Interactions between beta-enolase and creatine kinase in the cytosol of skeletal muscle cells

We studied interactions in vivo between the cytosolic muscle isoform of creatine kinase (M-CK) and the muscle isoform of 2-phospho-D-glycerate hydrolyase (beta-enolase) in muscle sarcoplasm by incubating glycerol-skinned fibres with FITC-labelled beta-enolase in the presence or absence of free CK. A small amount of bound beta-enolase was observed in the presence of large concentrations of CK. The mobility of enolase was measured in cultured satellite cells by modulated-fringe-pattern photobleaching. FITC-labelled beta-enolase was totally mobile in both the presence and the absence of CK but its diffusion coefficient was slightly lower in the presence of CK. This suggests a weak interaction in vivo between enolase and CK.

Translational diffusion of globular proteins in the cytoplasm of cultured muscle cells

Modulated fringe pattern photobleaching (MFPP) was used to measure the translational diffusion of microinjected fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled proteins of different sizes in the cytoplasm of cultured muscle cells. This technique, which is an extension of the classical fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) technique, allows the measurement of the translational diffusion of macromolecules over several microns. Proteins used had molecular masses between 21 and 540 kDa. The results clearly indicated that the diffusivity of the various proteins is a decreasing function of their hydrodynamic radius. This decrease is more rapid with globular proteins than with FITC-labeled dextrans (, Biophys. J. 70:2327-2332), most likely because, unlike globular proteins, dextrans are randomly coiled macromolecules with a flexible structure. These data do not exclude the possibility of a rapid diffusion over a short distance, unobservable with our experimental set-up, which would take place within the first milliseconds after bleaching and would correspond to the diffusion in restricted domains followed by impeded diffusion provoked by the network of microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments. Thus our results may complement rather than contradict those of Verkman and collaborators (, J. Cell Biol. 138:1-12). The biological consequence of the size-dependent restriction of the mobility of proteins in the cell cytoplasm is that the formation of intracellular complexes with other proteins considerably reduces their mobility.

Presence of enolase in the M-band of skeletal muscle and possible indirect interaction with the cytosolic muscle isoform of creatine kinase

Glycerol-skinned skeletal muscle fibres retain the defined sarcomeric structure of the myofibrils. We show here that a small fraction of two enzymes important for energy metabolism, the cytosolic muscle isoform of creatine kinase (EC 2.7.3.2), MM-creatine kinase (MM-CK), and enolase (EC 4.2.1.11), remains bound to skinned fibres. CK is slowly exchangeable, whereas enolase is firmly bound. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by Western blot analyses demonstrates that both alpha (ubiquitous) and beta (muscle-specific) subunits of enolase are present in these preparations. Enolase and CK were co-localized at the M-band of the sarcomeres, as observed by indirect immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. Cross-linking experiments were performed on skinned fibres with three bifunctional succinimidyl esters of different lengths and yielded a protein complex of 150 kDa that reacted with antibodies directed against either M-CK or beta-enolase. The cross-linking efficiency was greatest for the longest reagent and zero for the shortest one. The length of the cross-linker giving a covalent complex between the two enzymes does not support the notion of a direct interaction between M-CK and enolase. This is the first demonstration of the presence of an enzyme of energy metabolism other than CK at the M-band of myofibres.

Mobility of creatine phosphokinase and beta-enolase in cultured muscle cells

The diffusion of beta-enolase and creatine phosphokinase in muscle cells has been studied by modulated fringe pattern photobleaching. Beta-enolase is mobile in the sarcoplasm. At 20 degrees C, the diffusion coefficient is 13.5 +/- 2.5 microm2 s(-1) in the cytosol and 56 microm2 s(-1) in aqueous media. As in the case of dextrans of the same hydrodynamic radius, its mobility is hindered by both the crowding of the fluid phase of the cytoplasm and the screening effect due to myofilaments. A fraction of creatine phosphokinase is mobile in the sarcoplasm. Its diffusion coefficient in the cytosol, 4.5 +/- 1 microm2 s(-1), is lower than that of the dextran of equivalent size. The other fraction (20 to 50%) is very slightly mobile, with an apparent diffusion coefficient varying from 0.0035 to 0.043 microm2 s(-1). This low mobility might be attributed to exchange between free and bound creatine phosphokinase. The bound fraction of the endogenous enzyme was localized by immunocytofluorescence on the cultured muscle cells. Our results favor a localization of bound cytosolic creatine phosphokinase on the M-line and a diffuse distribution in all myotubes.

