Escherichia coli acetyl-CoA carboxylase, nor is it directly responsible for the measured inverse (D)(k(cat)/K(m)) isotope effects. The size of the inverse isotope effects indicates that they may result from formation of a low-barrier hydrogen bond. Modification of the wild type and C249A mutant with o-phthalaldehyde suggests that C249 is involved in isoindole formation but that the modification of this residue is not directly responsible for the accompanying major loss of enzyme activity.     

Regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase by fatty acid in isolated rat liver mitochondria.

The mechanism by which fatty acid addition leads to the inactivation of pyruvate dehydrogenase in intact rat liver mitochondria was investigated. In all cases the fatty acid octanoate was added to mitochondria oxidizing succinate. Addition of fatty acid caused an inactivation of pyruvate dehydrogenase in mitochondria incubated under State 3 conditions (glucose plus hexokinase), in uncoupled, oligomycin-treated mitochondria, and in rotenone-menadione-treated mitochondria, but not in uncoupled mitochondria or in mitochondria incubated under State 4 conditions. A number of metabolic conditions were found in which pyruvate dehydrogenase was inactivated concomitant with an elevation in the ATP/ADP ratio. This is consistent with the inverse relationship between the ATP/ADP ratio and the pyruvate dehydrogenase activity proposed by various laboratories. However, in several other metabolic conditions pyruvate dehydrogenase was inactivated while the ATP/ADP ratio either was unchanged or even decreased. This observation implies that there are likely other regulatory factors involved in the fatty acid-mediated inactivation of pyruvate dehydrogenase. Incubation conditions in State 3 were found in which the ATP/ADP and the acetyl-CoA/CoASH ratios remained constant and the pyruvate dehydrogenase activity was correlated inversely with the NADH/NAD+ ratio. Other State 3 conditions were found in which the ATP/ADP and the NADH/NAD+ ratios remained constant while the pyruvate dehydrogenase activity was correlated inversely with the acetyl-CoA/CoASH ratio. Further evidence supporting these experiments with intact mitochondria was the observation that the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase activity of a mitochondrial extract was stimulated strongly by acetyl-CoA and was inhibited by NAD+ and CoASH. In contrast to acetyl-CoA, octanoyl-CoA inhibited the kinase activity. These results indicate that the inactivation of pyruvate dehydrogenase by fatty acid in isolated rat liver mitochondria may be mediated through effects of the NADH/NAD+ ratio and the acetyl-CoA/CoASH ratio on the interconversion of the active and inactive forms of the enzyme complex catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase.     

Characterization and properties of the pyruvate phosphorylation system of Acetobacter xylinum

The enzyme responsible for the direct phosphorylation of pyruvate during gluconeogenesis in Acetobacter xylinum has been purified 46-fold from ultrasonic extracts and freed from interfering enzyme activities. The enzyme was shown to catalyze the reversible Mg(2+) ion-dependent conversion of equimolar amounts of pyruvate, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and orthophosphate (P(i)) into phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), adenosine monophosphate (AMP), and pyrophosphate (PP). The optimal pH for PEP synthesis was pH 8.2; for the reversal it was pH 6.5. The ratio between the initial rates of the reaction in the forward and reverse directions was 5.1 at pH 8.2 and 0.45 at pH 6.5. The apparent K(m) values of the components of the system in the forward reaction were: pyruvate, 0.2 mm; ATP, 0.4 mm; P(i), 0.8 mm; Mg(2+), 2.2 mm; and for the reverse reaction: PEP, 0.1 mm; AMP, 1.6 mum; PP, 0.067 mm; Mg(2+), 0.87 mm. PEP formation was inhibited by AMP and PP. The inhibition by AMP was competitive with regard to ATP (K(i) = 0.2 mm). The reverse reaction was inhibited competitively by ATP and noncompetitively by pyruvate. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. The inhibition was reversed by dithiothreitol and glutathione. The properties of the enzyme are discussed in relation to the regulation of the opposing enzymatic activities involved in the interconversion of PEP and pyruvate in A. xylinum.     

