The involvement of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in substrate cycle control in the nonoxidative stage of the pentose phosphate pathway. A phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

Biosynthesis of monoethylene glycol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae utilizing native glycolytic enzymes

Monoethylene glycol (MEG) is an important commodity chemical with applications in numerous industrial processes, primarily in the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyester used in packaging applications. In the drive towards a sustainable chemical industry, bio-based production of MEG from renewable biomass has attracted growing interest. Recent attempts for bio-based MEG production have investigated metabolic network modifications in Escherichia coli, specifically rewiring the xylose assimilation pathways for the synthesis of MEG. In the present study, we examined the suitability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a preferred organism for industrial applications, as platform for MEG biosynthesis. Based on combined genetic, biochemical and fermentation studies, we report evidence for the existence of an endogenous biosynthetic route for MEG production from D-xylose in S. cerevisiae which consists of phosphofructokinase and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, the two key enzymes in the glycolytic pathway. Further metabolic engineering and process optimization yielded a strain capable of producing up to 4.0 g/L MEG, which is the highest titer reported in yeast to-date.

Time and Demand are Two Critical Dimensions of Immunometabolism: The Process of Macrophage Activation and the Pentose Phosphate Pathway

A process is a function of time; in immunometabolism, this is reflected by the stepwise adaptation of metabolism to sustain the bio-energetic demand of an immune-response in its various states and shades. This perspective article starts by presenting an early attempt to investigate the physiology of inflammation, in order to illustrate one of the basic concepts of immunometabolism, wherein an adapted metabolism of infiltrating immune cells affects tissue function and inflammation. We then focus on the process of macrophage activation and aim to delineate the factor time within the current molecular context of metabolic-rewiring important for adapting primary carbohydrate metabolism. In the last section, we will provide information on how the pentose phosphate pathway may be of importance to provide both nucleotide precursors and redox-equivalents, and speculate how carbon-scrambling events in the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway might be regulated within cells by demand. We conclude that the adapted metabolism of inflammation is specific in respect to the effector-function and appears as a well-orchestrated event, dynamic by nature, and based on a functional interplay of signaling- and metabolic-pathways.

Sedoheptulose kinase regulates cellular carbohydrate metabolism by sedoheptulose 7-phosphate supply

Dynamic carbon re-routing between catabolic and anabolic metabolism is an essential element of cellular transformation associated with tumour formation and immune cell activation. Such bioenergetic adaptations are important for cellular function and therefore require tight control. Carbohydrate phosphorylation has been proposed as a rate-limiting step of several metabolic networks. The recent identification of a sedoheptulose kinase indicated that free sedoheptulose is a relevant and accessible carbon source in humans. Furthermore, the bioavailability of its phosphorylated form, sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, appears to function as a rheostat for carbon-flux at the interface of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. In the present paper, we review reports of sedoheptulose metabolism, compare it with glucose metabolism, and discuss the regulation of sedoheptulose kinase as mechanism to achieve bioenergetic reprogramming in cells.

Cells overexpressing fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase showed enhanced pentose phosphate pathway flux and resistance to oxidative stress

Changes in the content of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate, a modulator of glycolytic flux, also affect other metabolic fluxes such as the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. Since this is the main source of precursors for biosynthesis in proliferating cells, PFK-2/FBPase-2 has been proposed as a potential target for neoplastic treatments. Here we provide evidence that cells with a low content of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate have a lower energy status than controls, but they are also less sensitive to oxidative stress. This feature is related to the activation of the oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway and the increased production of NADPH.