Diffusion of fluorescently labeled macromolecules in cultured muscle cells

Myotubes were obtained from culture of satellite cells. They had a sarcomeric organization similar to that of muscle. The diffusion in the direction perpendicular to the fibers of microinjected fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextrans of molecular weight ranging from 9500 to 150,000 was examined by modulated fringe pattern photobleaching. On the time scale of the observation, 10-30 S, all of the dextrans were completely mobile in the cytoplasm. The diffusion coefficients were compared to the values obtained in water. The ratio D(cytoplasm)/D(w) decreased with the hydrodynamic radius R(h) of the macromolecules. The mobility of inert molecules in muscle cells is hindered by both the crowding of the fluid phase of the cytoplasm and the screening effect due to myofilaments: D(cytoplasm)/D(w) = (D/D(w)) protein crowding x (D/D(w))(filament screening). The equation (D/D(w))filament screening = exp(-K(L)RCh) was used for the contribution of the filaments to the restriction of diffusion. A free protein concentration of 135 mg/ml, a solvent viscosity of cytoplasm near that of bulk water, and a calculated K(L) of 0.066 nm(-1), which takes into account the sarcomeric organization of filaments, accurately represent our data.

The effect of pH on the covalent and metabolic control of C4 phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from Sorghum leaf

The influence of pH on the in vitro activity and regulatory properties of Sorghum leaf C4 phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) was investigated with respect to the phosphorylation status of the enzyme. In vitro protein phosphorylation was achieved using the catalytic subunit of a cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and a recombinant, immunopurified PEPC (0.9 mol of covalent Pi/mol PEPC subunit). Between pH 6.8 and 8, velocity and IC50 for L-malate increased for both the nonphosphorylated and the phosphorylated forms. With respect to the nonphosphorylated PEPC, the phospho-PEPC always gave high values for these kinetic parameters at the pH range investigated, especially between pH 7 and 7.3. The phosphorylation-induced stimulation of PEPC activity was four- to fivefold at pH 7.1 and approximately twofold at pH 7.3. The IC50 for L-malate showed a two- to threefold increase at pH 7.3, but varied less at pH 7.1 upon PEPC phosphorylation. Thus, phosphorylation of PEPC caused a predominant V effect or a mixed (V/IC50) effect at pH 7.1 or 7.3, respectively. This was also observed with the enzyme from desalted crude protein extracts from dark or light-adapted Sorghum leaves and leaf-derived mesophyll protoplasts illuminated in the presence of methylamine, a compound known to increase cytosolic pH (pHc). At pH 7.3, desensitization to L-malate of phospho-PEPC was due to an enhanced ability of PEP to compete with the inhibitor. The positive effector glucose-6P acted similarly to phosphorylation; however, a combination of both factors (glucose-6P and phosphorylation) led to a much larger increase in the IC50 for L-malate than that observed by a single factor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Regulatory Phosphorylation of C4 Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase (A Cardinal Event Influencing the Photosynthesis Rate in Sorghum and Maize)

