Organization of enzymes of glycolysis and of glutathione metabolism in human red cell membranes.

1) The activities of 16 enzymes of glycolysis and of glutathione metabolism were determined in intact human red cell membranes (ghosts) which were prepared by hypotonic hemolysis. 2) Enzymes and hemoglobin of the ghosts were resolved by two toluene extractions. Only the four enzymes hexokinase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase could not be released completely from the ghosts. 3) The residual membrane fraction, which was obtained after the toluene extraction of ghosts prepared at 30 imOsM, contained 0.02% of the original hemoglobin content of the red cell. Between 6.5 and 23% of the hemolysate activities of glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, pyruvate kinase and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase were detected in this fraction after mechanical disruption. 4) Sonication of intact ghosts increased the activities of fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, pyruvate kinase and phosphoglycerate kinase. 5) In "white" ghosts prepared at 5 imOsM phosphate buffer which contained 0.5% of the original hemoglobin the activities of fructose-bisphosphate aldolase and glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase were detected at high levels. The activities of pyruvate kinase and phosphoglycerate kinase were low in these preparations. 6) The results indicate that one part of all enzymes is loosely attached to the inner surface of the membrane as is hemoglobin. A second part, the "cryptic enzyme activity", is available after resolving by toluene. A residual part of four enzymes is firmly bound to the membrane. Two of them (fructose-bisphosphate aldolase and glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase) are oriented toward the inner surface of the membrane, whereas pyruvate kinase and phosphoglycerate kinase are hidden in the lipid core of the membrane.     

Trypanosoma brucei: activities and subcellular distribution of glycolytic enzymes from differently disrupted cells

The effect of disruption procedure on the subcellular distribution and the activities of 11 enzymes catalyzing the glycolytic pathway in Trypanosoma brucei has been studied. The activities of the enzymes varied with the lytic procedure used. Maximum specific enzyme activity values were obtained after treatment with saponin whereas digitonin treatment gave the lowest results. The intracellular location of the enzymes was examined by means of differential centrifugation following cell lysis with saponin, Triton X-100, digitonin, or by freezing and thawing. Irrespective of the method of cell lysis employed, the six enzymes, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, phosphoglycerate kinase, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase, and glycerokinase, were particulate. Of the remaining 5 enzymes, digitonin liberates only phosphoglycerate mutase (partially); saponin or Triton X-100 liberates phosphoglucose isomerase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, and pyruvate kinase but not glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; freezing and thawing acts like saponin or Triton X-100 except that it fails to liberate phosphoglucose isomerase, while cell grinding with silicon carbide liberates only glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (partially), phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, and pyruvate kinase. The relative maximal activities of the enzymes suggest that the rate-limiting steps in glycolysis in T. brucei are the reactions catalyzed by aldolase and phosphoglycerate mutase.     

Enzymatic analysis of the pathways of glucose catabolism and gluconeogenesis in Pseudomonas citronellolis

Extracts of Pseudomonas citronellolis cells grown on glucose or gluconate possessed all the enzymes of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway. Gluconokinase and either or both 6-phosphogluconate dehydratase and KDPG aldolase were induced by growth on these substrates. Glucose and gluconate dehydrogenases and 6-phosphofructokinase were not detected. Thus catabolism of glucose proceeds via an inducible Entner-Doudoroff pathway. Metabolism of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate apparently proceeded via glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase and pyruvate kinase. These same enzymes plus triose phosphate isomerase were present in lactate-grown cells indicating that synthesis of triose phosphates from gluconeogenic substrates also occurs via this pathway. Extracts of lactate grown-cells possessed fructose diphosphatase and phosphohexoisomerase but apparently lacked fructose diphosphate aldolase thus indicating either the presence of an aldolase with unusual properties or requirements or an alternative pathway for the conversion of triose phosphate to fructose disphosphate. Cells contained two species of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, one an NAD-dependent enzyme which predominated when the organism was grown on glycolytic substrates and the other, an NADP-dependent enzyme which predominated when the organism was grown on gluconeogenic substrates.     

Glycolytic enzyme interactions with tubulin and microtubules

Interactions of the glycolytic enzymes glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, triose-phosphate isomerase, enolase, phosphoglycerate mutase, phosphoglycerate kinase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase type-M, and lactate dehydrogenase type-H with tubulin and microtubules were studied. Lactate dehydrogenase type-M, pyruvate kinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and aldolase demonstrated the greatest amount of co-pelleting with microtubules. The presence of 7% poly(ethylene glycol) increased co-pelleting of the latter four enzymes and two other enzymes, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, and phosphoglycerate kinase with microtubules. Interactions also were characterized by fluorescence anisotropy. Since the KD values of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase for tubulin and microtubules were all found to be between 1 and 4 microM, which is in the range of enzyme concentration in cells, these enzymes are probably bound to microtubules in vivo. These observations indicate that interactions of cytosolic proteins, such as the glycolytic enzymes, with cytoskeletal components, such as microtubules, may play a structural role in the formation of the microtrabecular lattice.     

