Isolation of ahighly active fructose diphosphatase from rabit muscle: its subunit structure and activation by monovalent cations

Crystal structures of human muscle fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase: novel quaternary states, enhanced AMP affinity, and allosteric signal transmission pathway

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, a key enzyme in gluconeogenesis, is subject to metabolic regulation. The human muscle isozyme is significantly more sensitive towards the allosteric inhibitor, AMP, than the liver isoform. Here we report crystal structures and kinetic studies for wild-type human muscle Fru-1,6-Pase, the AMP-bound (1.6 Å), and product-bound complexes of the Q32R mutant, which was firstly introduced by an error in the cloning. Our high-resolution structure reveals for the first time that the higher sensitivity of the muscle isozyme towards AMP originates from an additional water-mediated, H-bonded network established between AMP and the binding pocket. Also present in our structures are a metaphosphate molecule, alternate conformations of Glu97 coordinating Mg²⁺, and possible metal migration during catalysis. Although the individual subunit is similar to previously reported Fru-1,6-Pase structures, the tetrameric assembly of all these structures deviates from the canonical R- or T-states, representing novel tetrameric assemblies. Intriguingly, the concentration of AMP required for 50% inhibition of the Q32R mutant is increased 19-fold, and the cooperativity of both AMP and Mg²⁺ is abolished or decreased. These structures demonstrate the Q32R mutation affects the conformations of both N-terminal residues and the dynamic loop 52–72. Also importantly, structural comparison indicates that this mutation in helix α2 is detrimental to the R-to-T conversion as evidenced by the absence of quaternary structural changes upon AMP binding, providing direct evidence for the critical role of helix α2 in the allosteric signal transduction.

Effect of LiCl on phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase and the phosphorylation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in leaf disks and leaves of Sorghum vulgare

In the present work, the effect of LiCl on phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase (PEPCase-k), C4 phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase: EC 4.1.1.31) and its phosphorylation process has been investigated in illuminated leaf disks and leaves of the C4 plant Sorghum vulgare. Although this salt induced severe damages to older leaves, it did not significantly alter the physiological parameters (photosynthesis, transpiration rate, intercellular CO2 concentration) of young leaves. An immunological approach was used to demonstrate that the PEPCase-k protein accumulated rapidly in illuminated leaf tissues, consistent with the increase in its catalytic activity. In vivo, LiCl was shown to strongly enhance the light effect on PEPCase-k protein content, this process being dependent on protein synthesis. In marked contrast, the salt was found to inhibit the PEPCase-k activity in reconstituted assays and to decrease the C4 PEPCase content and phosphorylation state in LiCl treated plants. Short-term (15 min) LiCl treatment increased IP3 levels, PPCK gene expression, and PEPCase-k accumulation. Extending the treatment (1 h) markedly decreased IP3 and PPCK gene expression, while PEPCase-k activity was kept high. The cytosolic protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide (CHX), which blocked the light-dependent up-regulation of the kinase in control plants, was found not to be active on this process in preilluminated, LiCl-treated leaves. This suggested that the salt causes the kinase turnover to be altered, presumably by decreasing degradation of the corresponding polypeptide. Taken together, these results establish PEPCase-k and PEPCase phosphorylation as lithium targets in higher plants and that this salt can provide a means to investigate further the organization and functioning of the cascade controlling the activity of both enzymes.