C4 leaf phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC; EC 4.1.1.31) is subject to a day/night regulatory phosphorylation cycle. By using the cytoplasmic protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide (CHX), we previously reported that the reversible in vivo light activation of the C4 PEPC protein-serine kinase requires protein synthesis. In the present leaf gas-exchange study, we have examined how and to what extent the CHX-induced inhibition of PEPC protein kinase activity/PEPC phosphorylation in the light influences C4 photosynthesis. Detached Sorghum vulgare and maize (Zea mays) leaves fed 10 [mu]M CHX showed a gradual but marked decrease in photosynthetic CO2 assimilation capacity. A series of control experiments designed to assess deleterious secondary effects of the inhibitor established that this reduction in C4 leaf CO2 assimilation was not due to (a) an increased stomatal resistance to CO2 diffusion, (b) a decrease in the activation state of other photoactivated C4 cycle enzymes, and (c) a perturbation of the Benson-Calvin C3 cycle, as evidenced by the absence of an inhibitory effect of CHX on leaf photosynthesis by a C3 grass (Triticum aestivum). It is notable that the CHX-induced decrease in CO2 assimilation by illuminated Sorghum leaves was highly correlated with a decrease in the apparent phosphorylation status of PEPC and a concomitant change in carbon isotope discrimination consistent with a shift from a C4 to a C3 mode of leaf CO2 fixation. These collective findings indicate that the light-dependent activation of the PEPC protein-serine kinase and the resulting phosphorylation of serine-8 or serine-15 in Sorghum or maize PEPC, respectively, are fundamental regulatory events that influence leaf C4 photosynthesis in vivo.

A model system of coupled activity of co-immobilized creatine kinase and myosin

Myosin and creatine kinase were co-immobilized onto Immunodyne films to mimic the behaviour of creatine kinase bound to the M-line of myofilaments. The Mg-ATPase activity of bound myosin was studied by a coupled enzymatic assay, which detects Mg-ADP in the bulk solution by means of pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. The competition for Mg-ADP between pyruvate kinase and creatine kinase either free in solution or co-immobilized with myosin was studied at various creatine phosphate concentrations. Bound creatine kinase competed efficiently when present in very low amounts, corresponding to an activity ratio higher than 1:20,000 between creatine kinase and pyruvate kinase and a molar ratio higher than 1:1000 between creatine kinase and myosin. The Mg-ADP produced by myosin ATPase in the vicinity of the film did not diffuse into the bulk solution but, in the presence of creatine phosphate, was recycled into Mg-ATP by the neighbouring creatine kinase. The existence of an unstirred layer near the surface of the film is sufficient to explain the channeling of ADP (or ATP) between co-immobilized myosin and creatine kinase, without direct interaction or 'intimate coupling' between the enzymes. The problem now is to determine the importance of this kind of facilitated diffusion in the myofilaments in vivo.

Regulatory phosphorylation of Sorghum leaf phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Identification of the protein-serine kinase and some elements of the signal-transduction cascade

The phosphoenolpyruvate (PPrv) carboxylase isozyme involved in C4 photosynthesis undergoes a day/night reversible phosphorylation process in leaves of the C4 plant, Sorghum. Ser8 of the target enzyme oscillates between a high (light) and a low (dark) phosphorylation status. Both in vivo and in vitro, phosphorylation of dark-form carboxylase was accompanied by an increase in the apparent Ki of the feedback inhibitor L-malate and an increase in Vmax. Feeding detached leaves various photosynthetic inhibitors, i.e. 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, gramicidin and DL-glyceraldehyde, prevented PPrv carboxylase phosphorylation in the light, thus suggesting that the cascade involves the photosynthetic apparatus as the light signal receptor, and presumably has the electron transfer chain and the Calvin-Benson cycle as components in the signal-transduction chain. Two protein-serine kinases capable of phosphorylating PPrv carboxylase in vitro have been partially purified from light-adapted leaves. One was isolated on a calmodulin-Sepharose column; it was calcium-dependent but did not require calmodulin for activity. The other was purified on a blue-dextran-agarose column and the only Me2+ required for activity was Mg2+. In reconstituted phosphorylation assays, only the latter caused the expected decrease in malate sensitivity of PPrv carboxylase suggesting that this protein is the genuine PPrv-carboxylase-kinase. Desalted extracts from light-adapted leaves possessed a considerably greater phosphorylation capacity with immunopurified dephosphorylated PPrv carboxylase as substrate than did dark extracts. This light stimulation was insensitive to type 2A protein phosphatase inhibitors, okadaic acid and microcystin-LR, which suggests that the kinase is a controlled step in the cascade which leads to phosphorylation of PPrv carboxylase. The higher phosphorylation capacity of light-adapted leaf tissue was nullified by pretreatment with the cytosolic protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide. Thus, protein turnover is involved as part of the mechanism controlling the activity of the kinase purified on blue-dextran-agarose. However, no information is available with respect to the specific nature of the link between the above-mentioned light transducing steps and the protein kinase that achieves the physiological response. Finally, the in vivo phosphorylation site (Ser8) in the N-terminal region of the C4 type Sorghum PPrv carboxylase is also present in a non-photosynthetic form of the Sorghum enzyme (Ser7), as deduced by cDNA sequence analysis.

