Kinetic mechanism of Ascaris suum phosphofructokinase desensitized to allosteric modulation by diethylpyrocarbonate modification

The kinetic mechanism of phosphofructokinase has been determined at pH 8 for native enzyme and pH 6.8 for an enzyme desensitized to allosteric modulation by diethylpyrocarbonate modification. In both cases, the mechanism is predominantly steady state ordered with MgATP binding first in the direction of fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) phosphorylation and rapid equilibrium random in the direction of MgADP phosphorylation. This is a unique kinetic mechanism for a phosphofructokinase. Product inhibition by MgADP is competitive versus MgATP and noncompetitive versus F6P while fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) is competitive versus fructose 6-phosphate and uncompetitive versus MgATP. The uncompetitive pattern obtained versus F6P is indicative of a dead-end E.MgATP.FBP complex. Fructose 6-phosphate is noncompetitive versus either FBP or MgADP. Dead-end inhibition by arabinose 5-phosphate or 2,5-anhydro-D-mannitol 6-phosphate is uncompetitive versus MgATP corroborating the ordered addition of MgATP prior to F6P. In the direction of MgADP phosphorylation, inhibition by anhydromannitol 1,6-bisphosphate is noncompetitive versus MgADP, while Mg-adenosine 5'(beta, gamma-methylene)triphosphate is noncompetitive versus FBP. Anhydromannitol 6-phosphate is a slow substrate, while anhydroglucitol 6-phosphate is not. This suggests that the enzyme exhibits beta-anomeric specificity.     

Correlation between hysteresis and allosteric properties for phosphofructokinase from Ascaris suum

The Ascaris suum phosphofructokinase exhibits hysteretic transitions in the time course for fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) phosphorylation in addition to allosteric properties when assayed at pH values below 8. Conditions that enhance hysteretic changes also enhance cooperative interactions and thus there appears to be a link between hysteresis and cooperativity. Initiation of reaction with either F6P or phosphofructokinase results in a pronounced lag, while initiation of the reaction with MgATP results in a burst at pH values below 8. Under conditions in which a lag is evident, increasing the concentration of F6P in the assay decreases the lag, while under conditions where a burst is evident, increasing the concentration of MgATP in the assay decreases the burst. The lag is enzyme-dependent going to a limiting value at high enzyme concentration, while the burst is enzyme-independent. As the pH increases, the Hill coefficient for F6P decreases from a pH-independent value of 3 at low pH to a value of 1 above pH 8. Over the same pH range, the burst rate increases to a point that it is too fast to measure at pH 8 (that is, the time course is linear). Finally, at pH 6.9, the saturation curve for F6P becomes more cooperative with the Hill coefficient equal to 3 above 4 mM MgATP. Data are interpreted in terms of the model suggested for the rabbit skeletal muscle phosphofructokinase (Frieden, C., Gilbert, H. R., and Bock, P.E. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 5644-5647) in which MgATP binds preferably to an inactive tetrameric enzyme form in which a group with a pK of 6.8 is protonated and F6P binds preferably to the unprotonated active tetrameric form.     

Occurrence and characterization of fructose 6-phosphate, 2-kinase and fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase in Euglena gracilis

1. Fructose 6-phosphate, 2-kinase and fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase occurred in Euglena gracilis SM-ZK, and is located in cytosol. 2. Fructose 6-phosphate, 2-kinase and fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase were partially purified, and both enzyme activities were not separated during the partial purification. 3. The pH optimum for fructose 6-phosphate, 2-kinase activity was 7.0. The saturation curve of the enzyme activity for ATP concentration was hyperbolic, and the Km value for the substrate was 0.88 mM. On the other hand, the saturation curve of the enzyme activity for fructose 6-phosphate concentration was sigmoidal, and the K0.5 value for the substrate was 70 microM. 4. The pH optimum for fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase activity was 6.5. The saturation curve for fructose 2,6-bisphosphate concentration was sigmoidal, and the K0.5 value for the substrate was 1.29 microM. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate showed a substrate inhibition at high concentration over 5 microM, and the enzyme activity was completely inhibited by 20 microM of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate.     

