Effector analogues detect varied allosteric roles for conserved protein-effector interactions in pyruvate kinase isozymes

The binding site for allosteric inhibitor (amino acid) is highly conserved between human liver pyruvate kinase (hL-PYK) and the rabbit muscle isozyme (rM(1)-PYK). To detail similarities/differences in the allosteric function of these two homologues, we quantified the binding of 45 amino acid analogues to hL-PYK and their allosteric impact on affinity for the substrate, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). This complements a similar study previously completed for rM(1)-PYK. In hL-PYK, the minimum chemical requirements for effector binding are the same as those identified for rM(1)-PYK (i.e., the l-2-aminopropanaldehyde substructure of the effector is primarily responsible for binding). However, different regions of the effector determine the magnitude of the allosteric response in hL-PYK vs rM(1)-PYK. This finding is inconsistent with the idea that allosteric pathways are conserved between homologues of a protein family.