Search

Phosphofructokinase (Pfk1; EC 2.7.1.11) is the third enzyme of the glycolytic pathway catalyzing the formation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate from fructose-6-phosphate (F6P) and ATP. Schizosaccharomyces pombe Pfk1 is a homo-octameric enzyme of 800 kDa molecular weight, distinct from its yeast counterparts which are mostly hetero-octameric enzymes composed of two different subunits. Having an "open" conformation and a tendency to aggregate into higher oligomeric structures, the S. pombe enzyme shows similarities to the mammalian muscle Pfk1. It has been proposed that due to the distinct N-terminal region of the S. pombe subunit, the oligomeric organization of subunits in this enzyme is different from other yeast phosphofructokinases. Electron microscopy studies were carried out to reveal the quaternary structure of the homo-octameric Pfk1 from S. pombe in the F6P-bound and in the ATP-bound state. Random conical tilt data sets have been collected from deep stain preparations of the enzyme in both states. The 0 degrees tilt images have been separated into different classes and a 3D reconstruction has been calculated for each class from the high tilt images. Our results confirm the presence of a variety of views of the particle, most of which can be interpreted as views of the molecule rotating around its long axis. Despite the biochemical differences, the structure of phosphofructokinase from S. pombe in the presence of either F6P or ATP is similar to the hetero-octameric structure of phosphofructokinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The molecule can be described as composed of two subdomains, connected by two well-defined densities. We have been able to establish a correlation between the kinetic behavior and the structural conformation of Pfk1.

Classically, 6-phosphofructokinases are homo- and hetero-oligomeric enzymes consisting of alpha subunits and alpha/beta subunits, respectively. Herein, we describe a new form of 6-phosphofructokinase (Pfk) present in several Pichia species, which is composed of three different types of subunit, alpha, beta, and gamma. The sequence of the gamma subunit shows no similarity to classic Pfk subunits or to other known protein sequences. In-depth structural and functional studies revealed that the gamma subunit is a constitutive component of Pfk from Pichia pastoris (PpPfk). Analyses of the purified PpPfk suggest a heterododecameric assembly from the three different subunits. Accordingly, it is the largest and most complex Pfk identified yet. Although, the gamma subunit is not required for enzymatic activity, the gamma subunit-deficient mutant displays a decreased growth on nutrient limitation and reduced cell flocculation when compared with the P. pastoris wild-type strain. Subsequent characterization of purified Pfks from wild-type and gamma subunit-deficient strains revealed that the allosteric regulation of the PpPfk by ATP, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, and AMP is fine-tuned by the gamma subunit. Therefore, we suggest that the gamma subunit contributes to adaptation of P. pastoris to energy resources.

Phosphofructokinase (Pfk1, EC 2.7.1.11) plays a key regulatory role in the glycolytic pathway. The combination of X-ray crystallographic and biochemical data has provided an understanding of the different conformational changes that occur between the active and inhibited states of the bacterial enzyme, and of the role of the two bacterial effectors. Eukaryotic phosphofructokinases exhibit a far more sophisticated regulatory mechanism, they are more complex structures regulated by a large number of effectors (around 20). Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pfk1 is an 835 kDa hetero-octamer which shows cooperative binding for fructose-6-phosphate (F6P) and non-cooperative binding for ATP. The 3D structure of the F6P-bound state was obtained by cryo-electron microscopy to 1.1 nm resolution. This electron microscopy structure, in combination with molecular replacement using the bacterial enzyme has helped provide initial phases to solve the X-ray structure of the F6P-bound state 12S yeast truncated-tetramer. Biochemical and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies had indicated that Pfk1 underwent a large conformational change upon Mg-ATP binding. We have calculated a reconstruction using reference-based 3D projection alignment methods from 0 degrees images acquired from frozen-hydrated preparations of the enzyme in the presence of Mg-ATP. The ATP-bound structure is more extended or open, and the calculated radius of gyration of 7.33 nm (7.0 nm for F6P) is in good agreement with the SAXS data. There is a substantial decrease in the rotational angle between the top and bottom tetramers. Interestingly, all these changes have arisen from a reorientation of the alpha- and beta-subunits in the dimers. The interface region between the alpha- and beta-subunits is now approximately half the size of the one in the F6P-bound structure. This is the first time that the 3D structure of a eukaryotic Pfk1 has been visualized in its T-state (inhibited-state).