Optimum activity of the phosphofructokinase from Ascaris suum requires more than one metal ion

Phosphofructokinase (PFK) catalyzes the phosphorylation of fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) to give fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) using MgATP as the phosphoryl donor. As the concentration of Mg(2+) increases above the concentration needed to generate the MgATP chelate complex, a 15-fold increase in the initial rate was observed at low MgATP. The effect of Mg(2+) is limited to V/K(MgATP), and initial rate studies indicate an equilibrium-ordered addition of Mg(2+) before MgATP. Isotope partitioning of the dPFK:MgATP complex indicates a random addition of MgATP and F6P at low Mg(2+), with the rate of release of MgATP from the central E:MgATP:F6P complex 4-fold faster than the net rate constant for catalysis. This can be contrasted with the ordered addition of MgATP prior to F6P at high Mg(2+). The addition of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (F26P(2)) has no effect on the mechanism at low Mg(2+), with the exception of a 4-fold increase in the affinity of the enzyme for F6P. At high Mg(2+), F26P(2) causes the kinetic mechanism to become random with respect to MgATP and F6P and with MgATP released from the central complex half as fast as the net rate constant for catalysis. The latter is in agreement with previous studies [Gibson, G. E., Harris, B. G., and Cook, P. F. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 5451-5457]. The overall effect of Mg(2+) is a decrease in the rate of release of MgATP from the E:MgATP:F6P complex, independent of the concentration of F26P(2).     

Mouse (C57BL/KsJ) liver phosphofructokinase. Allosteric kinetics and age-related changes in the genetically diabetic state

The regulatory kinetic properties of phosphofructokinase partially purified from the livers of C57BL/KsJ mice were studied. The fructose 6-phosphate saturation curves were highly pH dependent. At a fixed MgATP concentration (1 mM), allosteric kinetics was observed in the range of pH studied (7.3 to 8.3) and the S0.5 values for fructose 6-phosphate decreased by about 0.2 to 0.3 mM for each 0.1-unit increment in pH. Allosteric effects on the sigmoidal response to fructose 6-phosphate: activation by AMP, NH4+, and glucose 1,6-bisphosphate, inhibition by MgATP2-, and synergistic inhibition between ATP and citrate, were all present at pH 8.0 to 8.2. Comparative kinetic studies with liver phosphofructokinase isolated from both the normal (C57BL/KsJ) and the genetically diabetic (C57BL/KsJ-db) mice of 9 to 10 and 15 to 16 weeks of age showed that the enzyme from the livers of diabetic mice exhibited decreased activity at subsaturating concentrations of fructose 6-phosphate. However, phosphofructokinase isolated from the livers of normal and genetically diabetic mice of 4 to 5 weeks of age showed no difference in kinetic properties. Thus, there appears to be a correlation between the change in properties of liver phosphofructokinase and the expression of hyperglycemia and obesity in the genetically diabetic mice. The decreased activity of liver phosphofructokinase in the older diabetic animals may well be one of the causes of the increased blood glucose levels. The results are also discussed in a general context with regard to the possible role of phosphofructokinase in the regulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis.     

pH dependence of the kinetic properties of allosteric phosphofructokinase from Escherichia coli.

The pH dependence of the activity of the allosteric phosphofructokinase from Escherichia coli has been studied in the pH range from 6 to 9, in the absence or presence of allosteric effectors. The sigmoidal cooperative saturation of phosphofructokinase by fructose 6-phosphate has been analyzed according to the Hill equation, and the following results have been obtained: (i) the apparent affinity for Fru-6P, as measured by the half-saturating concentration, [Fru-6P]0.5, does not change with pH; (ii) the cooperativity, as measured empirically by the Hill coefficient, nH, increases markedly with pH and reaches a value of 5.5-6 at pH 9; (iii) the catalytic rate constant, kcat, is controlled by the ionization of a critical group which has a pK of 7 in the absence of effector and must be deprotonated for phosphofructokinase to be active. The observation that pH affects both the cooperativity and the maximum velocity suggests that the catalytic efficiency of a given active site could be modified by the binding of fructose 6-phosphate to other remote sites. Finding values of the cooperativity coefficient larger than the number of substrate binding sites indicates that slow conformational changes may occur in phosphofructokinase. The cooperative saturation of phosphofructokinase by fructose 6-phosphate appears more complex than described by the classical concerted model at steady state and could involve two slowly interconverting states which differ in both their turnover rate constants and their affinities for fructose 6-phosphate. The presence of GDP shifts the pK of the critical group which controls kcat from 7 to 6.6.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and AMP increase the affinity of the Ascaris suum phosphofructokinase for fructose 6-phosphate in a process separate from the relief of ATP inhibition