Concentrations of glycolytic enzymes and other cytosolic proteins in the diffusible fraction of a vertebrate muscle proteome

We used a novel microvolumetric technique based on protein diffusion to characterize the subproteome of muscle that consists of diffusible proteins, including those involved in cell metabolism. Muscle fiber segments were mechanically demembranated under mineral oil and transferred into drops of relaxing solution. After the fiber segment was depleted of diffusible proteins, the content of each drop and residual segment was analyzed by one-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Proteins were identified through peptide mass fingerprinting and quantified using purified protein standards. Ten of the most abundant cytosolic proteins, distinguished by their ability to readily diffuse out of the skinned fiber, were glycolytic enzymes whose concentrations ranged from 2.6+/-1.0 g liter-1 (phosphoglucose isomerase) to 12.8+/-1.1 g liter-1 fiber volume (pyruvate kinase). The concentrations of the other five most abundant cytosolic proteins were as follows: glycogen phosphorylase, 6.0+/-2.3 g liter-1; phosphoglucose mutase, 2.2+/-0.2 g liter-1; adenylate kinase, 1.6+/-1.3 g liter-1; phosphocreatine kinase, 6.6+/-2.6 g liter-1; and parvalbumin, 0.7+/-0.4 g liter-1. Given the molecular weight and subunit number of each enzyme, the combined concentration of the 15 most abundant cytosolic proteins was 82.3 g liter-1; the volume fraction was 0.093. The large volume fraction of diffusible proteins favors nonspecific interactions and associations, particularly if the glycolytic enzymes and diffusible phosphocreatine kinase are restricted to the I-band as previous studies suggest. The relative molar concentration of glycolytic enzymes is roughly consistent with a stoichiometry of 1:2 for enzymes catalyzing the hexose and triose sugar reactions, respectively, a stoichiometry that may favor metabolic channeling of intermediates during glycolysis. Our results indicate that subcellular fractionation of muscle proteins, in which cytosolic constituents are distinguished by their ability to diffuse readily from demembranated cells, is a promising microvolumetric technique that allows conclusions to be drawn about native protein-protein interactions based on concentration and stoichiometry.

Rat muscle fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase: cloning of the cDNA, expression of the recombinant enzyme, and expression analysis in different tissues

The 1282 bp cDNA of an isoenzyme of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was cloned from rat muscle. It shows 70% positional identity to the cDNA of rat liver fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and is clearly the product of a gene different from that coding for the liver enzyme. After cloning of the coding region of the rat muscle fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase cDNA in an expression vector, the recombinant enzyme could be detected in E. coli cell-free extracts by activity determination and Western blotting. Overexpressed fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was found to be allosterically inhibited by AMP comparably to the enzyme isolated from rat muscle. Analysis of steady-state mRNA levels of various rat tissues with reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Northern blotting revealed one or the two fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase isoenzyme mRNAs in most tissues tested with significant quantitative differences. Quantitative PCR using a homologous competitor showed that 1 microg of total RNA of rat muscle contains 1.7 x 10(6) molecules of rat muscle fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase mRNA. 3 x 10(4) copies of this message were found per microg total RNA of heart and kidney, respectively.

Kinetic properties of D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase isolated from human muscle

D-Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase (EC 3.1.3.11) [Fru(1,6)Pase] was isolated from human muscle in an electrophoretically homogeneous form, free of aldolase contamination. The enzyme is inhibited by the substrate [fructose (1,6)-bisphosphate]. Km is 0.77 microM; Kis is 90 microM. The fructose-2,6-bisphosphate [Fru(2,6)P2], a regulator of gluconeogenesis, inhibits human muscle Fru(1,6)Pase with Ki = 0.13 microM. To determine Km, Kis and Ki the integrated method was used. AMP is an allosteric inhibitor of Fru(1,6)Pase. As with other mammalian isoenzymes, the human muscle enzyme is more strongly inhibited by AMP than is the liver isoenzyme [Dzugaj and Kochman (1980) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 614, 407-412]. Both of the inhibitors [AMP and Fru(2,6)P2] act synergistically on human muscle Fru(1,6)Pase. Ki for Fru(2,6)P2 determined in the presence of 0.4 microM AMP was 0.028 microM. The human muscle enzyme, like other mammalian Fru(1,6)Pases, requires Mg2+ for its activity. The Ka for magnesium was 232 microM, and h (Hill coefficient) = 2.0.

