Purification and properties of the pyruvate kinase isoenzymes type L and M2 from chicken liver

Importance of Michaelis Constants for Cancer Cell Redox Balance and Lactate Secretion-Revisiting the Warburg Effect

Cancer cells metabolize a large fraction of glucose to lactate, even under a sufficient oxygen supply. This phenomenon-the "Warburg Effect"-is often regarded as not yet understood. Cancer cells change gene expression to increase the uptake and utilization of glucose for biosynthesis pathways and glycolysis, but they do not adequately up-regulate the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Thereby, an increased glycolytic flux causes an increased production of cytosolic NADH. However, since the corresponding gene expression changes are not neatly fine-tuned in the cancer cells, cytosolic NAD+ must often be regenerated by loading excess electrons onto pyruvate and secreting the resulting lactate, even under sufficient oxygen supply. Interestingly, the Michaelis constants (KM values) of the enzymes at the pyruvate junction are sufficient to explain the priorities for pyruvate utilization in cancer cells: 1. mitochondrial OXPHOS for efficient ATP production, 2. electrons that exceed OXPHOS capacity need to be disposed of and secreted as lactate, and 3. biosynthesis reactions for cancer cell growth. In other words, a number of cytosolic electrons need to take the "emergency exit" from the cell by lactate secretion to maintain the cytosolic redox balance.

Purification and properties of the pyruvate kinase isozyme M1 from the pig brain

There are four pyruvate kinase isozymes in vertebrate tissues, designated as L, M1, M2, and R. Although pyruvate kinases have been purified and characterized from pig liver, muscle, kidney, and heart, the brain isozyme has not. The aim of this work was to purify, characterize and make an isozymic designation for the pig brain pyruvate kinase. Purification was accomplished by chromatography on phosphocellulose, Sephadex G200, and blue-dextran agarose columns. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was determined by sucrose density centrifugation. The degree of purity, and subunit molecular weight were determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The isoelectric point was estimated by the rapid isoelectric focusing method in sucrose gradients. The pH optimum, and kinetics in the presence and absence of fructose-1,6-diphosphate were determined spectrophotometrically. The purification scheme used resulted in a 382-fold purification of pig brain pyruvate kinase, and a final specific activity of 191 Units/mg protein. As estimated by scanning of the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels, the purification scheme also resulted in a preparation that was of at least 98% purity. Pig brain pyruvate kinase has a native molecular weight of approx. 230,000, and a subunit molecular weight of approx. 60,000. The pI was determined to be approximately 8.0, while the pH optimum was estimated at pH 7.4. Fructose-1,6-diphosphate had no effect on either the Km for phospho(enol)pyruvate, or the Vmax of the reaction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Purification and properties of pig heart pyruvate kinase

Using essentially a two-step procedure involving phosphocellulose column chromatography followed by gel filtration on Sephadex G200, pig heart pyruvate kinase (PH PyK) was purified 267-fold to at least 97% purity. PH PyK co-sedimented with rabbit muscle PyK during sucrose density ultracentrifugation yielding an S20,w of 10 and a corresponding molecular weight of about 237,000. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis yielded a subunit molecular weight of approximately 59,000, suggesting that native PH PyK exists as a tetramer. The isoelectric point (pI) was determined to be 8.2, and the pH optimum (pHo) for the forward reaction is 7.2. Steady-state kinetics with phospho(enol)pyruvate (PEP) as the variable substrate show that there is a threefold decrease in the Km for PEP in the presence of 1.0 mM fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP), and that the activity of PH PyK is increased over fourfold by FDP at low (0.1 mM) PEP concentrations. Lineweaver-Burk plots are linear in the presence and absence of FDP, indicating that the Michaelis-Menten curves are hyperbolic. The amino acid composition for pig heart PyK shows close similarities between pig muscle and kidney PyKs, but not liver PyK. Among the data on pI, pHo, and FDP activation, only the activation by FDP is useful in tentatively designating pig heart PyK as an M2 isozyme.

