Rabbit Muscle Pyruvate Kinase Research Articles

Novel tetrazole and 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives synthesis, molecular docking, ADME, potential activator for rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase

Novel tetrazole and 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives synthesis, molecular docking, ADME, potential activator for rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase

Synthesis, activatory effects, molecular docking and ADME studies as rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase activators of ureido phenyl substituted 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives

Synthesis, activatory effects, molecular docking and ADME studies as rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase activators of ureido phenyl substituted 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives

Comparisons of Phosphofructokinases-1 from Rabbit, Chicken, and Fish

Background: Previous studies suggested that glycogen storage was facilitated by ascorbate inhibition of phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK-1) in resting mammalian muscle; these studies showed that purified PFK-1 from fish or chicken muscle has properties similar to PFK-1 from mammalian muscles. Materials and Methods: The enzymes utilized in the assay systems came from Sigma-Aldrich Co. Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) muscle G-actin (A 2522) was free of aldolase, LDH (EC 1.1.1.28) or AK (EC 2.7.4.3) activity and rabbit muscle aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13) was free of AK (EC 2.7.4.3) and LDH activity. Rabbit muscle PFK-1 (RPFK-1), chicken (Gallus gallus) muscle PFK- 1 (CPFK-1) and Pacific red snapper (Lutjanus peru) muscle PFK-1 (FPFK-1) used in these tests were prepared from frozen tissues with modifications of a method. AK, LDH, and aldolase activity were absent in purified FPFK- 1 and CPFK-1 preparations. Results: It can be shown that the following enzymes associated with glycolysis are not inhibited by 0.1 M ascorbate under our conditions: rabbit muscle aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13); rabbit muscle glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12); rabbit muscle phosphoglucose isomerase (EC 5.3.1.9); rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40); yeast hexokinase (EC 2,7.1.1); and yeast 3-phosphoglyceric phosphokinase (EC 2.7.2.3). Rabbit muscle enolase (EC4.2.1.11) is inhibited under our conditions. Conclusion: In summary, FPFK-1 and CPFK-1, possess characteristics and behaviors similar to RPFK-1, e.g., losses of activities due to dilutions and protections of some of these activity losses by rabbit muscle aldolase. These interactions of a mammalian aldolase with fish and a bird PFK-1’s suggests a conservative evolutionary relationship among aldolases and PFK-1’s.

Characterizing Bi-substrate Enzyme Kinetics at High Resolution by 2D-ITC.

There is growing interest in using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to characterize enzyme kinetics by measuring the heat produced or absorbed by catalysis in real time. Since virtually all chemical reactions are associated with changes in enthalpy, ITC represents a robust and nearly universal experimental approach. Nevertheless, there are technical challenges that limit ITC's applicability. For instance, the full kinetic characterization of enzymes with two substrates (bi-substrate enzymes), which comprise the majority of known examples, requires a series of experiments to be performed as the concentrations of both substrates are varied. This is a time-consuming and expensive process using current ITC methods since many (>5) individual experiments must be performed independently to obtain a sufficient quantity of data. We have developed a new ITC method, which we term 2D-ITC, which maps the reaction velocity as a function of two substrate concentrations in a single, roughly 2 h long experiment. This method provides a level of detail that rivals or exceeds any existing enzyme assay, as a single experiment generates on the order of 7000 catalytic rate measurements. In a proof-of-principle application to rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (rMPK), the method correctly identified the enzyme's random sequential mechanism and allosteric catalytic suppression by the amino acid phenylalanine (Phe). Unexpectedly, we found that while Phe reduces affinity for the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate, a known phenomenon, it also alleviates inhibition by the reaction product ATP, which had not been reported previously. Given the relative abundance of ATP in the cell, this opposing effect is expected to have a substantial impact on rMPK activity.