Effect of phenylpyruvate on pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in rat brain mitochondria

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 (14)CO(2) from [1-(14)C]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 100mum. 4. It was concluded that the inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase by phenylpyruvate is unlikely to be a primary enzyme defect in phenylketonuria.     

Properties and mechanism of action of pyruvate, phosphate dikinase from leaves

1. Sugar-cane leaf pyruvate,P(i) dikinase was prepared free of enzymes that would interfere with studies on the stoicheiometry and mechanism of the reaction it catalyses. The reaction was unequivocally shown to involve the conversion of equimolar amounts of pyruvate, ATP and P(i) into phosphoenolpyruvate, AMP and PP(i). 2. The purified enzyme was stable at pH8.3 only if stored at about 20 degrees in the presence of Mg(2+) and a thiol-reducing reagent, care being taken to prevent the oxidation of the thiol. 3. The apparent Michaelis constants for phosphoenolpyruvate and PP(i) were 0.11mm and 0.04mm respectively and that for AMP was less than 4mum. 4. At pH8.3 the initial velocity of the reaction was about 6 times as fast in the direction towards phosphoenolpyruvate synthesis as in the reverse direction. 5. With the exception of ATP, all the products of the reaction in both directions were inhibitory. 6. The phosphate groups of PP(i) were derived from P(i) and from the terminal phosphate of ATP. 7. Isotope-exchange studies indicated that the reaction proceeds in the following steps:Enzyme+ATP+P(i) right harpoon over left harpoon Enzyme-P+AMP+PP(i)Enzyme-P+pyruvate right harpoon over left harpoon Enzyme+phosphoenolpyruvate     

13C NMR study of effects of fasting and diabetes on the metabolism of pyruvate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the utilization of pyruvate and ethanol in lipogenesis in perfused rat liver

13C NMR has been used to study the competition of pyruvate dehydrogenase with pyruvate carboxylase for entry of pyruvate into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in perfused liver from streptozotocin-diabetic and normal donor rats. The relative proportion of pyruvate entering the TCA cycle by these two routes was estimated from the 13C enrichments at the individual carbons of glutamate when [3-13C]alanine was the only exogenous substrate present. In this way, the proportion of pyruvate entering by the pyruvate dehydrogenase route relative to the pyruvate carboxylase route was determined to be 1:1.2 +/- 0.1 in liver from fed controls, 1:7.7 +/- 2 in liver from 24-fasted controls, and 1:2.6 +/- 0.3 in diabetic liver. Pursuant to this observation that conversion of pyruvate to acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) was greatest in perfused liver from fed controls, the incorporation of 13C label into fatty acids was monitored in this liver preparation. Livers were perfused under steady-state conditions with labeled substrates that are converted to either [2-13C]acetyl-CoA or [1-13C]acetyl-CoA, which in the de novo synthesis pathway label alternate carbons in fatty acids. With the exception of the repeating methylene carbons, fatty acyl carbons labeled by [1-13C]acetyl-CoA (from [2-13C]pyruvate) gave rise to resonances distinguishable on the basis of chemical shift from those observed when label was introduced by [3-13C]alanine plus [2-13C]ethanol, which are converted to [2-13C]acetyl-CoA. Thus, measurement of 13C enrichment at several specific sites in the fatty acyl chains in time-resolved spectra of perfused liver offers a novel way of monitoring the kinetics of the biosynthesis of fatty acids.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Thermodynamics of the pyruvate kinase reaction and the reversal of glycolysis in heart and skeletal muscle

