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Trypanosoma brucei contains an ATP-dependent phosphofructokinase (PFK), located in its glycosomes, which are peroxisome-like organelles sequestering the majority of its glycolytic enzymes. In this paper, we report the cloning and sequencing of the single-copy gene encoding this enzyme. Its amino-acid sequence is more similar to pyrophosphate (PPi)-dependent PFKs than to other ATP-dependent PFKs. a phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enzyme must have been derived from a PPi-dependent ancestral PFK, which changed its phospho-donor specificity during evolution. The enzyme is no longer capable of using PPi as phospho substrate, nor can it catalyze the reverse reaction as PPi-PFKs generally can. Moreover, the presence of a high pyrophosphatase activity in the cell renders it unlikely that PPi can function as free-energy source in present-day trypanosomes. It remains to be determined which mutations were responsible for the chage in phospho-substrate specificity of the trypanosomatid PFK. As a result of its particular evolutionary hitory, the T. brucei PFK shows many structural differences, even at the active site, when compared with other ATP-dependent PFKs. These differences offer great potential for the structure-based design of trypanocidal drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of liver 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase with the arginine- specific reagent, phenylglyoxal, irreversibly inactivated both 6-phospbofructo-2-kinase and fructose- 6-bisphosphatase in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner. Fructose 6-phosphate protected against 2,6-phosphofructo-2-kinase inactivation, whereas MgGTP protected against fructose-2,6- bisphosphatase inactivation. Semi-logarithmic plots of the time course of inactivation by different phenylglyoxal concentrations were non-linear, suggesting that more than one arginine residue was modified. The stoichiometry of phenylglyoxal incorporation indicated that at least 2 tool/tool enzyme subunit were incorporated. Enzyme which had been phosphorylated by cyclic.AMP-dependent protein kinase was inactivated to a lesser degree by phenylglyoxal, suggesting that the serine residue (Ser32) phosphorylated by cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase interacts with a modified arginine residue. Chymotryptic cleavage of the modified protein and microsequencing showed that Arg225, in the 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase domain, was one of the residues modified by phenylglyoxal. The protection by fructose 6-phosphate against the labelling of chymotryptic fragments containing Arg225, suggests that this residue is involved in fructose 6-phosphate binding in the 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase domain of the bifunctional enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the reaction of monoclonal antibodies with phosphofructokinase 2/fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase. Derivation of monoclonal antibodies from immunized mice; Discovery of clones that secrete antibodies that react with immunabsorbent assay antigens; Use of subcloned clones for analyzing antibody reaction to bifunctional enzymes; Evidence of bifunctionality by the enzyme through the similar activities of the cloned antibodies.

Reports on the development of a method for the simultaneous purification of hexokinase, glucosephosphate isomerase, phosphofructokinase, fructose-1,6-biphosphate adolase, triosephosphate isomerase, D-glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase and glycerol kinase from Trypanosoma brucei. Preparation of crude glycosomes by differential centrifugation of cell homogenates; Features of the glycosomal glycolytic enzymes.