Kinetic data have been collected suggesting that heterotropic activation by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and AMP is a result not only of the relief of allosteric inhibition by ATP but is also the result of an increase in the affinity of phosphofructokinase for fructose 6-phosphate. Modification of the Ascaris suum phosphofructokinase at the ATP inhibitory site produces a form of the enzyme that no longer has hysteretic time courses or homotropic positive (fructose 6-phosphate) cooperativity or substrate inhibition (ATP) (Rao, G.S. J., Wariso, B.A., Cook, P.F., Hofer, H.W., and Harris, B.G. (1987a) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 14068-14073). This form of phosphofructokinase is Michaelis-Menten in its kinetic behavior but is still activated by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and AMP and by phosphorylation using the catalytic subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK). Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate activates by decreasing KF-6-P by about 15-fold and has an activation constant of 92 nM, while AMP decreases KF-6-P about 6-fold and has an activation constant of 93 microM. Double activation experiments suggest that fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and AMP are synergistic in their activation. The desensitized form of the enzyme is phosphorylated by cAPK and has an increased affinity for fructose 6-phosphate in the absence of MgATP. The increased affinity results in a change in the order of addition of reactants from that with MgATP adding first for the nonphosphorylated enzyme to addition of fructose 6-phosphate first for the phosphorylated enzyme. The phosphorylated form of the enzyme is also still activated by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and AMP.     

Regulation of phosphofructokinase activity by glucagon in isolated rat hepatocytes.

Glucagon addition to isolated hepatocytes from fed rats resulted in an inhibition of the activity of phosphofructokinase measured in extracts of the cells. Glucagon caused a shift in the fructose 6-phosphate concentration curve to the right resulting in an increase in the K_0.5 for F6P from 0.09 mM to 0.31 mM. No effect of glucagon was seen when the enzyme was assayed with saturating concentrations of fructose 6-phosphate or in the presence of 1 mM AMP. The effect of glucagon was seen within minutes and the concentration of hormone giving half-maximal inhibition was 0.2 nM. This effect of glucagon on phosphofructokinase activity may contribute to the effect of glucagon on substrate cycling at the fructose 6-phosphate-fructose bisphosphate level.     

Effect of 6-Phosphogluconate on Phosphoglucose Isomerase in Rat Brain In Vitro and In Vivo

The activity of phosphoglucose isomerase, its kinetic properties, and the effect of 6-phosphogluconate on its activity in the forward (glucose 6-phosphate----fructose 6-phosphate) and the reverse (fructose 6-phosphate----glucose 6-phosphate) reactions were determined in adult rat brain in vitro. The activity of phosphoglucose isomerase (in nmol/min/mg of whole brain protein) was 1,865 +/- 20 in the forward reaction and 1,756 +/- 32 in the reverse reaction at pH 7.5. It was 1,992 +/- 28 and 2,620 +/- 46, respectively, at pH 8.5. The apparent Km and Vmax of phosphoglucose isomerase were 0.593 +/- 0.031 mM and 2,291 +/- 61 nmol/min/mg of protein, respectively, for glucose 6-phosphate and 0.095 +/- 0.013 mM and 2,035 +/- 98 nmol/min/mg of protein, respectively, for fructose 6-phosphate. The activity of phosphoglucose isomerase was inhibited intensely and competitively by 6-phosphogluconate, with an apparent Ki of 0.048 +/- 0.005 mM for glucose 6-phosphate and 0.042 +/- 0.004 mM for fructose 6-phosphate as the substrate. With glucose 6-phosphate as the substrate, at concentrations from 0.05 to 0.5 mM, the activity of the enzyme was inhibited completely in the presence of 0.5-2.0 mM 6-phosphogluconate. With 0.05-0.2 mM fructose 6-phosphate as the substrate, it was inhibited greater than or equal to 85% at the same concentrations of the inhibitor. No significant changes were observed in the values of Km, Vmax, and Ki for phosphoglucose isomerase in the brain of 6-aminonicotinamide-treated rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The roles of magnesium ions in the reaction catalysed by phosphofructokinase from Trypanosoma brucei.

The involvement of Mg2+ ions in the reaction catalysed by phosphofructokinase from Trypanosoma brucei was studied. The true substrate for the enzyme was shown to be the MgATP2-complex, and free Mg2+ ions are also required for enzyme activity. At concentrations of MgATP2- of 2.92 mM and greater, and a fructose 6-phosphate concentration of 1 mM and in the presence of EDTA as a Mg2+ buffer, the Km value for Mg2+ was determined to be 294 +/- 18 microM. Neither MgATP nor free ATP is an inhibitor of the enzyme, although apparent inhibition by the latter can be observed as a consequence of the decrease in free Mg2+ by chelation.     