The effect of temperature, pH, and free [Mg(2+)] on the apparent equilibrium constant of pyruvate kinase (phosphoenol transphosphorylase) (EC ) was investigated. The apparent equilibrium constant, K', for the biochemical reaction P-enolpyruvate + ADP = ATP + Pyr was defined as K' = [ATP][Pyr]/[ADP][P-enolpyruvate], where each reactant represents the sum of all the ionic and metal complexed species in M. The K' at pH 7.0, 1.0 mm free Mg(2+) and I of 0.25 m was 3.89 x 10(4) (n = 8) at 25 degrees C. The standard apparent enthalpy (DeltaH' degrees ) for the biochemical reaction was -4.31 kJmol(-1) in the direction of ATP formation. The corresponding standard apparent entropy (DeltaS' degrees ) was +73.4 J K(-1) mol(-1). The DeltaH degrees and DeltaS degrees values for the reference reaction, P-enolpyruvate(3-) + ADP(3-) + H(+) = ATP(4-) + Pyr(1-), were -6.43 kJmol(-1) and +180 J K(-1) mol(-1), respectively (5 to 38 degrees C). We examined further the mass action ratio in rat heart and skeletal muscle at rest and found that the pyruvate kinase reaction in vivo was close to equilibrium i.e. within a factor of about 3 to 6 of K' in the direction of ATP at the same pH, free [Mg(2+)], and T. We conclude that the pyruvate kinase reaction may be reversed under some conditions in vivo, a finding that challenges the long held dogma that the reaction is displaced far from equilibrium.     

Effects of magnesium, manganese and adenosine triphosphate ions on pyruvate carboxylase from baker''s yeast

1. Pyruvate carboxylase from baker's yeast acts with either MgATP(2-) or MnATP(2-) as substrate. The optimum pH for the enzyme reaction is 8.0 with MgATP(2-) and 7.0 with MnATP(2-). 2. When the reaction velocity is plotted against MgATP(2-) (or MnATP(2-)) concentration slightly sigmoid curves are obtained, either in the presence or in the absence of acetyl-CoA (an allosteric activator). In the presence of excess of free Mg(2+) (or Mn(2+)) the curves turn into hyperbolae, whereas in the presence of excess of free ATP(4-) the apparent sigmoidicity of the curves increases. 3. The sigmoidicity of the plots of v against MgATP(2-) (or MnATP(2-)) concentration can be explained by the inhibitory effect of free ATP(4-), the concentration of which, in the experimental conditions employed, is significant and varies according to the total concentration of the ATP-magnesium chloride (or ATP-manganese chloride) mixture. Free ATP(4-) behaves as a negative modifier of yeast pyruvate carboxylase. 4. The effect of high concentrations of Mg(2+) (or Mn(2+)) on the kinetics of yeast pyruvate carboxylase can be explained as a deinhibition with respect to ATP(4-), instead of a direct enzyme activation. 5. At pH6.5 manganese chloride is more effective than magnesium chloride as enzyme activator even in the presence of a great excess (16-fold) of the latter. This is consistent with a significant contribution of the MnATP(2-) complex to the activity of yeast pyruvate carboxylase, in medium conditions resembling those existing inside the yeast cell (pH6.25-6.75; 12mm-magnesium chloride and 0.75mm-manganese chloride). 6. The physiological significance of the enzyme inhibition by free ATP(4-) is doubtful since the Mg(2+) and Mn(2+) concentrations reported to exist inside the yeast cell are sufficient to decrease ATP(4-) concentrations to ineffective values.     

The atypical velocity response by pyruvate carboxylase to increasing concentrations of acetyl-coenzyme A