Diffusion-limited kinetics of immobilized myosin ATPase

To test the possibility that ATP diffusion limits the kinetics of myosin ATPase (EC. 3.6.1.3) in situ, myosin was covalently bound to the surface of 2 kinds of films: collagen and Immunodyne. On collagen films, it was bound either with 1-ethyl-3 (3 dimethyl-aminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) or with dimethyl-3,3'-dithiobis(propionimidate) (DTP). The apparent Km for K+-ATP rose from 0.26 mM for free myosin in solution to 2-5 mM for covalently bound myosin, and maximum K+-ATPase activity was very low. With the other film, Immunodyne from Pall, the maximum activity of bound myosin was 170 nmol per min per 1.5 cm2 film. The apparent Km for K+-ATP was 2.1 mM when the incubation mixture was vigorously stirred, and the effect of stirring indicated that the kinetics of K+-ATP hydrolysis are limited by external diffusion. The large amount of myosin bound per unit of Immunodyne film surface permitted the study of Mg2+-ATPase activity, although it was 400-500 times less than the K+-ATPase activity. The apparently non-Michaelian kinetics of Mg2+-ATP hydrolysis are attributable to the external diffusion. The apparent Michaelis constant observed at low Mg2+-ATP concentrations rose from 0.27 microM for myosin in solution to 5 microM for myosin bound to Immunodyne film.

An example of substrate channeling between co-immobilized enzymes. Coupled activity of myosin ATPase and creatine kinase bound to frog heart myofilaments

In myofilaments obtained by Triton X-100 lysis of frog heart cells in high ionic strength medium, the activity of bound creatine kinase cannot be detected by a coupled enzymatic assay. ATP is channelized toward myosin ATPase, through the unstirred layer near myofilaments and cannot diffuse into the bulk solution. Model systems based upon the coupled kinetics of enzymes co-immobilized on the same surface may explain this behaviour. This may also account for why myofilament-bound creatine kinase is more efficient than free enzyme in the cytosol for the physiological recycling of ADP into ATP.

High-energy phosphates in quiescent, beating and contracted cardiac cells

Isolated myocytes from ventricles are quiescent in the presence of 0.9 mM calcium. However, it is possible to induce beating by adding 0.5 mM BaCl2 to the media or to induce a contracture by elevating the external concentration of potassium (72.5 mM K). During the viable stage of contracture, which is up to 1 h, the sarcomere spacing is 1.7 +/- 0.1 micron and no leakage of intracellular components is observed. The metabolic properties of the cells in quiescent, beating and contracted states were compared. The O2 consumption (natom per mg cell protein per min) increased from 10-11 in quiescent cells to 60-66 in beating cells and 90-99 in contractured cells. In contrast no significant difference was found in the metabolite levels in the three cellular states: (nmol per mg cell protein +/- S.E.M.) ATP, 20.9 +/- 1.5; CrP, 22.3 +/- 2.2; ADP, 6.03 +/- 0.67; Cr, 10.8 +/- 1. It is proposed that the combined action of myosine ATPase, ATP synthase and cytosolic and mitochondrial creatine kinases serves to buffer the metabolite levels during periods of enhanced oxygen consumption.