Interaction of D-fructose and fructose 1-phosphate with yeast phosphofructokinase and its influence on glycolytic oscillations.

Fermentation of D-fructose- and D-glucose induced glycolytic oscillations of different period lengths in Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. Recent studies suggested, that D-fructose or one of its metabolites interacted with phosphofructokinase (ATP:D-fructo-6-phosphate 1-phosphofructokinase, EC 2.7.1.11), the core of the glycolytic 'oscillator'. In order to explore the kinetics of interaction, the influence of D-fructose and fructose 1-phosphate on purified yeast phosphofructokinase was studied. D-fructose concentrations up to 0.3 mM stimulated the enzyme, while a further increase led to competitive inhibition. The Hill coefficient for fructose 6-phosphate decreased from 2.8 to 1.0. Fructose 1-phosphate acted in a similar way, up to 1 mM activation and inhibition competitive to fructose 6-phosphate at higher concentration (2.0--3.5 mM) with the same effect on the Hill coefficient. The inhibition patterns obtained with D-fructose or fructose 1-phosphate suggest a sequential random reaction mechanism of yeast phosphofructokinase with fructose 6-phosphate and MgATP2-. The mode of interaction of phosphofructokinase with D-fructose and fructose 1-phosphate is discussed. The influence of both effectors resulted in altered enzyme kinetics, which may cause the different period lengths of glycolytic oscillations.     

Phosphofructokinase. II. Role of ligands in pH-dependent structural changes of the rabbit muscle enzyme.

The effect of ligands, including substrates and allosteric effectors, on the pH-dependent inactivation and reactivation of rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase has been examined in terms of the mechanism proposed previously (Bock, P.E. and Fireden, C. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 5630-5636). It is concluded thatt many ligands exert their effect by binding preferentially to either protonated or unprotonated forms of the enzyme and thus shifting an apparent pK for the inactivation or reactivation process. ATP and fructose 6-phosphate influence the apparent pK to different extents and in different directions, with ATP binding preferentially to the protonated forms and fructose 6-phosphate to the unprotonated forms. Enzyme inactivated by ATP can be reactivated by the addition of fructose 6-phosphate. The experiments indicate that inactivation and reactivation in the presence of these ligands can occur by kinetically different pathways as has been found for these processes in the absence of ligands. The results are discussed in relation to what might be expected for ligand binding properties of the enzyme as a function of pH, temperature, and enzyme concentration. The effect of ATP and MgATP is complex, perhaps representing more than one site of binding. Citrate appears to bind preferentially to protonated forms of the enzyme while fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and AMP bind preferentially to the unprotonated forms. ADP, K+, and NH4+ appear to have little or no preference in binding to different enzyme forms.     

Chloroplast Phosphofructokinase: II. Partial Purification, Kinetic and Regulatory Properties

Chloroplast phosphofructokinase from spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) was purified approximately 40-fold by a combination of fractionations with ammonium sulfate and acetone followed by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50. Positive cooperative kinetics was observed for the interaction between the enzyme and the substrate fructose 6-phosphate. The optimum pH shifted from 7.7 toward 7.0 as the fructose 6-phosphate concentration was taken below 0.5 mm. The second substrate was MgATP(2-) (Michaelis constant 30 mum). Free ATP inhibited the enzyme. Chloroplast phosphofructokinase was sensitive to inhibition by low concentration of phosphoenolpyruvate and glycolate 2-phosphate (especially at higher pH); these compounds inhibited in a positively cooperative fashion. Inhibitions by glycerate 2-phosphate (and probably glycerate 3-phosphate), citrate, and inorganic phosphate were also recorded; however, inorganic phosphate effectively relieved the inhibitions by phosphoenolpyruvate and glycolate 2-phosphate. These regulatory properties are considered to complement those of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and fructosebisphosphatase in the regulation of chloroplast starch metabolism.     

Kinetic studies on the reaction catalysed by phosphofructokinase from Trypanosoma brucei.

The steady-state kinetics of the reaction catalysed by the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei were studied at pH 6.7. In the presence of 50 mM-potassium phosphate buffer, the apparent co-operativity with respect to fructose 6-phosphate and the non-linear relationship between initial velocity and enzyme concentration, which were found when the enzyme was assayed in 50 mM-imidazole buffer [Cronin & Tipton (1985) Biochem. J. 227, 113-124], are not evident. Studies on the variations of the initial rate with changing concentrations of MgATP and fructose 6-phosphate, the product inhibition by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and the effects of the alternative substrate ITP were consistent with an ordered reaction pathway, in which MgATP binds to the enzyme before fructose 6-phosphate, and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate is the first product to dissociate from the ternary complex.     