H/D Exchange Characterization of Silent Coupling: Entropy-Enthalpy Compensation in Allostery

The allosteric coupling constant in K-type allosteric systems is defined as a ratio of the binding of substrate in the absence of effector to the binding of the substrate in the presence of a saturating concentration of effector. As a result, the coupling constant is itself an equilibrium value comprised of a ΔH and a TΔS component. In the scenario in which TΔS completely compensates ΔH, no allosteric influence of effector binding on substrate affinity is observed. However, in this “silent coupling” scenario, the presence of effector causes a change in the ΔH associated with substrate binding. A suggestion has now been made that “silent modulators” are ideal drug leads because they can be modified to act as either allosteric activators or inhibitors. Any attempt to rationally design the effector to be an allosteric activator or inhibitor is likely to be benefitted by knowledge of the mechanism that gives rise to coupling. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange with mass spectrometry detection has now been used to identify regions of proteins that experience conformational and/or dynamic changes in the allosteric regulation. Here, we demonstrate the expected temperature dependence of the allosteric regulation of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase by Ala to demonstrate that this effector reduces substrate (phosphoenolpyruvate) affinity at 35°C and at 10°C but is silent at intermediate temperatures. We then explore the use of hydrogen/deuterium exchange with mass spectrometry to evaluate the areas of the protein that are modified in the mechanism that gives rise to the silent coupling between Ala and phosphoenolpyruvate. Many of the peptide regions of the protein identified as changing in this silent system (Ala as the effector) were included in changes previously identified for allosteric inhibition by Phe.

Changes in Enzyme Structural Dynamics Studied by Hydrogen Exchange-Mass Spectrometry: Ligand Binding Effects or Catalytically Relevant Motions?

It is believed that enzyme catalysis is facilitated by conformational dynamics of the protein scaffold that surrounds the active site, yet the exact nature of catalytically relevant protein motions remains largely unknown. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) mass spectrometry (MS) reports on backbone H-bond fluctuations. HDX/MS thus represents a promising avenue for probing the relationship between enzyme dynamics and catalysis. A seemingly straightforward strategy for such studies involves comparative measurements during substrate turnover and in the resting state. We examined the feasibility of this approach using rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (rM1-PK) which catalyzes the conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate and Mg-ADP to pyruvate and Mg-ATP. HDX/MS revealed that catalytically active rM1-PK undergoes significant rigidification in the active site. This finding is counterintuitive, considering the purported correlation between dynamics and catalysis. Interestingly, virtually the same rigidification was seen upon exposing rM1-PK to substrates or products in the absence of turnover. These data imply that the active site dynamics during turnover are dominated by protein-ligand binding interactions. These interactions stabilize H-bonds in the vicinity of the active site, thereby masking subtle dynamic features that might be uniquely associated with catalysis. Our data uncover an inherent problem with side-by-side turnover/resting state measurements, i.e., the difficulty to design a suitable reference state against which the working enzyme can be compared. Comparative HDX/MS experiments on enzyme dynamics should therefore be interpreted with caution.

Promotion of Enzyme Flexibility by Dephosphorylation and Coupling to the Catalytic Mechanism of a Phosphohexomutase

The enzyme phosphomannomutase/phosphoglucomutase (PMM/PGM) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa catalyzes an intramolecular phosphoryl transfer across its phosphosugar substrates, which are precursors in the synthesis of exoproducts involved in bacterial virulence. Previous structural studies of PMM/PGM have established a key role for conformational change in its multistep reaction, which requires a dramatic 180° reorientation of the intermediate within the active site. Here hydrogen-deuterium exchange by mass spectrometry and small angle x-ray scattering were used to probe the conformational flexibility of different forms of PMM/PGM in solution, including its active, phosphorylated state and the unphosphorylated state that occurs transiently during the catalytic cycle. In addition, the effects of ligand binding were assessed through use of a substrate analog. We found that both phosphorylation and binding of ligand produce significant effects on deuterium incorporation. Phosphorylation of the conserved catalytic serine has broad effects on residues in multiple domains and is supported by small angle x-ray scattering data showing that the unphosphorylated enzyme is less compact in solution. The effects of ligand binding are generally manifested near the active site cleft and at a domain interface that is a site of conformational change. These results suggest that dephosphorylation of the enzyme may play two critical functional roles: a direct role in the chemical step of phosphoryl transfer and secondly through propagation of structural flexibility. We propose a model whereby increased enzyme flexibility facilitates the reorientation of the reaction intermediate, coupling changes in structural dynamics with the unique catalytic mechanism of this enzyme.