The initial kinetics of yeast phosphofructokinase was studied by stopped-flow measurements over an enzyme concentration range from 0.5 mg/ml to 0.01 mg/ml. Before attaining the steady state the reaction showed a lag phase in the product formation, the duration of which was found to decrease with increasing enzyme concentration. The lag phase disappeared after preincubation of the enzyme for at least five minutes with either fructose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate or fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Preincubation of the enzyme with cither AMP or ADP resulted in a reduction of this phase, while ATP was without effect. Simultaneous addition of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to the reaction mixture of the enzyme causes a significant shortening of the transient phase, whereas micromolar concentrations of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate are capable of abolishing the lag phase completely. The occurrence of an initial transient phase suggests that the enzyme after starting the reaction converts from a state of low activity to one of high activity. This conversion mainly depends on the concentration of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate generated in the course of the reaction. In addition an association reaction of the enzyme seems to be involved in the process of conversion of the phosphofructokinase during the initial transient phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphofructokinase from muscle has been shown to be a calmodulin-binding protein [Mayr, G. W. and Heilmeyer, L. M. G., Jr (1983) FEBS Lett. 159, 51–57]. Details of the influence of calmodulin on the aggregation state, the conformation and the catalytic properties of phosphofructokinase have been studied by enzymatic and light-scattering analyses. Calmodulin acts as a Ca2+-dependent hysteretic inhibitor of the highly active enzyme. At least one mole of calmodulin binds to each protomer of the enzyme, induces a shift from the highly active tetrameric towards an inactive dimeric state and slowly changes the conformation of the dimers. Dissociation of calmodulin from conformationally changed dimers by removal of Ca2+ stops the inactivation. Without a significant regain of catalytic activity large polymers are rapidly formed. For a reactivation of the inactivated enzyme, calmodulin has to remain associated and the incubation conditions must be changed in a way to allow for a back isomerization and reassociation of dimers. The isomerization reaction is promoted by Mg · ATP, the reassociation reaction most effectively by fructose bisphosphate. A model for the calmodulin-phosphofructokinase interaction is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activity of rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11) has been followed as a function of time under conditions where the enzyme is separated from the bulk solution by an inert membrane. An enzymatic coupling assay allows continuous measurement of the variations in NADH concentration, which is directly related to the enzyme catalytic activity. For given concentrations of substrates (ATP and Fru6P) in the outside reservoir and a given ratio between diffusion coefficients of both substrates, the activity of phosphofructokinase exhibits an oscillatory behavior during a period of about 5 h. The phenomenon is explained in terms of coupling between diffusion of metabolites and non-linear enzyme reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self-stabilization of the energy charge and of ATP was investigated in an open reconstituted enzyme system containing phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase, adenylate kinase, and glucose-6-phosphate isomerase. The experiments were performed in a stirred flow-through reactor containing gel-entrapped enzymes. The dynamics of the system were analyzed theoretically by a model based on the kinetic properties of the individual enzymes. The energy charge was identified as one of the essential variables of the system According to the theoretical prediction, homoeostasis of the energy charge was observed experimentally when either the maximal activity of phosphofructokinase, the energy charge of the influx solution or the flow rate through the react ion chamber was varied. It is shown that the efficiency of stabilization of the energy charge is related to the occurrence of alternative stationary states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known from theoretical work that very simple enzyme systems may exhibit non-linear dynamic properties like those found in vivo. To realize such a system experimentally, an ATP-producing reaction (pyruvate kinase) was coupled with an ATP-consuming reaction (phosphofructokinase). The substrate-stat technique has been adapted to characterize each single enzyme as well as to follow up one enzyme in the coupled system. If the plots of both pyruvate kinase activity versus [ADP] and phosphofructokinase activity versus [ATP] are hyperbolic, the coupled system approaches a unique steady state as predicted from the single characteristics. Under assay conditions where phosphofurctokinase is inhibited by ATP, its characteristics as found in a single assay and in the coupled system are different. For a system with ATP-inhibited phosphofructokinase, a paradoxical behaviour is predicted and is demonstrated experimentally. If the total pyruvate kinase activity is increased over a certain limit, the system is switched from a low [ATP], high-activity steady state into a high [ATP] lowactivity steady state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of proteolytically non-modified phosphofructokinase from baker's yeast were investigated by means of hydrodynamic, electrophoretic, and chemical methods. The sedimentation coefficient shows a linear dependence on the protein concentration down to 0.01 mg/ml. The sedimentation coefficient has been determined to be s200.w = 20.81 S. At concentrations of the enzyme at less than 0.01 mg/ml a significant decrease of this value was found. The partial specific volume of the enzyme as determined by three different methods at 20 °C is v2 = 0.742 ml/g. From equilibrium sedimentation a molecular weight of 835000 + 32000 was calculated for the native enzyme. Amino acid analysis of the enzyme was performed and the number of half-cystine residues determined as 