Crystallographic evidence for the action of potassium, thallium, and lithium ions on fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (Fru-1,6-Pase; D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.11) requires two divalent metal ions to hydrolyze alpha-D-fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. Although not required for catalysis, monovalent cations modify the enzyme activity; K+ and Tl+ ions are activators, whereas Li+ ions are inhibitors. Their mechanisms of action are still unknown. We report here crystallographic structures of pig kidney Fru-1,6-Pase complexed with K+, Tl+, or both Tl+ and Li+. In the T form Fru-1,6-Pase complexed with the substrate analogue 2,5-anhydro-D-glucitol 1,6-bisphosphate (AhG-1,6-P2) and Tl+ or K+ ions, three Tl+ or K+ binding sites are found. Site 1 is defined by Glu-97, Asp-118, Asp-121, Glu-280, and a 1-phosphate oxygen of AhG-1,6-P2; site 2 is defined by Glu-97, Glu-98, Asp-118, and Leu-120. Finally, site 3 is defined by Arg-276, Glu-280, and the 1-phosphate group of AhG-1,6-P2. The Tl+ or K+ ions at sites 1 and 2 are very close to the positions previously identified for the divalent metal ions. Site 3 is specific to K+ or Tl+. In the divalent metal ion complexes, site 3 is occupied by the guanidinium group of Arg-276. These observations suggest that Tl+ or K+ ions can substitute for Arg-276 in the active site and polarize the 1-phosphate group, thus facilitating nucleophilic attack on the phosphorus center. In the T form complexed with both Tl+ and Li+ ions, Li+ replaces Tl+ at metal site 1. Inhibition by lithium very likely occurs as it binds to this site, thus retarding turnover or phosphate release. The present study provides a structural basis for a similar mechanism of inhibition for inositol monophosphatase, one of the potential targets of lithium ions in the treatment of manic depression.

Induction and turnover of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase in HL-60 leukemia cells by calcitriol

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase mRNA and enzyme activity in HL-60 cells were rapidly and markedly induced by calcitriol (formerly known as 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3). The activity reached 70-80 times the basal level after 96 h. The enzyme activity in the cells incubated for 96 h with calcitriol decreased immediately after its withdrawal but after a 24-h incubation the activity in the cells continued to increase slightly and then decreased slowly. Calcitriol increased the enzyme activity dose-dependently with maximal stimulation at 10 nM and half-maximal at 2.1 nM. The rate of synthesis of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase almost paralleled the increase in mRNA level during treatment with calcitriol. When calcitriol was removed from media after incubation for either 24 h or 96 h, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase mRNA and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase synthesis decreased rapidly to the basal level. The enzyme was only slightly degraded in the cells incubated with calcitriol for 24 h followed by the subsequent culture without calcitriol but it was degraded with a half-life estimated to be approximately 64 h in the same cells followed by culturing with calcitriol. In the cells incubated for 96 h, the same degradation rate (i.e. half-life approximately 64 h) was observed irrespective of the following culture with or without calcitriol. Calcitriol did not affect the degradation rate of total soluble proteins.

Allosteric transition of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase

Structural changes during the R-to-T transition of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) form a hierarchy, in which structural changes at one level are supported by those at the other levels. The quaternary conformational changes involve a 17 degrees rotation between the upper and lower dimers, and a 3.4 degrees rotation between monomers in a dimer. Within monomers, the FBP domain, which remains rigid during the R-to-T transition, rotates 2.3 degrees relative to the AMP domain, which undergoes significant structural reorientations. The most important of these reorientations are the newly identified partially ordered loop residues 55-61 in the T state and reorientations of helices H1, H2, and H3. Supporting these structural changes are numerous readjustments of hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions throughout the entire tetrameric protein. Propagation of structural changes during the R-to-T transition relies primarily on helices H1, H2, H3, and loop 50-72. The change that begins at the AMP site causes reorientation of H1, H2, and H3 and changes of interactions across the C1-C4 (C2-C3) interface. These changes may propagate down H1, H2, H3, and loop 50-72 to affect interactions across the C1-C2 (C3-C4) and C1-C3 (C2-C4) interfaces. AMP inhibition is most probably caused by reduced metal binding affinity due to structural changes of metal ligands (Glu97, Asp118, and Asp121) in the active site. The eight-stranded beta-sheet, particularly the beta-strand B3, which connects Lys112 and Tyr113 of the AMP site with Asp118 and Asp121 of the metal site, may be responsible for communication between the AMP and active sites. Additional structural changes that support such communication include reorientation of the FBP domain and H1, H2, and H3 relative to the eight-stranded beta-sheet, and new conformations of loop 54-72 in the T state as AMP binds.