Compartmentation of high-energy phosphates in resting and beating heart cells

The subcellular distribution of ATP, ADP, creatine phosphate and creatine has been analyzed by fast detergent fractionation of isolated frog heart cells. Digitonin fractionation (0.5 mg/ml, 10 s at 2 degrees C in 20 mM 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid/3 mM EDTA/230 mM mannitol medium) was used to separate mitochondria and myofilaments from cytosol. To separate myofilaments from the other cellular compartments. Triton X-100 was used (2%, 15 s in the same medium as digitonin). For either resting or beating cells the total cellular contents of ATP, ADP, creatine phosphate and creatine was similar, nevertheless the O2 consumption was 6-times higher. The compartmentation of these metabolites was also identical. Myofilaments contain 1.1 nmol ADP per mg total cellular proteins. In the cytosolic compartment the metabolite concentrations, all measured in nmol per mg total cellular proteins, were: ATP, 13; ADP, 0.25-0.05; creatine phosphate, 18.5 and creatine, 14. This indicated that the reaction catalyzed by creatine kinase was in a state of (or near) equilibrium.

Coupled reaction of immobilized aspartate aminotransferase and malate dehydrogenase. A plausible model for the cellular behaviour of these enzymes

To study the effect of facilitated diffusion of the intermediate metabolite, oxaloacetate, on the coupled reaction of aspartate aminotransferase (L-aspartate: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.1) and malate dehydrogenase (L-malate:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.37), these enzymes were co-immobilized on the surface of a collagen film. The kinetic properties of the immobilized enzymes were compared with those observed with the enzymes in solution. Since the reactions correspond to the cytosolic enzymes, they have been studied in the direction aspartate aminotransferase toward malate dehydrogenase. Coupled enzymes in solution showed classical behaviour. A lag-time was observed before they reached a steady state and this lag-time was dependent on the kinetic properties of the second enzyme, malate dehydrogenase. The same lag-time was observed when malate dehydrogenase in solution was coupled with aspartate aminotransferase bound to the film. When aspartate aminotransferase in solution was coupled with malate dehydrogenase bound to the collagen film, a very long lag-time was observed. Theoretical considerations showed that in the latter case, the lag-time was dependent on the kinetic properties of the second enzyme and the transport coefficient of the intermediate substrate through the boundary layer near the surface of the film. Then both enzymes were co-immobilized on the collagen film. The coupled activity of aspartate aminotransferase and malate dehydrogenase was compared for films with an activity ratio of 5 and 0.8. In both cases, a highly efficient coupling was observed. In the former case, where malate dehydrogenase was rate-limiting, 81% of this limiting activity was observed. In the latter case, aspartate aminotransferase was rate-limiting and 82% of its rate was obtained for the final product formation. The linear increase of product formation with time corresponded fairly well to the theoretical equations developed in the paper. To interpret these rate equations, one should assume that the intermediate substrate oxaloacetate formed by aspartate aminotransferase was used by malate dehydrogenase in the diffusion layer near the film, before diffusing in the bulk solution.

Binding of substrates to aspartate aminotransferase. Evidence for a dissymmetrical binding

The binding of substrates L-glutamate and 2-oxoglutarate to aspartate aminotransferase was studied by spectrophotometric titration according to Jenkins and D'Ari [J. Biol. Chem. 241 (1966) 2845-2854]. Our data, obtained over a wide range of substrate concentrations, were not consistent with the hypothesis of independent and equivalent binding sites. Two other possibilities were considered: (a) the sites are independent but not equivalent; (b) a negative cooperativity occurs between the sites. It is possible to distinguish between these two hypotheses because the substrate binding is complex, with a couple of substrates and two forms of enzyme in equilibrium with the enzyme-substrate complexes. Distinct equations delta A/Et=f[substrates], where delta A = change in absorbance upon addition of substrates to the enzyme and Et = total site concentration, were derived for each case. The data were directly fitted to these equations by an iterative multilinear regression analysis, and the equilibrium constants were computed. This analysis showed that the binding sites are independent and not equivalent, with dissociation constants for 2-oxoglutarate of 2 micro M and 280 micro M and dissociation constants for glutamate of 1.7 mM and 22 mM. The molar absorption coefficient of the binary complexes is 2250 M-1 cm-1.