Phylogeny congruence analysis and isozyme classification: the pyruvate kinase system

As the isozymes of pyruvate kinase (PK) are best known in rats, the characteristics of the rat isozymes are generally used to classify the PK isozymes in other species. Given the discrepancies generated by this classification by analogy, we evaluated a classification using a phylogeny congruence analysis of the compositional relatedness of vertebrate PK's. While our phylogenetic analysis confirmed the well established separation of the L and R isozymes from the K and M isozymes, its power became most evident in the identification of non-orthologous (or variant) forms of PK. Our analysis emphasized the uniqueness of chicken liver PK which cannot be classified either as a K or an L isozyme, confirmed that tumors express a variety of forms of PK, and indicated that lungs systematically express PK's which are not orthologous with PK's from other tissues. The determination of orthology by the phylogeny congruence analysis assumes that the structural data from different sources are subject to similar methodological error. However, we cannot reject the possibility that an apparent lack of orthology be due to artifacts during purification and analysis.

Pyruvate kinase type M2 is phosphorylated at tyrosine residues in cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus

Chicken embryo cells (CECs) contain pyruvate kinase (PK) type M2 (M2-PK). Transformation of CECs by Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) leads to a reduction in the affinity of PK for the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate. In vitro, M2-PK can be phosphorylated at tyrosine residues by pp60v-src, the transforming protein of RSV. To study tyrosine phosphorylation of M2-PK in intact RSV-transformed cells, the protein was immunoprecipitated from 32P-labeled normal and RSV-SR-A-transformed CECs. Phosphoamino acid analysis of immunoprecipitated M2-PK revealed that M2-PK of both normal and transformed CECs contained phosphoserine and small amounts of phosphothreonine. Only M2-PK of transformed CECs contained phosphotyrosine in addition. For enzyme kinetic studies M2-PK was partially purified by chromatography upon DEAE-Sephacel and hydroxyapatite. A decreased affinity for phosphoenolpyruvate was observed 3 h after the onset of transformation using the temperature-sensitive mutant of RSV, ts-NY 68. The kinetic changes were correlated with tyrosine phosphorylation of M2-PK, but there is no direct evidence that they are caused by post-translational modification of the enzyme.

Regulation of pyruvate kinase in Reuber H35 hepatoma cells by insulin and fructose

1. Kinetic and immunological studies as well as electrophoretic behaviour indicated that pyruvate kinase in Reuber H35 hepatoma cells is of the M2-type. 2. Addition of 0.1 microM insulin or 2 mM fructose to the incubation medium for 72 hr increased the activity of the M2-type pyruvate kinase in Reuber H35 hepatoma cells by 103 and 25% respectively. 3. Incorporation studies with [3H]leucine followed by immunoprecipitation showed that the apparent rate of synthesis of the M2-type pyruvate kinase was increased by both insulin and fructose. 4. Degradation studies indicated that the addition of insulin and fructose to the incubation medium increased the half-life of the M2-type pyruvate kinase from 4.8 to 8.6 and 6.8 hr respectively.

Liver specific pyruvate kinase in pheasants Phasianus colchicus

While in chickens, the existence of a liver form of pyruvate kinase is controversial, the liver form of pyruvate kinase in pheasants, murres and puffins is electrophoretically distinct from that in muscle, brain, kidney, lung and small intestine. Although the forms in lungs, muscle, heart, brain and small intestine could not be reliably separated by electrophoresis, the functional characteristics of the lung and muscle forms of pyruvate kinase in the pheasant are distinct and can be classified as K and M isozymes respectively. Our data suggest that these birds possess at least three distinct isozymes of pyruvate kinase.