Activity and androgenic control of glycolytic enzymes in the epididymis and epididymal spermatozoa of the rat.

1. Procedures were developed for the extraction and assay of glycolytic enzymes from the epididymis and epididymal spermatozoa of the rat. 2. The epididymis was separated into four segments for analysis. When rendered free of spermatozoa by efferent duct ligation, regional differences in enzyme activity were apparent. Phosphofructokinase, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase were more active in the proximal regions of the epididymis, whereas hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase were more active in the distal segment. These enzymes were less active in the epididymis of castrated animals and less difference was apparent between the proximal and distal segments. However, the corpus epididymidis from castrated rats had lower activities of almost all enzymes compared with other epididymal segments. 3. Spermatozoa required sonication to obtain satisfactory enzyme release. Glycolytic enzymes were more active in spermatozoa than in epididymal tissue, being more than 10 times as active in the case of hexokinase, phosphoglycerate kinase and phosphoglycerate mutase. 4. The specific activities of a number of enzymes in the epididymis were dependent on the androgen status of the animal. These included hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, pyruvate kinase, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase. 5. The caput and cauda epididymidis differed in the extent to which enzyme activities changed in response to an altered androgen status. The most notable examples were hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, phosphoglycerate kinase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase.     

Ouabain-sensitive interaction between human red cell membrane and glycolytic enzyme complex in cytosol

Binding of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate to monophosphoglycerate mutase, of which it is an obligatory cofactor, causes changes in the resonance positions of the 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of both phosphate groups. It has previously been shown that these resonances shift when other glycolytic enzymes, such as phosphoglycerate kinase, are added to form the 2,3-diphosphoglycerate . monophosphoglycerate mutase . phosphoglycerate kinase complex. In view of this association, we have examined the set of glycolytic enzymes from aldolase to pyruvate kinase and found evidence of direct communication between all of these enzymes. A multi-enzyme complex of 1--2 . 10(6) daltons has been separated from broken cell ghosts by Biogel column filtration and evidence has been presented to show that this complex exhibits aldolase, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and phosphoglycerate kinase activity. The glycolytic multi-enzyme complex interacts with the outer face of inside-out vesicles prepared from human red cells and the interaction is suppressed by application of 10(-6) M ouabain to the inner face of these vesicles. These studies show that the conformation of the enzymes comprising the megadalton complex are responsive to the application of ouabain to the outer red cell membrane surface.     

Degradation of glucose-metabolizing enzymes in the rat small intestine during starvation

1. The degradation rates and half-lives of hexokinase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase and aldolase were calculated from measurements of the decline in activities of these enzymes in rat small intestine during starvation. 2. The half-lives of the enzymes are: hexokinase, 5.7h; 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, 7.6h; glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6.0h; pyruvate kinase, 8.9h; lactate dehydrogenase, 8.7h; phosphoglycerate kinase, 8.7h; aldolase, 5.1h. 3. The significance of the results is discussed with respect to the regulation of enzyme concentrations in response to changes in diet.     

Interaction of immobilized phosphofructokinase with soluble muscle proteins

Selected glycolytic enzymes (including phosphoglucose isomerase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, enolase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase), as well as glycogen phosphorylase, creatine kinase, and adenylate kinase, bound to phosphofructokinase immobilized on an agarose gel. The affinity of phosphofructokinase to these various proteins differed, with phosphorylase exhibiting the strongest binding. Binding was reversed either by: (1) elution with high-ionic-strength buffer (0.4 M KCl); (2) the addition of a 5-10 mM concentration of ATP; or (3) high concentrations of fructose 6-phosphate (5 mM).     