Phosphofructokinase plays a key role in the regulation of the glycolytic pathway and is responsible for the phosphorylation of fructose 6-phosphate to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. Although the structure of the bacterial enzyme is well understood, the knowledge is still quite limited for higher organisms given the larger size and complexity of the eukaryotic enzymes. We have studied phosphofructokinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of fructose 6-phosphate by cryoelectron microscopy and image analysis of single particles and obtained the structure at 10.8A resolution. This was achieved by optimizing the illumination conditions to obtain routinely 8-A data from hydrated samples in an electron microscope equipped with an LaB(6) and by improving the image alignment techniques. The analysis of the structure has evidenced that the homology of the subunits at the sequence level has transcended to the structural level. By fitting the X-ray structure of the bacterial tetramer into each dimer of the yeast octamer the putative binding sites for fructose 6-phosphate were revealed. The data presented here in combination with molecular replacement techniques have served to provide the initial phases to solve the X-ray structure of the yeast phosphofructokinase.

Previously, studies on glucose-induced microautophagy in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris provided evidence that the glucose-induced selective autophagy-1-protein is the alpha-subunit of 6-phosphofructokinase (Pfk), a key enzyme in the glycolytic pathway. In our work, we could clearly demonstrate that two types of subunits of Pfk exist in P. pastoris. Investigating the yeast cell-free extract by Western blot analysis, two distinct signals of Pfk were obtained. In addition, we isolated a DNA sequence containing the complete ORF of PpPFK2 encoding the beta-subunit of Pfk from P. pastoris with a deduced molecular mass of 103.7 kDa. On the basis of these results, a hetero-oligomeric structure of Pfk in P. pastoris became obvious. Because the molecular and kinetic properties of a homo-oligomeric yeast Pfk appear to be more similar to those of mammalian Pfk, as described in the literature, our results are of interest for the growing number of studies on P. pastoris as a heterologous production system. Furthermore, the 3'- and 5'-non-coding regions of PpPFK2 were isolated and several putative binding sites for regulatory factors could be identified in the promoter region., (Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

