Phosphopyruvate Carboxylase from Bakers' Yeast

Regulation and roles of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in plants

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK) is probably ubiquitous in flowering plants, but is confined to certain cells or tissues. It is regulated by phosphorylation, which renders it less active by altering both its substrate affinities and its sensitivity to regulation by adenylates. In the leaves of some C4 plants, such as Panicum maximum, dephosphorylation increases its activity in the light. In other tissues such regulation probably avoids futile cycling between phosphoenolpyruvate and oxaloacetate. Although PCK generally acts as a decarboxylase in plants, its affinity for CO2 measured at physiological concentrations of metal ions is high and would allow it to be freely reversible in vivo. While its function in gluconeogenesis in seeds postgermination and in leaves of C4 and crassulacean acid metabolism plants is clearly established, the possible functions of PCK in other plant cells are discussed, drawing parallels with those in animals, including its integrated function in cataplerosis, nitrogen metabolism, pH regulation, and gluconeogenesis.

Role of cysteine 306 in the catalytic mechanism of Ascaris suum phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase

Biochemical and metabolic data lead to the conclusion that the enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) contributes to a critical point of divergence in energy conservation pathways between mammals and nematodes. The Ascaris suum PEPCK shares considerable homology with PEPCK from avian liver and is a good candidate for mutagenesis studies. The Cys306 substitution by Ser and Ala produced active enzymes and the two mutants are kinetically indistinguishable from each other. This substitution affects the catalytic affinity for the formation of the specific enzyme-nucleotide complex (k(cat)/K(m)) in the forward and reverse reactions. Studies with the substrate analogs 2(')dGDP and 2(')dGTP indicate that Cys306 in A. suum PEPCK is one of the residues important in nucleotide binding and may interact with the 2(')OH group in the ribose ring. Alternatively, mutation of this residue could cause protein changes that interfere with the proper conformation of the nucleotides for optimal catalysis to take place.

Trypanosoma cruzi phospho enol pyruvate carboxykinase (ATP-dependent): transition metal ion requirement for activity and sulfhydryl group reactivity

We studied the transition metal ion requirements for activity and sulfhydryl group reactivity in phospho enol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEP-carboxykinase; ATP:oxaloacetate carboxylase (transphosphorylating), EC 4.1.1.49), a key enzyme in the energy metabolism of the protozan parasite Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi. As for other PEP-carboxykinases this enzyme has a strict requirement of transition metal ions for activity, even in the presence of excess Mg2+ ions for the carboxylation reaction; the order of effectiveness of these ions as enzyme activators was: Co2+ > Mn2+ > Cd2+ > Ni2+ >> Fe2+ > VO2+, while Zn2+ and Ca2+ had no activating effects. When we investigated the effect of the varying type or concentration of the transition metal ions on the kinetic parameters of the enzyme the results suggested that the stimulatory effects of the transition metal center were mostly associated with the activation of the relatively inert CO2 substrate. The inhibitory effects of 3-mercaptopicolinic acid (3MP) on the enzyme were found to depend on the transition metal ion activator: for the Mn(2+)-activated enzyme the inhibition was purely non-competitive (Kii = Kis) towards all substrates, while for the Co(2+)-activated enzyme the inhibitor was much less effective, produced a mixed-type inhibition and affected differentially the interaction of the enzyme with its substrates. The modification of a single, highly reactive, cysteine per enzyme molecule by 5,5'-dithiobis (2-nitro-benzoate) (DTNB) lead ton an almost complete inhibition of Mn(2+)-activated T. cruzi PEP-carboxykinase; however, in contrast with the results of previous studies in vertebrate and yeast enzymes, the substrate ADP slowed the chemical modification and enzyme inactivation but did not prevent it. PEP and HCO3- had no significant effect on the rate or extent of the enzyme inactivation. The kinetics of the enzyme inactivation by DTNB was also dependent on the transition metal activator, being much slower for the Co(2+)-activated enzyme than for its Mn(2+)-activated counterpart. When the bulkier but more hydrophobic reagent N-(7-dimethylamino-4-methylcoumarinyl)maleimide (DACM) was used the enzyme was slowly and incompletely inactivated in the presence of Mn2+ and ADP afforded almost complete protection from inactivation; in the presence of Co2+ the enzyme was completely resistant to inactivation. Taken together, our results indicate that the parasite enzyme has a specific requirement of transition metal ions for activity and that they modulate the reactivity of a single, essential thiol group, different from the hyperreactive cysteines present in vertebrate or yeast enzymes.

Limited proteolysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase

Incubation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase with trypsin under native conditions cases a time-dependent loss of activity and the production of protein fragments. Cleavage sites determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and sequence analyses identified protease-sensitive peptide bonds between amino acid residues at positions 9-10 and 76-77. Additional fragmentation sites were also detected in a region approximately 70-80 amino acids before the carboxyl end of the protein. These results suggest that the enzyme is formed by a central compact domain comprising more than two thirds of the whole protein structure. From proteolysis experiments carried out in the presence of substrates, it could be inferred that CO2 binding specifically protects position 76-77 from trypsin action. Intrinsic fluorescence measurements demonstrated that CO2 binding induces a protein conformational change, and a dissociation constant for the enzyme CO2 complex of 8.2 +/- 0.6 mM was determined.

Purification of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its use for bicarbonate assay

Electrophoretically homogeneous phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (EC 4.1.1.49) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was obtained in high yields by means of a two-step purification procedure consisting of ion-exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography on adenosine 5'-monophosphate-Sepharose 4B. In the latter step the binding of the enzyme to the resin specifically required the presence of Mn2+. The enzyme was eluted when Mn2+ was removed by addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetate to the elution buffer. Homogeneity, molecular weight, and subunit composition of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase were checked by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration. A factor which caused an underestimation of the enzyme activity in crude extracts was identified as adenylate kinase. Finally, a method is proposed for the enzymatic assay of bicarbonate using a purified phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase preparation.