Interactions between apoaspartate aminotransferase and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. A stopped-flow study

The fast kinetics and mechanism of the reconstitution reaction of holoaspartate aminotransferase from apoenzyme and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate were investigated by the stopped-flow method. When the absorbance change was monitored at 362 nm, the process was shown to involve three steps. The dependence of the three relaxation times on pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration and the analysis of the amplitudes enabled us to propose a mechanism in which the initial reversible binding step was followed by two irreversible isomerization steps. The rate constants and the extinction coefficients at 362 nm of the intermediate species were determined. Studies of the reconstitution under the stoichiometric conditions at various wavelengths confirmed the occurrence of at least three steps, and especially of the last decoupled step, but strongly suggest that the actual mechanism is more complex.

Fluorescence of aromatic amino acids in a pyridoxal phosphate enzyme: aspartate aminotransferase

At pH 8.3, the fluorescence spectrum of apoaspartate aminotransferase is characteristic of buried tryptophans (maximum at 330 nm and width at half-height equal to 51 nm). Its quantum yield is 1.69 times larger than for tryptophan in H2O and the mean decay time is 2.5 ns for the fluorescence emitted at wavelengths higher than 335 nm. Polarization of excitation spectrum (minimum at 305 nm for an emission at 360 nm), suggests an inter-tryptophan energy transfer. Accessibility to a quencher of fluorescence indicates that 34% of the fluorescence can be extinguished by iodide with a quenching constant of 4 M-1; as shown by solvent perturbation spectroscopy, this partial accessibility is related to two tryptophan residues accessible to solvent. At pH 5, the relative quantum yield is slightly lower than at pH 8.3 (1.65). Binding of the pyridoxal-P coenzyme diminishes the fluorescence quantum yield relative to tryptophan to 0.51 at pH 8.3 and 0.595 at pH 5; the decrease is smaller in the presence of pyridoxamine-P. Since the fluorescence of the coenzyme is very weak it is difficult to observe its emission sensitized by tryptophan, nevertheless, since the quenching is larger for pyridoxal-P that absorbs at 360 nm than for reduced pyridoxal-P that absorbs at 330 nm, it is deduced that the energy is transferred preferentially from exposed tryptophans. It is proposed that conformational changes in the vicinity of buried tryptophans are responsible for the remaining quenching. This hypothesis of conformational changes induced by the binding of the coenzyme is in agreement with the observed fluorescence emission of tyrosine. In the apoenzyme the tyrosine quantum yield is zero and the energy is entirely transferred to tryptophan. In the holoenzyme the quantum yield is low and the efficiency of transfer to tryptophan is 0.13 in pyridoxal-P form and 0.7 in pyridoxamine-P form. According to the Förster theory of long-range energy transfer, a change of transfer efficiency can be attributed to a modification either of the mutual orientation of tyrosine and tryptophan residues or of the distance between these residues: both interpretations correspond to a conformational change.

Dissociation of aspartate aminotransferase into subunits. Effect of ligands upon this dissociation

Frontal and zonal analysis of the chromatography of aspartate aminotransferase (EC2.61.1), pig heart cytosolic enzyme, on Bio-Gel P150 shows that holo- and apoenzyme can dissociate at pH 8.3. Ultracentrifugation and fluorescence depolarization confirm this result. Kinetic analysis of the fluorescence depolarization experiments favors a biphasic phenomenon: a few minutes for the faster one and several hours for the slower one. The apparent dissociation constant is 0.8 muM for the apoenzyme and 0.18 muM for the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate form of the holoenzyme. In the presence of sucrose or 0.1 M L-aspartate or a mixture of 70 mM L-glutamate and 2 mM alpha-ketoglutarate, the holoenzyme is dimeric at concentrations higher than 5 nM. The addition of a mixture of the substrates L-glutamate and alpha-ketoglutarate to a monomeric holoenzyme leads to dimerization. The stability of the dimeric form is in the order: holoenzyme + substrates greater than apoenzyme.