11⁄100000g is in good agreement with the number of titratable -SH groups after denaturation of the enzyme. The subunit molecular weight was determined by applying equilibrium sedimentation in the presence of sodium dodecylsulphate. Taking into account that 0.37 g of dodecylsulphate is bound per g of the enzyme protein as found by equilibrium dialysis, a subunit molecular weight of 104000 could be calculated. This value is about 15°/, smaller than that obtained by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecylsulphate. Evidently, yeast phosphofructokinase seems to be octameric. Limited proteolysis in the presence of proteinase B from yeast was investigated by following the alterations of the sedimentation coefficient, the molecular weight, and the subunit pattern of the enzyme. During partial proteolytic degradation the molecular weight of the native enzyme decreases by about 230000. This diminution is in accordance with the difference in the molecular weight per subunit if an octameric composition is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphofructokinase has been purified from Escherichia coli strain K-12 grown in a glucose-limited chemostat, both aerobically and anaerobically. The enzymes migrated together in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, had the same subunit size in denaturing (dodecylsulfate) gels Mr approx. 34000) and the same kinetic characteristics as described earlier for E. coli phosphofructokinase [e.g. Blangy et al. (1968) J. Mol. Biol. 31, 13–35]: a sigmoid curve of velocity vs. fructose 6-phosphate concentration, activation by ADP, and inhibition by phosphoenolpyruvate. Findings [e.g. Doelle (1975) Eur. J. Biochem. 50, 335–342] of quite different enzymes in aerobic and anaerobic cells were not confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the positive effectors AMP, sulphate, glucose 1,6-bisphosphate and the negative effector 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate on rat erythrocyte phosphofructokinase has been investigated. The kinetic data have been fitted to the Monod-Wyman-Changeux model as well as to a model based on a closed association-dissociation equilibrium. The application of the fitting procedure yields for both models a good correspondence between theoretical and experimental data and equal results with respect to the action of the effectors on the enzyme. The corresponding dissociation constants for the binding of the positive effectors to the active state are: AMP 35 µM, sulphate 0.43 mM and glucose 1,6-bisphosphate 15 µM. 2,3-Bisphosphoglycerate as an inhibitor stabilizes the inactive state (dissociation constant: 1.4 mM). A preliminary discrimination between the Monod-Wyman-Changeux model and the association-dissociation model has been attempted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The levels of several enzymes have been studied during sporulation of Saccharomyces cerevisia. The specific activities of ribonuclease and aminopeptidase I raised several-fold after transfer of the cells to sporulation medium, whereas the specific activities of phosphofructokinase. glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, tryptophan synthase and pyruvate decarboxylase were not significantly altered. The specific activities of NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase, isocitrate lyase, malate dehydrogenase and fructose bisphosphatase all decreased from the onset of sporulation. The inactivation of these latter enzymes was inhibited by cycloheximide and by inhibitors of energy metabolism. Hexokinase, alcohol dehydrogenase and glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase were partially lost from the cells during the period of ascus maturation. None of the enzymic changes observed proved to be ‘sporulation-specific’ in that it occurred exclusively in sporulating diploid yeast cells. Therefore it is postulated that the meiotic events and the metabolic changes required for ascospore formation are under separate genetic control in this organism. During sporulation, the cellular content of cytochromes b, c, and aa3 was reduced to 20% or less of that present in vegetative derepressed cells. Since the relative percentage of total to cycloheximide-insensitive mitochondrial protein synthesis was not significantly altered throughout sporulation, and the pattern of mitochondrially synthesized polypeptides was rather similar both in vegetative and in sporulating cells, it appeared that not not only degradation but also synthesis and therefore turnover of the mitochondrially coded polypeptides of cytochromes b and aa3 took place during sporulation. The activity ratio of cytochrome c oxidase to F1-ATPase in submitochondrial particles isolated from vegetative cells and from purified asci was almost identical. This indicates that the loss of membrane-bound mitochondrial cytochromes during sporulation is probably due to a nonselective degradation of inner mitochondrial membrane proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A procedure is presented for the purification of 3 g of homogeneous methionyl-tRNA synthetase and 1 g of homogeneous tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase from 50 kg batches of Escherichia coli. The procedure permits the isolation of many enzymes simultaneously and the elution positions of seven other aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, catalase, rhodanese, phosphofructokinase, elongation factor Tu and cytochrome b-562 are indicated. The problems of extraction work on this scale are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By applying analytical gel chromatography technique the association behaviour of human erythrocyte phosphofructokinase has been studied. The molecular weight distribution of the polymerized forms of this enzyme covers a range of 380000 to about six millions. The degree of polymerization has been found to depend on the protein concentration, on the presence of various substrates and effectors and on the pH-value. ATP favours the aggregation of the enzyme with increasing pH, whereas in presence of fructose 6-phosphate or fructose 1,6-bisphosphate respectively the degree of association appears to be independent of the pH value between pH 6 and 9. In the microgram range the specific activity of the enzyme decreases with an increase of the enzyme concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]