Crystal structure of the neutral form of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase complexed with regulatory inhibitor fructose 2,6-bisphosphate at 2.6-A resolution

The three-dimensional structure of the complex between fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) and the physiological inhibitor beta-D-fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2), an analogue of the substrate (fructose 1,6-bisphosphate), has been refined at 2.6-A resolution to a residual error (R) factor of 0.171. The rms deviations are 0.012 A and 2.88 degrees from ideal geometries of bond lengths and angles, respectively. The Fru-2,6-P2 occupies the active sites of both polypeptides C1 and C2 in the crystallographic asymmetric unit in the space group P3(2)21. The furanose and 6-phosphate of Fru-2,6-P2 are located at the fructose 6-phosphate site established earlier, and the 2-phosphate binds to the OH of Ser-124, the NH3+ of Lys-274, and the backbone NH of Gly-122 and Ser-123. Backbone displacements of 1 A occur for residues from Asp-121 to Asn-125. Model building of substrate alpha-D-Fru-1,6-P2 based on the binding structure of Fru-2,6-P2 in the active site shows interactions of the 1-phosphate with the backbone NH of Ser-123 and Ser-124. In the AMP sites, density peaks attributed to Fru-2,6-P2 are seen in C1 (and C4) but not in C2 (and C3). This minor binding of Fru-2,6-P2 to AMP sites partially explains the synergistic interaction between AMP and Fru-2,6-P2 and the protection of the AMP site from acetylation in the presence of Fru-2,6-P2. In the synergistic interaction between AMP and Fru-2,6-P2, inhibition of catalytic metal binding by the presence of Fru-2,6-P2 at the active site, and propagation of structural changes over some 28 A along beta-strand B3 from residues 121 to 125 in the active site to Lys-112 and Tyr-113 in the AMP site, as well as movement of helices across the interdimeric interfaces, may affect AMP binding and the subsequent R-to-T transition. In addition, occupancy of Fru-2,6-P2 at the AMP sites of C1 and C4 may favor binding of AMP to the remaining unoccupied AMP sites and thus promote the accompanying quaternary conformational changes.

Demonstration of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase in human term placenta

A proteolysed form of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (Fru-P2ase) has been detected and characterized in human term placenta. The extract was found to contain very low levels of activity with an alkaline pH optimum. Western blotting demonstrated a polypeptide of Mr 26,000, instead of the subunit of Mr 36,000 observed in native mammalian Fru-P2ases.

Identification of ATP diphosphohydrolase activity in human term placenta using a novel assay for AMP

Human term placenta contains an ATP diphosphohydrolase activity which hydrolyses ATP to ADP and inorganic phosphate and ADP to AMP and a second mole of inorganic phosphate. The activity has a pH optimum between 8.0 and 8.5. Magnesium or calcium ions are required for maximum activity. Other nucleoside phosphates, p-nitrophenyl phosphate or sodium pyrophosphate, are not hydrolysed. The activity is not due to ATPases, or to myokinase, as determined by the use of inhibitors. NaF and NaN3 were found to inhibit strongly the activity thus identifying it as an ATP diphosphohydrolase. A sensitive enzymatic assay for measurement of AMP, one of the products of the reaction, was established, based on the strong inhibition of muscle fructose 1,6-biphosphatase by AMP. The range of the assay was 0.05-0.8 microM AMP. ATP diphosphohydrolase was found to have a rate of AMP production from ADP twice the rate from ATP. Under the same conditions, the assay for Pi release, on the other hand, gave velocities similar to each other for the two substrates. The activity appears to be identical to the ADP-hydrolysing activity in placenta reported by others.