6-Phosphofructokinase from Pichia pastoris was purified for the first time to homogeneity applying seven steps, including pseudo-affinity dye-ligand chromatography on Procion Blue H-5R-Sepharose. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was about 80 U/mg. It behaves as a typically allosteric 6-phosphofructokinase exhibiting activation by AMP and fructose 2,6-bis(phosphate), inhibition by ATP and cooperativity to fructose 6-phosphate. However, in comparison with the enzymes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces lactis, the activation ratio of 6-phosphofructokinase from Pichia pastoris by AMP is several times higher, the ATP inhibition is stronger and the apparent affinity to fructose 6-phosphate is significantly lower. Aqueous two-phase affinity partitioning with Cibacron Blue F3G-A did not reflect remarkable structural differences of the nucleotide binding sites of the Pfks from Pichia pastoris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The structural organisation of the active enzyme seems to be different in comparison with hetero-octameric 6-phosphofructokinases from other yeast species. The enzyme was found to be a hetero-oligomer with an molecular mass of 975 kDa (sedimentation equilibrium measurements) consisting of two distinct types of subunits in an equimolar ratio with molecular masses of 113 kDa and 98 kDa (SDS-PAGE), respectively, and a third non-covalently complexed protein component (34 kDa, SDS-PAGE). The latter seems to be necessary for the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Sequencing of the N-terminus (VTKDSIXRDLEXENXGXXFF) and of peptide fragments by applying MALDI-TOF PSD, m/z 1517.3 (DAMNVVNH) and m/z 2177.2 [AQNCNVC(L/I)SVHEAHTM] gave no relevant information about the identity of this protein., (Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Phosphofructokinase-1 (Pfk-1) from Schizosaccharomyces pombe was purified by 54-fold enrichment to homogeneity elaborating the following steps: (a) Disruption of the cells with glass beads; (b) fractionated precipitation with polyethylene glycol 6000; (c) affinity chromatography on Cibacron-Blue F3G-A-Sephadex G 100; (d) ion exchange chromatography on Resource Q. The native enzyme exhibits a mass of 790+/-30 kDa, as detected by sedimentation equilibrium measurements. The apparent sedimentation coefficient was found to be s(20,c)=20.2+/-0.3 S. No significant dependence of the s-value on the protein concentration was observed in the range 0. 07-0.7 mg/ml. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate and MALDI-TOF spectra showed that the enzyme is composed of subunits of identical size of 100+/-5 kDa, forming an octameric structure. The N-terminus of the enzyme was found to be blocked. Sequences of tryptic and chymotryptic peptides of the subunit coincide with the proposed amino acid sequence as deduced from the gene from the EMBL library. The Pfk-1 coding sequence of S. pombe was transformed into a Pfk-1 double deletion mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulting in glucose-positive cells with enzyme activity in the crude cell extract. The kinetic analysis revealed less cooperativity to fructose 6-phosphate (n(H)=1.6) and less inhibition by ATP as compared to the enzyme from baker's yeast. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (in micromolar range) and AMP (in millimolar range) were found to overcome ATP inhibition and to increase the affinity to fructose 6-phosphate., (Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Unfolding and refolding of heterooctameric phosphofructokinase-1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were investigated by application of kinetic, hydrodynamic, and spectroscopic methods and by use of guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) as denaturant. Inactivation of the enzyme starts at about 0.3 M GdmCl and undergoes a sharp unfolding transition in a narrow range of the denaturant concentration. The inactivation is accompanied by a dissociation of the enzyme into dimers (at 0.6 M GdmCl), which could be detected by changes of the circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence. Protein aggregates were observed from 0.7 to 1.5 M GdmCl that unfold at higher denaturant concentrations. Refolding of chemically denatured phosphofructokinase proceeds as a stepwise process via the generation of elements of secondary structure, the formation of assembly-competent monomers that associate to heterodimers and the assembly of dimers to heterotetramers and heterooctamers. The assembly reactions seem to be rate-limiting. Recovery of the enzyme activity (maximum 65%) competes with an nonproductive aggregation of the subunits. alpha-Cyclodextrin functions as an artificial chaperone by preventing aggregation of the subunits, whereas ATP is suggested to support the generation of heterodimers that are competent to a further assembly.

Phosphofructokinase from Kluyveromyces lactis was purified by 180-fold enrichment, elaborating the following steps: cell disruption, polyethylene glycol precipitation, affinity chromatography, size exclusion chromatography on Sepharose 6B and on Bio-Sil SEC 400 and ion exchange chromatography. The homogeneous enzyme exhibits a molecular mass of 845 +/- 20 kDa as determined by sedimentation equilibrium measurements and a specific activity of 100 units/mg protein. The apparent sedimentation coefficient was found to be s20,c = 20.7 +/- 0.6 S and no significant dependence on the protein concentration was observed in a range from 0.2 to 8 mg protein/ml. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed two bands corresponding to molecular masses of 119 +/- 5 kDa and 102 +/- 5 kDa, respectively. Thus, the enzyme assembles as octamer composed of two types of subunits. From Western blot analysis applying subunit-specific monoclonal antibodies raised against Saccharomyces cerevisiae phosphofructokinase and from the determination of the N-terminal amino acid sequence, the conclusion was drawn that the 102 kDa-subunit corresponds to the beta-subunit of the S. cerevisiae enzyme. In contrast to bakers' yeast phosphofructokinase, the K. lactis enzyme exhibits no cooperativity with respect to the substrate fructose 6-phosphate. Both activators AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate decrease the Michaelis constant with respect to this substrate. The enzyme from K. lactis is also inhibited by ATP. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate or AMP diminish the ATP-inhibition. In contrast to the phosphofructokinase from S. cerevisiae, where fructose 2,6-bisphosphate turned out to be more efficient than AMP, both activators exert similar effects on the K. lactis enzyme.