An investigation was made of the interaction of pyruvate carboxylase with its allosteric effector, acetyl-CoA, and the velocity profile of the deacylation of acetyl-CoA as a function of acetyl-CoA concentration indicated that this ligand does not bind to this enzyme in a positive homotropic co-operative manner. An examination was therefore made of the factors that contribute to the sigmoidicity of the rate curves obtained for pyruvate carboxylation with various concentrations of acetyl-CoA. Hill coefficients for acetyl-CoA obtained with both sheep and chicken liver pyruvate carboxylases were found to be dependent on the fixed pyruvate concentration used in the assay solution. Thus, by varying the acetyl-CoA concentration, the degree of saturation of the enzyme by pyruvate was also changed. A further consequence of non-saturating concentrations of pyruvate was that the non-productive hydrolysis of the enzyme- carboxybiotin complex increased, resulting in an under-estimate of the reaction velocity measured by oxaloacetate formation. Another factor contributing to the sigmoidicity is that, at non-saturating concentrations of acetyl-CoA, the enzyme undergoes inactivation upon dilution to low protein concentrations, again resulting in an under-estimate of the reaction velocity. Under conditions where none of the above factors was operating and the only effect of varying acetyl-CoA concentrations was to alter the proportion of the enzyme catalysing the carboxylation reaction at acetyl-CoA-dependent and -independent rates, the sigmoidicity of the acetyl-CoA velocity profile was completely eliminated.     

Regulation of kinase reactions in pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.

1. Pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is inactivated by phosphorylation (MgATP2-) of an alpha-chain of the decarboxylase component. Three serine residues may be phosphorylated, one of which (site 1) is the major inactivating site. 2. The relative rates of phosphorylation are site 1 greater than 2 greater than site 3. 3. The kinetics of the inactivating phosphorylation were investigated by measuring inactivation of the complex with MgATP2-. The apparent Km for the Mg complex of ATP was 25.5 microM; ADP was a competitive inhibitor (Ki 69.8 microM) and sodium pyruvate an uncompetitive inhibitor (Ki 2.8 microM). Inactivation was accelerated by increasing concentration ratios of NADH/NAD+ and of acetyl-CoA/CoA. 4. The kinetics of additional phosphorylations (predominantly site 2 under these conditions) were investigated by measurement of 32P incorporation into non-radioactive pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate containing 3-6% of active complex, and assumed from parrallel experiments with 32P labelling to contain 91% of protein-bound phosphate in site 1 and 9% in site 2. 5. The apparent Km for the Mg complex of ATP was 10.1 microM; ADP was a competitive inhibitor (Ki 31.5 microM) and sodium pyruvate an uncompetitive inhibitor (Ki 1.1 mM). 6. Incorporation was accelerated by increasing concentration ratios of NADH/NAD+ and of acetyl-CoA/CoA, although it was less marked at the highest ratios.     

Degradation of glyoxylate and glycolate with ATP synthesis by a thermophilic anaerobic bacterium, Moorella sp. strain HUC22-1

The thermophilic homoacetogenic bacterium Moorella sp. strain HUC22-1 ferments glyoxylate to acetate roughly according to the reaction 2 glyoxylate --> acetate + 2 CO(2). A batch culture with glyoxylate and yeast extract yielded 11.7 g per mol of cells per substrate, which was much higher than that obtained with H(2) plus CO(2). Crude extracts of glyoxylate-grown cells catalyzed the ADP- and NADP-dependent condensation of glyoxylate and acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) to pyruvate and CO(2) and converted pyruvate to acetyl-CoA and CO(2), which are the key reactions of the malyl-CoA pathway. ATP generation was also detected during the key enzyme reactions of this pathway. Furthermore, this bacterium consumed l-malate, an intermediate in the malyl-CoA pathway, and produced acetate. These findings suggest that Moorella sp. strain HUC22-1 can generate ATP by substrate-level phosphorylation during glyoxylate catabolism through the malyl-CoA pathway.     