Crystal structure of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase complexed with fructose 6-phosphate, AMP, and magnesium

The crystal structure of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) complexed with fructose 6-phosphate, AMP, and Mg2+ has been solved by the molecular replacement method and refined at 2.5-A resolution to a R factor of 0.215, with root-mean-square deviations of 0.013 A and 3.5 degrees for bond lengths and bond angles, respectively. No solvent molecules have been included in the refinement. This structure shows large quaternary and tertiary conformational changes from the structures of the unligated enzyme or its fructose 2,6-bisphosphate complex, but the secondary structures remain essentially the same. Dimer C3-C4 of the enzyme-fructose 6-phosphate-AMP-Mg2+ complex twists about 19 degrees relative to the same dimer of the enzyme-fructose 2,6-bisphosphate complex if their C1-C2 dimers are superimposed on one another. Nevertheless, many interfacial interactions between dimers of C1-C2 and C3-C4 are conserved after quaternary structure changes occur. Residues of the AMP domain (residues 6-200) show large migrations of C alpha atoms relative to barely significant positional changes of the FBP domain (residues 201-335).

Ostrich fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase: distribution of activity and purification of the liver isoenzyme

1. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase was assayed in crude extracts of physiologically important organs and tissues in the ostrich. 2. Highest activity was found in liver and lowest in brain tissue. 3. No activity was detected in the heart, gizzard or adrenals. 4. The enzyme was purified in homogeneous, apparently undegraded form from liver utilizing Blue dextran-Sepharose affinity chromatography. 5. The enzyme is similar to mammalian fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase in many respects including its indispensability of Mg2+ for catalytic activity. 6. Relative molecular weight of the native enzyme and its subunit is about 150,000 and 35,000 respectively. 7. The amino acid composition of ostrich liver fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase is distinctly different from that of the chicken muscle enzyme, but compares favourably with the composition of the rabbit liver enzyme. 8. The purified enzyme is devoid of tryptophan.

Phosphofructokinase and fructosebisphosphatase from muscle can interact at physiological concentrations with mutual effects on their kinetic behavior

Phosphofructokinase (PFK) and fructosebisphosphatase (FBPase) from muscle studied at physiological concentrations have been found to influence the kinetic behavior of each other. Under these conditions PFK can be activated up to ca. 4-fold by FBPase, while the latter can be inhibited up to ca. 3-fold by the former. Diluted enzymes did not interact with each other; nevertheless, they did so in the presence of polyethylene glycol. Equimolar amounts of either glucosephosphate isomerase or aldolase had no effect on concentrated PFK. The kinetic interactions between PFK and FBPase should be taken into account for fuller understanding of their regulatory behavior in vivo.

Supramolecular organization of glycolytic enzymes

On the basis of the analysis of the data on adsorption of glycolytic enzymes to structural proteins of skeletal muscles and to the erythrocyte membranes, the data on enzyme-enzyme interactions and the data on the regulation of activity of glycolytic enzymes by cellular metabolites, the structure of the glycolytic enzymes complex adsorbed to a biological support has been proposed. The key role in the formation of multienzyme complex belongs to 6-phosphofructokinase. The enzyme molecule has two association sites, one of which provides the fixation of 6-phosphofructokinase on the support and another is saturated by fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. The multienzyme complex contains one tetrameric molecule of 6-phosphofructokinase and two molecules of each of other glycolytic enzymes. Hexokinase is not a part of the complex. The molecular mass of the multienzyme complex is about 2.6 X 10(6) daltons. The multienzyme complex has symmetry axis of second order. The formation of the multienzyme complex leads to the compartmentation of glycolytic process. The problem of integration of physico-chemical mechanisms of enzyme activity regulation (allosteric, dissociative and adsorptive mechanisms) is discussed.