The effect of dietary and hormonal conditions on the activities of glycolytic enzymes in rat epididymal adipose tissue

1. Measurements were made of the activities of nine glycolytic enzymes in epididymal adipose tissues obtained from rats that had undergone one of the following treatments: starvation; starvation followed by re-feeding with bread or high-fat diet; feeding with fat without preliminary starvation; alloxan-diabetes; alloxan-diabetes followed by insulin therapy. 2. In general, the activities of the glycolytic enzymes of adipose tissue, unlike those of liver, were not greatly affected by the above treatments. 3. The ;key' glycolytic enzymes, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase, were generally no more adaptive in response to physiological factors than other glycolytic enzymes such as glucose phosphate isomerase, fructose diphosphate aldolase, triose phosphate isomerase, glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. 4. Adiposetissue pyruvate kinase did not respond to feeding with fat in a manner similar to the liver enzyme. 5. Glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase had a behaviour pattern unlike the other eight glycolytic enzymes studied in that its activity was depressed by feeding with fat and was not restored to normal by re-feeding with a high-fat diet after starvation. These results are discussed in relation to the requirements of adipose tissue for glycerol phosphate in the esterification of fatty acids. 6. A statistical analysis of the results permitted the writing of linear equations describing the relationships between the activities of eight of the enzymes studied. 7. Evidence is presented for the existence of two constant-proportion groups amongst the enzymes studied, namely (i) glucose phosphate isomerase, phosphoglycerate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, and (ii) triose phosphate isomerase, fructose diphosphate aldolase and pyruvate kinase. 8. Mechanisms for maintaining the observed relationships between the activities of the enzymes in the tissue are discussed.     

Extraction of Glycolytic Enzymes: myo-Inositol as a Marker of Membrane Porosity

Detergent extraction of brain slices and mouse fibroblast 3T3 cells was performed to determine rates and relative amounts of extraction of inositol versus the glycolytic enzymes. The two detergents, Triton X-100 and Brij 58, led to similar results for extraction of myo-inositol. The extraction of enzymes from brain slices or cells varied with the detergent. In brain slices, a buffered solution containing 0.2% of the detergent Brij 58 led to the extraction of 85% of the inositol before 3% of the aldolase or before 37% of either lactate dehydrogenase or triose phosphate isomerase was extracted. In contrast, with 0.1% Triton X-100 in isotonic phosphate-buffered saline, when 70% of the inositol was extracted, 33% of the aldolase and 48% of the triose phosphate isomerase were extracted. Lesser amounts of aldolase and glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase were extracted than most of the other glycolytic enzymes under all conditions, implying that these enzymes may be interacting with non-extractable subcellular components. In 3T3 cells, both detergents were of similar effectiveness for inositol extraction. Triton X-100 caused 89% of the inositol to be released and Brij 58 caused 84% to be released. With the enzymes, Brij 58 caused between 15 and 38% extraction and Triton X-100 caused between 61 and 85% extraction of the different glycolytic enzymes. Thus Brij 58 was as effective as Triton X-100 in inositol extraction but not nearly as effective in glycolytic enzyme extraction. The results demonstrate that inositol leakage from tissues or cells is a better indicator of detergent-mediated alterations in membrane porosity than glycolytic enzyme leakage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Glycolytic enzyme levels in synaptosomes

The specific activities of glucosephosphate isomerase, aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase, glyceraldehydephosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase were all higher in the synaptoplasmic fraction from rat brain than in 100,000 g supernatant fraction of rat brain homogenates when the supernatants were prepared in high ionic strength solutions. Four enzymes in synaptosomes and two enzymes in homogenates were associated with particulate fractions as indicated by the large increase in specific activity of the enzymes when samples were treated with 0.3 M KCl before centrifugation. Glucosephosphate isomerase, aldolase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase were the enzymes that showed a large increase in specific activity following salt treatment of isolated, synaptosomal membrane while aldolase and pyruvate kinase were the two enzymes which showed a large increase in specific activity in the high speed supernatant fractions. Because the specific activities of many enzymes are found to be elevated not only in synaptosomes but in synaptosomal membrane fractions it is suggested that these enzymes may provide the potential for significantly enhanced glycolysis at these locations.     

Intraspecific red cell enzyme variation in the pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina)

The erythrocytes of 350 pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) were examined for electrophoretic variation of hemoglobin and 26 enzymes. Seven enzymes showed variation in more than 1% of individuals: phosphoglucose isomerase, phosphoglucomutase-1, soluble NADP-dependent isocitric dehydrogenase, peptidase A, peptidase C, 2,3-diphosphoglycerate mutase, and acid phosphatase. Variation with lesser frequency was found in soluble glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase, phosphoglycerate kinase, lactic dehydrogenase, and hemoglobin. Only eight samples were tested for esterase D, and one of these had a variant phenotype. Enzymes with no clear variation were adenylate kinase, adenosine deaminase, phosphofructokinase, hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, aldolase, phosphoglycerate mutase, phosphopyruvate hydratase (enolase), phosphoglucomutase-3, and superoxide dismutase. There was father-to-son transmission of PGI, PGM-1, peptidase C, 6PGD, 2,3-DPGAM, NADP-ICD, and acid phosphatase variants, suggesting that these loci are autosomal as in man.     