Biochemical characterization of cytosolic fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase from apple (Malus domestica) leaves

Cytosolic fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was purified to apparent homogeneity from the leaves of apple, a sorbitol synthesizing species. The enzyme was a homotetramer with a subunit mass of 37 kDa, and was highly specific for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (F1,6BP) with a Km of 3.1 micro M and a Vmax of 48 units (mg protein)(-1). Either Mg2+ or Mn2+ was required for its activity with a Km of 0.59 mM and 62 micro M, respectively. Li+, Ca2+, Zn2+, Cu2+ and Hg2+ inhibited whereas Mn2+ enhanced the Mg2+ activated enzyme activity. Fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) was found to be a mixed type inhibitor with a Ki of 0.47 mM. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (F2,6BP) competitively inhibited the enzyme activity and changed the substrate saturation curve from hyperbolic to sigmoidal. AMP was a non-competitive inhibitor for the enzyme. F6P interacted with F2,6BP and AMP in a synergistic way to inhibit the enzyme activity. Dihydroxyacetone phosphate slightly inhibited the enzyme activity in the presence or absence of F2,6BP. Sorbitol increased the susceptibility of the enzyme to the inhibition by high concentrations of F1,6BP. High concentrations of sorbitol in the reaction mixture led to a reduction in the enzyme activity.     

Effect of substrates and effectors on the reversible inactivation of pig spleen phosphofructokinase by adenosine triphosphate

1. To investigate the mechanism of the reversible inactivation of pig spleen phosphofructokinase by ATP, the effect of order of addition of reactants (substrates, effectors and enzyme solution) was studied by preincubating the enzyme before assay with various combinations of its substrates and effectors. 2. Preincubation of the enzyme with MgATP or ATP at pH7.0 before addition of fructose 6-phosphate caused a rapid and much greater inhibition of activity than that observed when the reaction (carried out at identical substrate concentrations) was initiated with enzyme. 3. The rapid inhibition caused by preincubation with ATP, together with the sigmoidal response to fructose 6-phosphate and activation by AMP, were all blocked by prior photo-oxidation of the enzyme with Methylene Blue, which selectively destroys the inhibitory binding site for ATP [Ahlfors & Mansour (1969) J. Biol. Chem.244, 1247-1251]. 4. Fructose 6-phosphate, but not Mg(2+), protected phosphofructokinase from inhibition during preincubation with ATP in a manner that was sigmoidally dependent on the fructose 6-phosphate concentration. 5. Mg(2+), by protecting the enzyme from the inhibitory effect of preincubation at low pH (7.0) and by preventing its activation during preincubation with fructose 6-phosphate, demonstrated both a weak activating effect in the absence of the other substrates and a stronger inhibitory effect in the presence of fructose 6-phosphate. 6. Positive effectors (K(+), NH(4) (+), AMP and aspartate) protected the enzyme from inhibition during preincubation with MgATP in proportion to their potency as activators, but citrate potentiated the ATP inhibition. P(i) significantly slowed the inactivation process without itself acting as a positive effector. 7. The non-linear dependence of the initial rate of the unmodified enzyme on protein concentration (associated with increased positive homotropic co-operativity to fructose 6-phosphate) was intensified by preincubation with ATP and abolished by photo-oxidation. 8. The results are interpreted in terms of an association-dissociation model which postulates that protonation, at low pH, of a photo-oxidation-sensitive inhibitory site for ATP allows more rapid dissociation of an active tetramer to an inactive dimeric species.     

Purification and properties of pyruvate kinase from Streptococcus mutans.

Pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) from Streptococcus mutans strain JC2 was purified, giving a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was 180,000 to 190,000, and the enzyme was considered to consist of four identical subunits. This enzyme was completely dependent on glucose 6-phosphate for activity, and the saturation curve for activation by glucose 6-phosphate was sigmoidal. In the presence of 0.5 mM glucose 6-phosphate, the saturation curves for the substrates phosphoenolpyruvate and ADP were hyperbolic, and the Km values were 0.22 and 0.39 mM, respectively. GDP, IDP, and UDP could replace ADP, and the Km for GDP (0.026 mM) was 0.067 of that for ADP. The enzyme required not only divalent cations, Mg2+ or Mn2+, but also monovalent cations, K+ or NH4+, for activity, and it was strongly inhibited by Pi. When the concentration of Pi was increased, the half-saturating concentration and Hill coefficient for glucose 6-phosphate increased. However, the enzyme was immediately inactivated in a solution without Pi. The intracellular concentration of glucose 6-phosphate, in cooperation with that of Pi, may regulate pyruvate kinase activity in S. mutans.     