Effects of activating cations and inhibitor on the allosteric regulation of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase

Rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (RMPK) requires activating cations for activity, but its activity can be allosterically inhibited. In this study, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was used to examine the different effects of activating cations (K+ or Mg2+) and inhibitor (Phe) on the allosteric regulation of RMPK. The ITC data reveal that the enthalpy change was greater for PEP binding to the active state compared to the inactive state. Meanwhile, the percentage of the active state increased with increasing concentration of K+ or Mg2+, whereas increasing Phe concentration had the opposite effect. In addition, we hypothesize that the activation of RMPK involves two processes. First, the interaction of Mg2+ leads to a more exposed active site of RMPK. The process is rapid and only a small quantity of Mg2+ can make RMPK transform to the intermediate state. Second, the subsequent binding of K+ causes a critical orientation of the active site, which plays a more decisive role for PEP binding to RMPK than Mg2+.

Identification of Regions of Rabbit Muscle Pyruvate Kinase Important for Allosteric Regulation by Phenylalanine, Detected by H/D Exchange Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry has been used to determine the number of exchangeable backbone amide protons and the associated rate constants that are altered when rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (rM1-PYK) binds either the allosteric inhibitor (phenylalanine) or a nonallosteric analogue of the inhibitor. Alanine is used as the nonallosteric analogue because it binds competitively with phenylalanine but elicits a negligible allosteric inhibition, i.e., a negligible reduction in the affinity of rM1-PYK for the substrate, phosphoenolpyruvate. This experimental design is expected to distinguish changes in the protein caused by effector binding (i.e., those changes common upon the addition of alanine vs phenylalanine) from changes associated with allosteric regulation (i.e., those elicited by the addition of phenylalanine binding, but not alanine binding). High-quality peptic fragments covering 98% of the protein were identified. Changes in both the number of exchangeable protons per peptide and in the rate constant associated with exchange highlight regions of the protein with allosteric roles. The set of allosterically relevant peptides identified by this technique includes residues previously identified by mutagenesis to have roles in allosteric regulation by phenylalanine.

Chemical and enzymatic characterization of recombinant rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase

The stepwise synthesis of thymidine triphosphate (TTP) requires a kinase for phosphorylation in the last step. Because pyruvate kinase (PK) using phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) as substrate can regenerate adenosine triphosphate and phosphorylate thymidine diphosphate as well, we chose this enzyme for the synthesis of TTP via an enzymatic cascade reaction. The metalloenzyme PK shows pronounced promiscuity and therefore fits well to the conditions of this reaction. PK commonly used today is isolated from rabbit muscle. We cloned and expressed the respective open reading frame in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized the His-tagged recombinant enzyme. The enzyme has an activity optimum at 37°C and in the pH range from 7.4 to 7.8. K(M) constants conformed well with the isolated native enzyme for adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to 0.37±0.02 mM and for PEP to 0.07±0.01 mM. The recombinant enzyme shows the following range in its substrate specificity: ADP>dADP>dGDP>dCDP>thymidine diphosphate (TDP). It allows the phosphorylation of TDP to TTP in high yield (up to 95%). The metal ions Mg(2+) and K(+) are necessary for full enzymatic activity. The addition of transition metal ions such as Mn(2+), Cu(2+), Co(2+), and Ni(2+) reduces activity. Storage of the enzyme at -20°C retains full activity.

Distinguishing the Chemical Moiety of Phosphoenolpyruvate That Contributes to Allostery in Muscle Pyruvate Kinase

A series of substrate analogues has been used to determine which chemical moieties of the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) contribute to the allosteric inhibition of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase by phenylalanine. Replacing the carboxyl group of the substrate with a methyl alcohol or removing the phosphate altogether greatly reduces substrate affinity. However, removal of the carboxyl group is the only modification tested that removes the ability to allosterically reduce the level of Phe binding. From this, it can be concluded that the carboxyl group of PEP is responsible for energetic coupling with Phe binding in the allosteric sites.

Probing the catalytic allosteric mechanism of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase by tryptophan fluorescence quenching

Pyruvate kinase acts as an allosteric enzyme, playing a crucial role in the catalysis of the final step of the glycolytic pathway. In this study, site-specific mutagenesis and tryptophan fluorescence quenching were used to probe the catalytic allosteric mechanism of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase. Movement of the B domain was found to be essential for the catalytic reaction. Rotation of the B domain in the opening of the cleft between domains B and A induced by the binding of activating cations allows substrates to bind, whereas substrate binding shifts the rotation of the B domain in the closure of the cleft. Trp-157 accounts for the differences in tryptophan fluorescence signal with and without activating cations and substrates. Trp-481 and Trp-514 are brought into an aqueous environment after phenylalanine binding.