Isolation and partial characterization of rat muscle fructose bisphosphatase

Fructose bisphosphatase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.11) has been isolated in homogeneous form from rat muscle by a simple and convenient procedure, including adsorption on carboxymethylcellulose and substrate elution. The resultant enzyme preparation has a specific activity comparable to that of the enzymes isolated from rabbit liver, rabbit muscle and rat liver. The native relative molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated by sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation to be approx. 138 000, and the enzyme appears to be a tetramer containing subunits of Mr approx. 34 500. The amino acid composition is distinctly different from that of the rabbit muscle, rabbit liver and rat liver enzymes. The purified enzyme contains no tryptophan and has a blocked amino terminal.

Purification of commercial preparations of NADP+ from AMP contamination

A method for purification of commercial preparations of NADP+ from AMP contamination is described. The purification procedure includes one-step anion-exchange chromatography on Dowex-1 (formate) and results in a highly purified salt-free coenzyme with a yield of 70-80%. The chromatography conditions have been selected allowing for complete separation of AMP from NADP+ in a HCOOH concentration gradient. This is followed by NADP+ elution with 1.5 M HCOOH containing HCOOK at a concentration at which the salt remains in solution during subsequent precipitation and washing of NADP+ with acetone. An addition of HCOOK is necessary to reduce the coenzyme elution volume that is important for further precipitation of NADP+ with acetone.

On the mechanism of inhibition of neutral liver fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate

The inhibitory effect of fructose 2,6-biphosphate on fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase was reinvestigated in order to solve the apparent contradiction between competition with the substrate and the synergism with AMP, a strictly noncompetitive inhibitor. The effect of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was compared to that of other ligands of the enzyme, which, like the substrate and methyl (alpha + beta)fructofuranoside 1,6-bisphosphate bind to the active site or which, like AMP, bind to an allosteric site. An increase in temperature or pH, or the presence of sulfosalicylate, lithium or higher concentrations of magnesium as well as partial proteolysis by subtilisin increased [I]0.5 for fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and AMP without affecting Km. With the exception of the pH change, all these conditions were also without effect on the affinity of the enzyme for the competitive inhibitor, methyl (alpha + beta)fructofuranoside 1,6-bisphosphate. These observations can be explained by assuming that fructose 2,6-bisphosphate has no affinity for the active site of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase but binds to an allosteric site which is different from the AMP site. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is therefore classified as an allosteric competitive inhibitor and a model is proposed which explains its synergism with AMP as well as the various cooperative effects.

The affinity of rabbit muscle fructose-bisphosphatase for fructose bisphosphate

This paper reports that microM concentrations of fructose bisphosphate are titrated by rabbit muscle fructose-bisphosphatase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.11) when the enzyme concentration is varied in the range which secures measurable initial velocities of reaction: a result that can only be explained by supposing that the enzyme has a greater affinity for fructose bisphosphate than suggested by Fernando, J., Enser, M., Pontremoli, S. and Horecker, B.L. (1968) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 126, 599-606. The results also suggest that the keto form of the substrate may be the preferred configuration and that the enzyme is inhibited by magnesium-bound fructose bisphosphate.

Amino acid utilisation in isolated hepatocytes from rainbow trout

The utilisation (conversion to CO2 and/or glucose) of a series of amino acids by isolated trout hepatocytes was investigated and compared to the utilisation of lactate and palmitate. In fed fish, several amino acids (alanine, serine, asparagine and glycine) and lactate produced CO2 at considerably higher rates than palmitate. During starvation plus exercise, the rate of CO2 production from palmitate increased while that from lactate and most of the amino acids decreased. Gluconeogenesis from amino acids in fed fish was lower than from lactate. Serine and asparagine were the most effective substrates; alanine gave lower rates of incorporation. During prolonged starvation plus exercise, the rates of gluconeogenesis from amino acids increased twofold and, simultaneously, there was a corresponding increase in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity in liver. It is concluded that several amino acids (dietary or released from muscle protein) are potentially major oxidative substrates in trout. In addition, amino acids appear to have the capability to maintain supplies of glucose during a period of prolonged starvation and exercise. No evidence could be found to support the contention that alanine is the most important glucogenic amino acid.