Key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism as targets of the 11.5-kDa Zn(2+)-binding protein (parathymosin)

The 11.5-kDa Zn(2+)-binding protein (ZnBP) was covalently linked to Sepharose. Affinity chromatography with a cytosolic subfraction from liver resulted in purification of a predominant 38-kDa protein. In comparable experiments with brain cytosol a 39-kDa protein was enriched. The ZnBP-protein interactions were zinc-specific. Both proteins were identified as fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. Experiments with crude cytosol showed zinc-specific interaction of additional enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism. From liver cytosol greater than 90% of the following enzymes were specifically retained: aldolase, phosphofructokinase-1, hexokinase/glucokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, phosphoglycerate kinase, enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, and most of triosephosphate isomerase remained unbound. From L-type pyruvate kinase only the phosphorylated form seems to interact with ZnBP. Using brain cytosol hexokinase, phosphofructokinase-1, and aldolase were completely bound to the affinity column, whereas glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, phosphoglycerate kinase, enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase, and most of triose-phosphate isomerase remained unbound. The behavior of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from this tissue could not be followed. A possible function of ZnBP in supramolecular organization of carbohydrate metabolism is proposed.     

High performance purification of glycolytic enzymes and creatine kinase from chicken breast muscle and preparation of their specific immunological probes

We developed a novel procedure for isolation of the muscle isozymes of aldolase, triose phosphate isomerase (TPI), glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), phosphoglycerate mutase (PGM), enolase, pyruvate kinase (PK) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and also creatine kinase (CK), at high purity, specific activity and yield. Protein was extracted from chicken breast muscle and glycolytic enzymes were purified by a three step procedure consisting of: Ammonium sulfate combined with pH fractionation. Phosphocellulose chromatography with performance of high pressure liquid chromatography, exploiting a pH gradient formed by a gradient of the buffering ion for protein elution. Affinity chromatography causing elution by substrate or pH. The enzymes, obtained at over 95% purity as judged by specific activity and silver stained electropherograms, were injected into sheep. Antibody for each enzyme was purified on specific immunosorbant and its specificity was verified by immunotransfer analysis.     

Control of glycolysis in cerebral cortex slices

1. Intracellular concentrations of intermediates and cofactors of glycolysis were measured in guinea-pig cerebral cortex slices incubated under varying conditions. 2. Comparison of mass-action ratios with apparent equilibrium constants for the reactions of glycolysis showed that hexokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase catalyse reactions generally far from equilibrium, whereas phosphoglucose isomerase, aldolase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, adenlyate kinase and creatine phosphokinase are generally close to equilibrium. The possibility that glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase may catalyse a ;non-equilibrium' reaction is discussed. 3. Correlation of changes in concentrations of substrates for enzymes catalysing ;non-equilibrium' reactions with changes in rates of glycolysis caused by alteration of the conditions of incubation showed that hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and possibly glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase are subject to metabolic control in cerebral cortex slices. 4. It is suggested that the glycolysis is controlled by two regulatory systems, the hexokinase-phosphofructokinase system and the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase-pyruvate kinase system. These are discussed. 5. It is concluded that the rate of glycolysis in guinea-pig cerebral cortex slices is limited either by the rate of glucose entry into the slices or by the hexokinase-phosphofructokinase system. 6. It is concluded that addition of 0.1mm-ouabain to guinea-pig cerebral cortex slices causes inhibition of either glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase or phosphoglycerate kinase or both, in a manner independent of the known action of ouabain on the sodium- and potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase.     

Enzymes of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway during development of the rabbit stomach worm Obeliscoides cuniculi

The activities of glycolytic and other enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism were measured in free-living and parasitic stages of the rabbit stomach worm Obeliscoides cuniculi. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase, hexokinase, glucosephosphate isomerase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase, α-glycerophosphatase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase, lactate dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase activities were present in worms recovered 14, 20 and 190 days postinfection.The presence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase indicates the possible function of a pentose phosphate pathway and a capacity for gluconeogenesis, respectively, in these worms.The ratio of pyruvate kinase (PK) to phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) less than I in parasitic stages suggests that their most active pathway is that fixing CO₂ into phosphoenol pyruvate to produce oxaloacetate.Low levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, triosephosphate isomerase, PEPCK and PK were recorded in infective third-stage larvae stored at 5°C for 5 and 12 mos. The ratio of PK to PEPCK greater than 1 indicates that infective larvae preferentially utilize a different terminal pathway than the parasitic stages.     

