The ability of adenosine to decrease the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in isolated hepatocytes. A cyclic AMP-mediated effect.

The presence of adenosine (25-250 microM) or of 2-chloroadenosine (2.5-100 microM) in the incubation medium caused a marked decrease in the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in isolated hepatocytes. This effect was accompanied by an increase in the concentration of cyclic AMP, an activation of phosphorylase and of fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase, and an inactivation of pyruvate kinase and of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase. As a rule, the changes in the fructose 2,6-bisphosphate-modifying system were slower but more persistent than those in the activities of phosphorylase and pyruvate kinase. The effect of the nucleoside to decrease the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was not affected by an inhibitor of adenosine transport and could not be obtained in a liver high-speed supernatant. These data indicate that the effect of adenosine to decrease the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is mediated by the stimulation of adenylate cyclase, secondary to the binding of adenosine to membranous receptors. Like glucagon, 2-chloroadenosine stimulated gluconeogenesis in isolated hepatocytes, whereas adenosine had an opposite effect.     

Molecular identification of mammalian phosphopentomutase and glucose-1,6-bisphosphate synthase, two members of the alpha-D-phosphohexomutase family

The molecular identity of mammalian phosphopentomutase has not yet been established unequivocally. That of glucose-1,6-bisphosphate synthase, the enzyme that synthesizes a cofactor for phosphomutases and putative regulator of glycolysis, is completely unknown. In the present work, we have purified phosphopentomutase from human erythrocytes and found it to copurify with a 68-kDa polypeptide that was identified by mass spectrometry as phosphoglucomutase 2 (PGM2), a protein of the alpha-d-phosphohexomutase family and sharing about 20% identity with mammalian phosphoglucomutase 1. Data base searches indicated that vertebrate genomes contained, in addition to PGM2, a homologue (PGM2L1, for PGM2-like 1) sharing about 60% sequence identity with this protein. Both PGM2 and PGM2L1 were overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and their properties were studied. Using catalytic efficiency as a criterion, PGM2 acted more than 10-fold better as a phosphopentomutase (both on deoxyribose 1-phosphate and on ribose 1-phosphate) than as a phosphoglucomutase. PGM2L1 showed only low (<5%) phosphopentomutase and phosphoglucomutase activities compared with PGM2, but was about 5-20-fold better than the latter enzyme in catalyzing the 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate-dependent synthesis of glucose 1,6-bisphosphate and other aldose-bisphosphates. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that PGM2L1 was mainly expressed in brain where glucose-1,6-bisphosphate synthase activity was previously shown to be particularly high. We conclude that mammalian phosphopentomutase and glucose-1,6-bisphosphate synthase correspond to two closely related proteins, PGM2 and PGM2L1, encoded by two genes that separated early in vertebrate evolution.     

Metabolite Proofreading in Carnosine and Homocarnosine Synthesis: MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF PM20D2 AS β-ALANYL-LYSINE DIPEPTIDASE*

Carnosine synthase is the ATP-dependent ligase responsible for carnosine (β-alanyl-histidine) and homocarnosine (γ-aminobutyryl-histidine) synthesis in skeletal muscle and brain, respectively. This enzyme uses, also at substantial rates, lysine, ornithine, and arginine instead of histidine, yet the resulting dipeptides are virtually absent from muscle or brain, suggesting that they are removed by a “metabolite repair” enzyme. Using a radiolabeled substrate, we found that rat skeletal muscle, heart, and brain contained a cytosolic β-alanyl-lysine dipeptidase activity. This enzyme, which has the characteristics of a metalloenzyme, was purified ≈200-fold from rat skeletal muscle. Mass spectrometry analysis of the fractions obtained at different purification stages indicated parallel enrichment of PM20D2, a peptidase of unknown function belonging to the metallopeptidase 20 family. Western blotting showed coelution of PM20D2 with β-alanyl-lysine dipeptidase activity. Recombinant mouse PM20D2 hydrolyzed β-alanyl-lysine, β-alanyl-ornithine, γ-aminobutyryl-lysine, and γ-aminobutyryl-ornithine as its best substrates. It also acted at lower rates on β-alanyl-arginine and γ-aminobutyryl-arginine but virtually not on carnosine or homocarnosine. Although acting preferentially on basic dipeptides derived from β-alanine or γ-aminobutyrate, PM20D2 also acted at lower rates on some “classic dipeptides” like α-alanyl-lysine and α-lysyl-lysine. The same activity profile was observed with human PM20D2, yet this enzyme was ∼100–200-fold less active on all substrates tested than the mouse enzyme. Cotransfection in HEK293T cells of mouse or human PM20D2 together with carnosine synthase prevented the accumulation of abnormal dipeptides (β-alanyl-lysine, β-alanyl-ornithine, γ-aminobutyryl-lysine), thus favoring the synthesis of carnosine and homocarnosine and confirming the metabolite repair role of PM20D2.     