HDXFinder: Automated Analysis and Data Reporting of Deuterium/Hydrogen Exchange Mass Spectrometry

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange in combination with mass spectrometry (H/D MS) is a sensitive technique for detection of changes in protein conformation and dynamics. However, wide application of H/D MS has been hindered, in part, by the lack of computational tools necessary for efficient analysis of the large data sets associated with this technique. We report a novel web-based application for automatic analysis of H/D MS experimental data. This application relies on the high resolution of mass spectrometers to extract all isotopic envelopes before correlating these envelopes with individual peptides. Although a fully automatic analysis is possible, a variety of graphical tools are included to aid in the verification of correlations and rankings of the isotopic peptide envelopes. As a demonstration, the rate constants for H/D exchange of peptides from rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase are mapped onto the structure of this protein.

The Allosteric Effect of Fructose Bisphosphate on Muscle Pyruvate Kinase Studied by Infrared Spectroscopy

Pyruvate kinase exhibits allosteric properties. The allosteric effect of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) on phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) binding to rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (PK) in the presence of various ions (Mg(2+), Mn(2+), K(+), Na(+)) was studied by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy in combination with a dialysis accessory. The experiments indicated that FBP binding causes conformational changes of PK that are of the same order of magnitude as those of PEP binding. The conformational change of PEP binding to PK/Mg(2+)/K(+) in the presence of FBP was about twice as large as in its absence, which is tentatively ascribed to a higher occupancy of the closed state. The affinity for PEP increased in the presence of Mg(2+) and K(+). No such effects were observed with the other ion combinations Mn(2+)/K(+) and Mg(2+)/Na(+) or in D(2)O (with Mg(2+)/K(+)), and therefore we did not detect an allosteric effect on PEP binding under these conditions.

Monitoring allostery in D2O: a necessary control in studies using hydrogen/deuterium exchange to characterize allosteric regulation

There is currently a renewed focus aimed at understanding allosteric mechanisms at atomic resolution. This current interest seeks to understand how both changes in protein conformations and changes in protein dynamics contribute to relaying an allosteric signal between two ligand binding sites on a protein (e.g., active and allosteric sites). Both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), by monitoring protein dynamics directly, and hydrogen/deuterium exchange, by monitoring solvent accessibility of backbone amides, offer insights into protein dynamics. Unfortunately, many allosteric proteins exceed the size limitations of standard NMR techniques. Although hydrogen/deuterium exchange as detected by mass spectrometry (H/DX-MS) offers an alternative evaluation method, any application of hydrogen/deuterium exchange requires that the property being measured functions in both H(2)O and D(2)O. Due to the promising future H/DX-MS has in the evaluation of allosteric mechanisms in large proteins, we demonstrate an evaluation of allosteric regulation in D(2)O. Exemplified using phenylalanine inhibition of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase, we find that binding of the inhibitor is greatly reduced in D(2)O, but the effector continues to elicit an allosteric response.

Effects of Ions on Ligand Binding to Pyruvate Kinase: Mapping the Binding Site with Infrared Spectroscopy

The effects of mono- and divalent ions (Li(+), K(+), Na(+), Cs(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Mn(2+), Zn(2+)) on the binding of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (PK) were studied by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy in combination with a dialysis accessory. The experiments assessed the structural change of the protein as well as the binding mode of PEP. They indicated that a signal at 1638 cm(-1) assigned to a β sheet was perturbed differently with Na(+) as compared to the other monovalent ions. Otherwise, we obtained similar conformational changes in the presence of different monovalent cations, and therefore, it seems unlikely that the ion effects on activity are due to an ion effect on the structure of the PEP:PK complex. With different divalent cations, a particularly large conformational change was observed with Mn(2+) and attributed to a more closed conformation of the complex. The absorption of bound PEP was also detected. The antisymmetric stretching vibration of the carboxylate group of bound PEP indicates a more homogeneous binding mode for Mn(2+) compared to the other divalent ions. The symmetric stretching vibration depends on both monovalent and divalent ions, indicating that the dihedral angle O-C(1)-C(2)-O is affected by the ions in the catalytic site. Little change in the bond strengths of PEP is observed, indicating that the PEP:PK complex does not adopt a reactive conformation.