Purified phosphofructokinase 1 from baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) was subjected to proteolysis by thermolysin, endoproteinase lys-C, trypsin and chymotrypsin under defined solvent conditions. In the absence of substrates and allosteric effectors, the catalytic activity of phosphofructokinase rapidly disappeared in the presence of each proteolytic enzyme. The presence of a saturating concentration of ATP protected phosphofructokinase activity from proteolytic inactivation while the collective presence of fructose 6-phosphate, AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate provided transient activation during proteolysis. Changes in the quaternary structure of phosphofructokinase resulting from proteolysis were estimated by high performance size exclusion chromatography while changes in the primary sequence of the individual alpha and beta polypeptide chains were estimated by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecylsulfate. The site(s) of proteolytic cleavage were identified by N-terminal sequence analysis of resolved electrophoretic components. The presence of ATP protects phosphofructokinase from thermolysin proteolysis, while the collective presence of fructose 6-phosphate, AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate restricts proteolysis to one site in each polypeptide chain involving the peptide bonds preceding Leu199 in the alpha chain and Leu192 in the beta chain. The truncated phosphofructokinase retains its octameric structure. The presence of ATP largely restricts endoproteinase lys-C proteolysis to a single site in the alpha chain involving the peptide bond preceding Val914. This cleavage results in the dissociation of the octameric form of phosphofructokinase into two tetramers. The presence of ATP restricts both trypsin and chymotrypsin proteolysis to the N-terminal and C-terminal regions described above, resulting in the preferential stabilization of the tetrameric form of phosphofructokinase. It would appear that the first 200 and last 80 residues which are unique to the sequence of the yeast phosphofructokinase are not directly involved in catalysis or its allosteric regulation. However, the last 80 residues of the alpha polypeptide chain do appear to stabilize an octameric structure which is unique to yeast phosphofructokinase.

Cross-linked yeast phosphofructokinase exhibiting the basic regulatory properties of the unmodified enzyme but no cooperativity with respect to the substrate fructose 6-phosphate was subjected to stopped-flow thiol titration in order to study the influence of allosteric effectors on the level of protein conformation. As found for native phosphofructokinase, the cross-linked enzyme revealed at least two classes of cysteinyl residues which can be distinguished by their reactivity towards 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid). In spite of the restricted conformational flexibility caused by the intramolecular cross-linking, several fructose phosphates and AMP were capable of diminishing the apparent first-order rate constant (k) of modification of the fast reacting thiol groups by Ellman's reagent. In the presence of ATP, a drastic decrease of the k-value by more than one order of magnitude became apparent. The data are appropriate to support the hypothesis of the existence of multiple conformational determinants in octameric yeast phosphofructokinase and contribute to the understanding of the extremely different stability of the enzyme in the presence of either fructose 6-phosphate or ATP with respect to proteolytic degradation.

Stopped-flow measurements have been carried out to study some basic allosteric properties of muscle and yeast phosphofructokinase at physiological concentration of enzyme. An important increase in the affinity for fructose-6-P accompanied by an intense decrease in the ATP inhibition was observed with the muscle enzyme, which also became insensitive to fructose-2,6-P2 under these conditions. Yeast phosphofructokinase exhibited a significant diminution in the inhibition by ATP, although with no apparent change in the affinity for fructose-6-P. These results provide strong support in favor of the dependence of the allosteric regulation of phosphofructokinase on its concentration in vivo.

A cross-linked form of yeast phosphofructokinase in which up to four of the subunits of the octameric molecule were found covalently linked by dimethyl suberimidate exhibits no cooperativity with respect to fructose 6-phosphate and is only weakly inhibited by ATP. The modified enzyme is activated by AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Both effectors abolish ATP inhibition even at low concentration of fructose 6-phosphate and increase the affinity of modified phosphofructokinase to fructose 6-phosphate but are without significant effect on the respective maximum activity. The corresponding kinetic patterns exhibit similarity to those of the native enzyme at high concentration of fructose 6-phosphate. In comparison to native phosphofructo-kinase the extent of activation by AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is of minor amount. As shown for native phosphofructokinase, the enzyme which had been cross-linked in the absence of any effector shows a lag phase of product formation. This initial transient phase completely disappears if the enzyme is modified in the presence of fructose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, respectively. The same result is obtained by preincubation of the enzyme cross-linked in the absence of any effector with each of these fructose phosphates. The kinetic properties of the modified enzyme indicate that cooperativity with respect to fructose 6-phosphate is not a prerequisite for the allosteric modulation of enzyme activity by AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and support the idea of multiple conformational determinants in yeast phosphofructokinase. The results suggest that moderate intramolecular cross-linking can provide a simple experimental tool to stabilize different conformational states of an enzyme.