Characterization of mammalian sedoheptulokinase and mechanism of formation of erythritol in sedoheptulokinase deficiency

Our aim was to identify the product formed by sedoheptulokinase and to understand the mechanism of formation of erythritol in patients with sedoheptulokinase deficiency. Mouse recombinant sedoheptulokinase was found to be virtually specific for sedoheptulose and its reaction product was identified as sedoheptulose 7-phosphate. Assays of sedoheptulose in plant extracts disclosed that this sugar is present in carrots ( approximately 7mumol/g) and in several fruits. Sedoheptulose 1-phosphate is shown to be a substrate for aldolase B, which cleaves it to dihydroxyacetone-phosphate and erythrose. This suggests that, in patients deficient in sedoheptulose-7-kinase, sedoheptulose is phosphorylated by fructokinase to sedoheptulose 1-phosphate. Cleavage of the latter by aldolase B would lead to the formation of erythrose, which would then be reduced to erythritol.     

Enzymatic repair of Amadori products

Protein deglycation, a new form of protein repair, involves several enzymes. Fructosamine-3-kinase (FN3K), an enzyme found in mammals and birds, phosphorylates fructosamines on the third carbon of their sugar moiety, making them unstable and causing them to detach from proteins. This enzyme acts particularly well on fructose-epsilon-lysine, both in free form and in the accessible regions of proteins. Mice deficient in FN3K accumulate protein-bound fructosamines and free fructoselysine, indicating that the deglycation mechanism initiated by FN3K is operative in vivo. Mammals and birds also have an enzyme designated ‘FN3K-related protein’ (FN3KRP), which shares ≈65% sequence identity with FN3K. Unlike FN3K, FN3KRP does not phosphorylate fructosamines, but acts on ribulosamines and erythrulosamines. As with FN3K, the third carbon is phosphorylated and this leads to destabilization of the ketoamines. Experiments with intact erythrocytes indicate that FN3KRP is also a protein-repair enzyme. Its physiological substrates are most likely formed from ribose 5-phosphate and erythrose 4-phosphate, which give rise to ketoamine 5- or 4-phosphates. The latter are dephosphorylated by ‘low-molecular-weight protein-tyrosine-phosphatase-A’ (LMW-PTP-A) before FN3KRP transfers a phosphate on the third carbon. The specificity of FN3K homologues present in plants and bacteria is similar to that of mammalian FN3KRP, suggesting that deglycation of ribulosamines and/or erythrulosamines is an ancient mechanism. Mammalian cells contain also a phosphatase acting on fructosamine 6-phosphates, which result from the reaction of proteins with glucose 6-phosphate.     

Rapid stimulation of free glucuronate formation by non-glucuronidable xenobiotics in isolated rat hepatocytes

Vitamin C synthesis in rat liver is enhanced by several xenobiotics, including aminopyrine and chloretone. The effect of these agents has been linked to induction of enzymes potentially involved in the formation of glucuronate, a precursor of vitamin C. Using isolated rat hepatocytes as a model, we show that a series of agents (aminopyrine, antipyrine, chloretone, clotrimazole, metyrapone, proadifen, and barbital) induced in a few minutes an up to 15-fold increase in the formation of glucuronate, which was best observed in the presence of sorbinil, an inhibitor of glucuronate reductase. They also caused an approximately 2-fold decrease in the concentration of UDP-glucuronate but little if any change in the concentration of UDP-glucose. Depletion of UDP-glucuronate with resorcinol or d-galactosamine markedly decreased the formation of glucuronate both in the presence and in the absence of aminopyrine, confirming the precursor-product relationship between UDP-glucuronate and free glucuronate. Most of the agents did not induce the formation of detectable amounts of glucuronides, indicating that the formation of glucuronate is not due to a glucuronidation-deglucuronidation cycle. With the exception of barbital (which inhibits glucuronate reductase), all of the above mentioned agents also caused an increase in the concentration of ascorbic acid. They had little effect on glutathione concentration, and their effect on glucuronate and vitamin C formation was not mimicked by glutathione-depleting agents such as diamide and buthionine sulfoximine. It is concluded that the stimulation of vitamin C synthesis exerted by some xenobiotics is mediated through a rapid increase in the conversion of UDP-glucuronate to glucuronate, which does not apparently involve a glucuronidation-deglucuronidation cycle.     

Effects of glucose and glucagon on the fructose 2,6-bisphosphate content of pancreatic islets and purified pancreatic B-cells. A comparison with isolated hepatocytes.

Glucose caused a sustained and dose-related increase in the fructose 2,6-bisphosphate content of isolated pancreatic islets, as well as of purified pancreatic B-cells. With isolated B-cells, the glucose saturation curve was sigmoidal and superimposable on that obtained with hepatocytes isolated from unfed rats. However, the response to glucose was notably faster in purified B-cells than in isolated hepatocytes. In contrast again with the situation prevailing in the liver, glucagon failed to decrease significantly the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in either islets or purified B-cells. It is proposed that, in the process of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, an early increase in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate formation may, by causing activation of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase, allow glycolysis to keep pace with the rate of glucose phosphorylation.