Small peptides released from muscle glycolytic enzymes during dry-cured ham processing

Glycolytic enzymes are a group of sarcoplasmic enzymes responsible for the extraction of the energy available from carbohydrates. The glycolytic pathway consists of 10 enzyme-catalyzed steps. Fragments identified in this study, within the range 1100-2600 Da, correspond to glycogen phosphorylase enzyme, which catalyzes the rate limiting step in the degradation of glycogen, enzymes that catalyze steps 6-10 of glycolysis (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, and pyruvate kinase, respectively), and lactate dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the interconversion of pyruvate and lactate. A total of 45 specific fragments of these enzymes resulting from the processing of dry-cured ham are reported for the first time in this work. This study evidences the intense proteolysis occurring in the sarcoplasmic fraction of dry-cured ham as well as facilitates the choice of the most adequate tools in the identification of naturally generated peptides through comparison between Paragon and Mascot search engines, together with UniProt and NCBInr databases.     

A quantitative evaluation of the effect of enzyme complexes on the glycolytic rate in vivo: mathematical modeling of the glycolytic complex

The cellular distribution of free and bound glycolytic enzymes in vivo was estimated by means of a model based on previously determined association constants for individual binding interactions and in vivo protein concentrations. The calculations revealed that a significant proportion of the enzymes would be either associated with F-actin, or bound in binary enzyme-enzyme complexes in vivo. An analysis of the relative concentration, and relative activity, of F-actin-bound enzymes suggested that a complete glycolytic complex, composed of all enzymatic steps from phosphofructokinase (PFK) to lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) does not exist. This was indicated by a very low concentration of F-actin-associated phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) and by a very low activity of F-actin bound aldolase and PGK; this model showed that aldolase and PGK would be absent from any F-actin bound complex. An analysis of soluble enzyme-enzyme associations indicated that formation of binary enzyme complexes may lead to an increased overall flux through glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and LDH, but would serve to decrease flux through PFK and aldolase. A 1.4-fold activation of PFK, which occurs when the soluble enzyme binds to F-actin, suggested that reversible binding of PFK to F-actin may represent a novel cellular mechanism for controlling glycolytic flux during periods of increased metabolic demand by controlling the key regulatory enzyme of glycolysis.     

Interactions of glycolytic enzymes with erythrocyte membranes

Partition equilibrium experiments have been used to characterize the interactions of erythrocyte ghosts with four glycolytic enzymes, namely aldolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphofructokinase and lactate dehydrogenase, in 5 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). For each of these tetrameric enzymes a single intrinsic association constant sufficed to describe its interaction with erythrocyte matrix sites, the membrane capacity for the first three enzymes coinciding with the band 3 protein content. For lactate dehydrogenase the erythrocyte membrane capacity was twice as great. The membrane interactions of aldolase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase were mutually inhibitory, as were those involving either of these enzymes and lactate dehydrogenase. Although the binding of phosphofructokinase to erythrocyte membranes was inhibited by aldolase, there was a transient concentration range of aldolase for which its interaction with matrix sites was enhanced by the presence of phosphofructokinase. In the presence of a moderate concentration of bovine serum albumin (15 mg/ml) the binding of aldolase to erythrocyte ghosts was enhanced in accordance with the prediction of thermodynamic nonideality based on excluded volume. At higher concentrations of albumin, however, the measured association constant decreased due to very weak binding of the space-filling protein to either the enzyme or the erythrocyte membrane. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the likely subcellular distribution of glycolytic enzymes in the red blood cell.     

The capacity of plastids from developing pea cotyledons to synthesise acetyl CoA

In order to determine whether the enzymes required to convert triose phosphate to acetyl CoA were present in pea (Pisum sativum L.) seed plastids, a rapid, mechanical technique was used to isolate plastids from developing cotyledons. The plastids were intact and the extraplastidial contamination was low. The following glycolytic enzymes, though predominantly cytosolic, were found to be present in plastids: glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12), phosphoglycerate kinase (EC 2.7.2.3), and pyruvate kinase(EC 2.7.1.40). Evidence is presented which indicates that plastids also contained low activities of enolase (EC 4.2.1.11) and phosphoglycerate mutase (EC 2.7.5.3). Pyruvate dehydrogenase, although predominantly mitochondrial, was also present in plastids. The plastidial activities of the above enzymes were high enough to account for the rate of lipid synthesis observed in vivo.Abbreviations FPLC fast protein liquid chromatography - PPi pyrophosphate