The initial kinetics as well as the reactivity of the fast reacting thiol groups of a tetrameric form of phosphofructokinase from baker's yeast (called 12 S-enzyme), obtained by limited proteolysis in the presence of ATP were studied by the stopped-flow technique. Before attaining the steady state, the reaction shows a lag phase in the product formation, the duration of which decreases with increasing enzyme concentration. The lag phase disappears after preincubation of the enzyme with either fructose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate or fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. The occurrence of an initial transient phase suggests that the enzyme converts from a state of low activity into a highly active one after starting the reaction. The modified enzyme was found to contain two fast reacting cysteinyl residues with respect to their reactivity towards 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). Fructose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, respectively, decrease the reactivity of this class of thiol groups but not the total number of titrable cysteins. This result supports the hypothesis of a conformational change as a consequence of the effector binding.

The fast reacting thiol groups of yeast phosphofructokinase were studied by means of stopped-flow measurements. The enzyme was found to contain four very fast reacting cysteinyl residues determined by their reactivity towards 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). A second class of eight thiol groups reveals an apparent first order rate constant which is three orders of magnitude lower than the rate constant of the first one. Due to the extreme high reactivity of the first class of cysteinyl residues partial oxidation was already observed under aerobic conditions. Fructose 6-phosphate, fructose 1.6-bisphosphate, and fructose 2.6-bisphosphate, respectively, decrease the reactivity of the first class of thiol groups but not the total number of the accessible cysteins. This result is discussed with regard to conformational changes of the enzyme after binding of the sugar phosphates.

A tetrameric enzyme form of phosphofructokinase from yeast (called 12 S-enzyme), formed by limited proteolysis of the octameric enzyme in the presence of ATP and by subsequent dissociation in two half-molecules shows sigmoidal kinetics with respect to fructose 6-phosphate and inhibition by ATP. Similar to the native phosphofructokinase, the modified enzyme is also efficiently activated by AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Both activators increase the affinity for the substrate fructose 6-phosphate and the respective maximum activity. In contrast to the native phosphofructokinase, however, both AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate change the sigmoidal fructose 6-phosphate velocity curve into a hyperbolic one. AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate decrease the ATP inhibition, probably by modulating the affinity of the allosteric sites to ATP.

The affinity of baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase towards the metabolically related enzymes phosphofructokinase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was tested by using a fluorescence-probe technique with fluorescein isothiocyanate attached covalently to the enzymes. The dissociation constants of the enzyme-enzyme complexes, as well as the rate constants of association and dissociation, were determined. Data were compared with the parameters derived from a mammalian (rabbit muscle) system, known from the literature and determined under the same conditions (pH 7.5 or 8.5 in 0.05 M Tris/HCl buffer at 20 degrees C). The comparison reveals similarities in the supramolecular organization of these cytoplasmic enzymes in phylogenetically distant species. Moreover, the fact that in vitro hybrid complexes are formed of stability comparable to that of non-hybrid complexes indicates that this ancient characteristic is probably conserved during evolution. A possible regulatory mechanism is presented, based on the dynamic competition, with each other, of the enzymes involved in triosephosphate metabolism.

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 either 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.

Human erythrocyte phosphofructokinase has been subjected to active band centrifugation and stability measurements over a broad range of conditions. The enzyme behaves differently in-Tris buffer containing ATP and phosphate buffer containing fructose 6-phosphate. In the first buffer, dissociation is favoured and after prolonged storage of the enzyme tetramers represent the highest state of association. At 4 degrees C the enzyme exhibits the phenomenon of reversible cold-inactivation. This property is attributed to slow dissociation of the active associated states of the enzyme to dimers. The cold-inactivated enzyme can be reactivated by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. Inorganic phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate have been found to protect the enzyme from cold-inactivation. Under these conditions, the sedimentation coefficient and the specific activity depend on the enzyme concentration only. The specific activity does not change on storage of the diluted enzyme at 4 degrees C. At 20 degrees C, however, a slow activation proceeds during incubation of the diluted enzyme. The correlations between the association state and the enzymic activity are discussed.