The pyruvate kinase model system, a cautionary tale for the use of osmolyte perturbations to support conformational equilibria in allostery

In the study of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (M1-PYK), proline has previously been used as an osmolyte in an attempt to determine a role for preexisting conformational equilibria in allosteric regulation. In this context, osmolytes are small molecules assumed to have no direct interaction with the protein. In contrast to proline's proposed role as an osmolyte, the structure of M1PYK-Mn-pyruvate-proline complex reported herein demonstrates that proline binds specifically to the allosteric site of M1-PYK. Therefore, this amino acid is an allosteric effector rather than a benign osmolyte. Other compounds often used as osmolytes (polyethyleneglycol and glycerol) are also present in the structure, suggesting an interaction with the protein that would, in turn, prevent the usefulness of these compounds in the study of this and most likely other proteins. These findings highlight the need to verify that compounds used as osmolytes to perturb preexisting conformational equilibrium do not directly interact with the protein, a consideration not commonly addressed in the past.

Changes in Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Parameters Observed upon Binding of Ligand to Rabbit Muscle Pyruvate Kinase Are Not Correlated with Allosteric Transitions

Protein fluorescence and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) have been used to monitor effector affinity and conformational changes previously associated with allosteric regulation in rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (M(1)-PYK). In the absence of substrate [phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)], SAXS-monitored conformational changes in M(1)-PYK elicited by the binding of phenylalanine (an allosteric inhibitor that reduces the affinity of M(1)-PYK for PEP) are similar to those observed upon binding of alanine or 2-aminobutyric acid. Under our assay conditions, these small amino acids bind to the protein but elicit a minimal change in the affinity of the protein for PEP. Therefore, if changes in scattering signatures represent cleft closure via domain rotation as previously interpreted, we can conclude that these motions are not sufficient to elicit allosteric inhibition. Additionally, although PEP has similar affinities for the free enzyme and the M(1)-PYK-small amino acid complexes (i.e., the small amino acids have minimal allosteric effects), PEP binding elicits different changes in the SAXS signature of the free enzyme versus the M(1)-PYK-small amino acid complexes.

Phosphoenolpyruvate and Mg2+ Binding to Pyruvate Kinase Monitored by Infrared Spectroscopy

Structural changes in rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (PK) induced by phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and Mg2+ binding were studied by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in combination with a dialysis accessory. The experiments indicated a largely preserved secondary structure upon PEP and Mg2+ binding but also revealed small backbone conformational changes of PK involving all types of secondary structure. To assess the effect of the protein environment on the bound PEP, we assigned and evaluated the infrared absorption bands of bound PEP. These were identified using 2,3-13C2-labeled PEP. We obtained the following assignments: 1589 cm−1 (antisymmetric carboxylate stretching vibration); 1415 cm−1 (symmetric carboxylate stretching vibration); 1214 cm−1 (C-O stretching vibration); 1124 and 1110 cm−1 (asymmetric PO32- stretching vibrations); and 967 cm−1 (symmetric PO32- stretching vibration). The corresponding band positions in solution are 1567, 1407, 1229, 1107, and 974 cm−1. The differences for bound and free PEP indicate specific interactions between ligand and protein. Quantification of the interactions with the phosphate group indicated that the enzyme environment has little influence on the P-O bond strengths, and that the bridging P-O bond, which is broken in the catalytic reaction, is weakened by <3%. Thus, there is only little distortion toward a dissociative transition state of the phosphate transfer reaction when PEP binds to PK. Therefore, our results are in line with an associative transition state. Carboxylate absorption bands indicated a maximal shortening of the length of the shorter C-O bond by 1.3 pm. PEP bound to PK in the presence of the monovalent ion Na+ exhibited the same band positions as in the presence of K+, indicating very similar interaction strengths between ligand and protein in both cases.

The conformational change of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase induced by activating cations and its substrates

Catalysis by rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase involves domain movements and conformational changes induced by activating cations and its substrates. Fluorescence acrylamide quenching analyses reveal that interactions with Mg 2+ and K + lead to a more exposed active site of PK while interactions with PEP and ADP decrease solvent accessibility of the active site.