Influence of pH on the regulatory kinetics of rat liver phosphofructokinase: a thermodynamic linked-function analysis

The relationship between pH and the MgATP inhibition of rat liver phosphofructokinase has been quantiatively evaluated by utilization of a thermodynamic linked-function approach. This approach obviates the need to presuppose discrete inhibited and active states of the enzyme. The behavior of the apparent Michaelis constant for fructose 6-phosphate (Fru-6-P) over a 100-fold concentration range of MgATP conforms to the behavior predicted by the linked-function theory in that, a high concentrations of MgATP, saturation of the inhibitory effect is achieved, a result not predicted by a mutually exclusive two-state model. This behavior is described by the relationship Ka = Ka0[(Kix0 + [X])]/(Kix0 + Q[X])], where Ka is the apparent Michaelis constant for Fru-6-P, Ka0 is the Michaelis constant for Fru-6-P in the absence of MgATP, Kix0 is the dissociation constant of MgATP in the absence of Fru-6-P, and Q is the coupling term that quantitatively describes the finite degree of antagonism between MgATP and Fru-6-P. The free energy of interaction between MgATP and Fru-6-P, obtained from Q, is 1.9 kcal/mol at 25 degrees C. Ka0 and Kix0 are 0.17 and 0.3 mM, respectively. The influence of pH on these three parameters was then systematically investigated, and only Ka0 increased substantially with decreasing pH. Consequently, it is concluded that decreasing the pH does not increase the apparent Ka for Fru-6-P by augmenting the binding or inhibition by MgATP to a significant extent but rather by directly affecting the intrinsic affinity of the enzyme for Fru-6-P. The pK for this effect is 8.1.     

Control of phosphofructokinase from rat skeletal muscle. Effects of fructose diphosphate, AMP, ATP, and citrate.

Under conditions used previously for demonstrating glycolytic oscillations in muscle extracts (pH 6.65, 0.1 to 0.5 mM ATP), phosphofructokinase from rat skeletal muscle is strongly activated by micromolar concentrations of fructose diphosphate. The activation is dependent on the presence of AMP. Activation by fructose diphosphate and AMP, and inhibition by ATP, is primarily due to large changes in the apparent affinity of the enzyme for the substrate fructose 6-phosphate. These control properties can account for the generation of glycolytic oscillations. The enzyme was also studied under conditions approximating the metabolite contents of skeletal muscle in vivo (pH 7.0, 10mM ATP, 0.1 mM fructose 6-phosphate). Under these more inhibitory conditions, phosphofructokinase is strongly activated by low concentrations of fructose diphosphate, with half-maximal activation at about 10 muM. Citrate is a potent inhibitor at physiological concentrations, whereas AMP is a strong activator. Both AMP and citrate affect the maximum velocity and have little effect on affinity of the enzyme for fructose diphosphate.     

Determination of the rate-limiting steps and chemical mechanism of fructokinase by isotope exchange, isotope partitioning, and pH studies.

Isotope exchange studies show that beef liver fructokinase has a random kinetic mechanism in which release of fructose from the enzyme is slower than that catalytic reaction. The stickiness of fructose in the presence of MgATP is confirmed by isotope partition studies, which show it to be released 0.53 times as fast as V1/Et in the presence, and 80--130 times as fast in the absence of MgATP. Fructose-1-P release from it binary complex is not at all rate limiting in the forward direction since no exchange of MgADP back into MgATP could be observed during the forward reaction. Failure to find any isotope effect by the equilibrium perturbation method with [1-18O]fructose (upper limit, 1.003, shows that P--O bond cleavage or formation is not rate limiting. The pH profiles for the forward reaction show a group (probably carboxyl with pK 5.7-6.0 and deltaHion = 0) that must be ionized and a group (perhaps lysine, with pK 9--10, and deltaHion 5-9 kcal/mol) which must be protonated for activity. The profile for the back reaction shows only a group with pK 5.5--6 that must be protonated for activity. A chemical mechanism is proposed in which a carboxyl group on the enzyme accepts a proton from the 1-hydroxyl of fructose during the forward reaction and donates it back during the reverse reaction.