The effects of adenine nucleotides on pyruvate metabolism in rat liver

1. The effects of adenine nucleotides on pyruvate metabolism by isolated liver cells and isolated mitochondria have been investigated. The amount of pyruvate carboxylated has been estimated by determining the tricarboxylic acid-cycle intermediates, glutamate and aspartate accumulating in the incubation medium. The extent of pyruvate oxidation has been assessed by measuring oxygen uptake and the yield of ¹⁴CO₂ from [1-¹⁴C]pyruvate and [2-¹⁴C]pyruvate. 2. When catalytic amounts of adenine nucleotides (1–2mm) were added to suspensions of isolated liver cells incubated with pyruvate an ATP:ADP ratio greater than 6:1 was maintained. Both pyruvate oxidation to acetyl-CoA and the oxidation of acetyl-CoA through the tricarboxylic acid cycle were stimulated but pyruvate carboxylation was not affected. The production of acetyl-CoA exceeded the capacity of the cells for the oxidation of acetyl-CoA and the excess was converted into ketone bodies. 3. If a low ATP:ADP ratio was maintained in isolated cells or mitochondria by incubating them with dinitrophenol or hexokinase, pyruvate carboxylation was grossly inhibited, oxygen uptake depressed and ketone-body formation stimulated. Measurement of oxaloacetate concentrations confirmed that under these conditions oxaloacetate was rate-limiting for the oxidation of acetyl-CoA via the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The inclusion in the incubation medium of fumarate (1·25mm) completely prevented the ketogenic action of dinitrophenol or hexokinase. 4. When ADP (5mm) was added to a suspension of isolated liver cells incubated with pyruvate an actual ADP concentration of about 1mm was attained. This brought about effects on pyruvate metabolism similar to those obtained with dinitrophenol or hexokinase. 5. These results support the concept that the relative concentrations of adenine nucleotides within the liver cell may play a role in governing the rates of pyruvate oxidation and carboxylation. In addition, they provide further evidence that the availability of oxaloacetate in the liver cell can play a key role in determining whether acetyl-CoA arising from pyruvate is oxidized through the tricarboxylic acid cycle or converted into ketone bodies.     

Sheep kidney pyruvate carboxylase. Studies on the coupling of adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis and CO2 fixation.

Initial velocity and isotope exchange studies confirmed that the over-all reaction, like that catalyzed by pyruvate carboxylase purified from rat liver and chicken liver, was a nonclassical Ping Pong Bi Bi Uni Uni sequence with ATP and HCO3-binding randomly in the Bi Bi partial reaction. Three possible mechanisms for the coupling of ATP hydrolysis and CO2 fixation are considered: (i) Mechanism i, a concerted mechanism without the formation of a kinetically significant or detectable intermediate; (ii) Mechanism ii, activation of the enzyme by ATP to form an activated phosphoenzyme complex which can react with HCO3- by formation of a phosphorylated intermediate. On the basis of other evidence, an activated intermediate containing the ADP moiety was considered improbable. Evidence is presented which indicates that an isotopic exchange between ATP and ADP in the absence of added orthophosphate is not a property of the sheep kidney enzyme. This observation removed the need to postulate either that this exchange is an abortive reaction, or that there is a compulsory formation of a phosphoenzyme intermediate. Two analogues of ADP, alpha,beta-methylene adenosine diphosphate, and adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate, have been used to provide further evidence against Mechanism ii. Both compounds were competitive inhibitors with respect to MgATP2- (Ki values respectively, 0.58 mM and 3.0 mM, compared with 0.17 mM for ADP), but neither could be phosphorylated by the enzyme. Neither analogue could replace ADP in the HCO3-: oxalacetate isotopic exchange reaction, indicating that phosphorylation of ADP is necessary for this exchange to occur, and that Mechanism ii is not applicable. Since Mechanism iii involves formation of a carbonly phosphate intermediate, analogues of this compound, namely, carbamyl phosphate and phosphonacetic acid were used to examine this pathway. The fact that the enzyme catalyzed the synthesis of ATP from ADP and carbamyl phosphate, and that phosphonacetic acid was a noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to MgATP2- (Ki = 0.5 mM) provides strong evidence that a carbonyl phosphate derivative is involved in the reaction mechanism. However, we have not found from initial velocity studies evidence for the formation of this intermediate, and it may therefore have only a transient existence in an essentially concerted reaction.