Evidence for formation of a rabbit liver aldolase--rabbit liver fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase complex

The ability of rabbit liver aldolase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatate-lyase, EC 4.1.2.13) and rabbit liver fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (Fru-P2ase; D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.11) to partition into the gel phase of Ultrogel AcA 34 is decreased in a mixture of the two enzymes. Titration experiments indicate that a 1:1 complex is formed. The value for the distribution coefficient of the complex corresponds to a molecular mass of 300,000 daltons, the value expected for a dimer containing one mole of each enzyme protein. Complex formation was not observed when either liver enzyme was replaced by the corresponding isozyme from rabbit muscle. The susceptibility of liver Fru-P2ase to limited proteolysis by subtilisin was reduced in the presence of liver aldolase, but not when the latter was replaced by muscle aldolase, suggesting that the conformation of Fru-P2ase is altered in the complex. Limited proteolysis of liver aldolase abolishes its ability both to form the heterodimer and to protect Fru-P2ase from modification by subtilisin.

Concentration of liver and kidney fructose-1,6-diphosphatase determined by specific radioimmunoassay

A radioimmunoassay for liver fructose-1,6-diphosphatase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrlase, EC 3.1.3.11) has been developed based on maintenance of its tetrameric structure and immunologic integrity after iodination by the Bolton-Hunter technique. The assay detected as little as 2 ng of standard enzyme. Nonspecific interference by tissue components did not occur. Enzyme concentration (mumol/1000 g tissue wet weight) was measured in tissue extracts of 49 rabbits subjected to a variety of conditions. In animals fed a 'balanced' diet containing 50--60% carbohydrate (by weight), the concentration in liver was 3.4 microM +/- 0.3. After fasts of 48, 72, or 96 h, the concentration in liver increased approximately 1.4-fold. A high-fat diet did not alter the concentration significantly but a high-protein diet caused an increase of 2.1-fold to 7.2 microM +/- 1.4. The greatest concentrations, 8.7 microM +/- 1.9, were observed in the livers of severely diabetic rabbits. The increase paralleled the increasing severity of diabetes and provides one explanation for the augmented gluconeogenesis which occurs in the diabetic state. Changes were less marked in kidney. The greatest apparent incrase, from 2.6 microM +/- 1.1 in the normal fed rabbit to 4.7 microM +/- 2.8, occurred in the severely diabetic animal. However, variation was sufficiently great in kidney to render apparent increases during fasting, protein feefing and diabetes statistically insignificant. For the most part changes in assayable activity followed changes in enzyme concentration except in the rabbits maintained on high-protein diets. In these, liver enzyme concentration increased by 2.4-fold whereas activity increased by only 1.3-fold, and the kidney enzyme concentration increased 1.3-fold whereas activity decreased by 20%.

Carp (Cyprinus carpio) muscle fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase: purification and some properties

1. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase from the white muscle tissue of the carp, Cyprinus carpio L. was purified. 2. The mol. wt of the enzyme was 145,000. Its subunit mol. wt was ca. 35,000. 3. The enzyme exhibited neutral pH optimum, activation by monovalent cations, and temperature-dependent allosteric AMP inhibition. 4. Carp muscle fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase was 10- to 30-fold more sensitive to AMP inhibition than the carp liver enzyme. 5. The carp muscle enzyme was less sensitive to AMP inhibition than the muscle enzyme from a homeothermic mammal. These results are interpreted as an example of temperature-adaptation of an enzyme regulatory property.