Membrane-associated pyruvate kinase in developing guinea-pig liver

During analysis of pyruvate kinase distribution in developing guinea-pig liver it was observed that a substantial proportion of the activity remained associated with the microsomal membrane fraction ('microsomes'). Although some of this could be removed by washing with sucrose, the majority required detergent treatment for liberation, and even then at least one-half remained attached to the microsomes. Estimates of the contribution of this fraction to total cell pyruvate kinase activity indicated that it was more than 50% of the total, and this is likely to be an underestimate because of the continued latency of the enzyme even in the presence of detergent. The susceptibility of the microsomal enzyme, whether released by detergent or sucrose washing, to inactivation by Triton X-100 suggested it to be different from the cytosolic enzyme, which was stable under such conditions. (The microsomal enzyme required the presence of additional protein, such as bovine serum albumin, to maintain stability.) This view was confirmed by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and particularly isoelectric focusing, where the microsomal enzyme was shown to consist of at least four forms, which were distinctly different from those in the cytosol. Those data and the kinetic properties of the four forms in the membrane fraction indicate that the microsomal pyruvate kinase could consist of four counterparts to the cytosolic isoenzyme forms. These results are discussed in relation to the two possible explanations for the phenomenon (not mutually exclusive): that the more hydrophobic membrane forms are precursors of the cytosolic enzyme and that they may be part of functional glycolytic pathway in the microsomes of developing liver.

Evolution of the functional properties of pyruvate kinase isozymes: pyruvate kinase L from Rana pipiens

The regulatory properties of type L pyruvate kinase from Rana pipiens are intermediate between those of the mammalian K and L isozymes. As with mammalian type L, the levels of the frog isozyme are affected by the animal's nutritional state. The mammalian and amphibian isozymes show similar sensitivities to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate activation and amino acid inhibition. By contrast, the frog L isozyme shares several properties of the K class: i.e. irreversible inactivation by oxidized glutathione and lack of response to a cyclic AMP stimulated phosphorylation. Furthermore, as for some mammalian K isozymes, frog type L shows a high PEP affinity and a low cooperativity of PEP binding. Insofar as the properties of this present day enzyme reflect those of its counterpart in the amphibian ancestor of higher vertebrates, our results suggest that at its first expression, the type L resembled the type K. Many important regulatory properties of the L isozyme, especially the sensitivity to phosphorylation, were acquired more recently perhaps in association with an increased importance of constant blood glucose.

Purification of pyruvate kinase isoenzymes type M1 and M2 from dog (Canis familiaris) and comparison of their properties with those from chicken and rat

Pyruvate kinase isoenzymes type M1 and M2 from dog muscle, lung and tumor have been isolated. The K0.5 for phosphoenol pyruvate have been determined to be 0.04 mM for dog muscle type M1, 0.24 mM for lung type M2 and 0.28 mM for tumor type M2 isoenzymes. The activator constant ka of L-serine is 240 nM from lung and 70 nM from tumor isoenzyme. Consistent with the assumption of a special form of pyruvate kinase M2 in dog tumor cells different isoelectric points and amino acid compositions have been found for the isoenzymes of lung and tumor.

Pancreatic islets contain the M2 isoenzyme of pyruvate kinase. Its phosphorylation has no effect on enzyme activity

To determine which of the major isoenzymes of pyruvate kinase pancreatic islet pyruvate kinase most resembled, it was compared to pyruvate kinase from other tissues in kinetic and immunologic studies. The pattern of activation by fructose bisphosphate and the patterns of inhibition by alanine and phenylalanine were most similar to those of the M2 isoenzyme from kidney and were dissimilar to those of the isoenzymes from skeletal muscle (type M1) and liver (type L). The islet pyruvate kinase was inhibited by anti-M1 pyruvate kinase serum (which crossreacts with the M2 isoenzyme), but not by anti-L pyruvate kinase. These results are most consistent with islets possessing predominantly, if not exclusively, the M2 isoenzyme of pyruvate kinase. We previously showed that rat pancreatic islet cytosol contains protein kinases that can catalyze a calcium-activated phosphorylation of an endogenous peptide that has properties, such as subunit molecular weight and isoelectric pH, that are identical to those of the M2 and M1 isoenzymes of pyruvate kinase, and that islet cytosol can catalyze phosphorylation of muscle pyruvate kinase. In the present study it was shown that incubating islet cytosol with ATP under conditions known to permit phosphorylation and inhibition of liver pyruvate kinase did not affect the islet pyruvate kinase activity. It is concluded that phosphorylation of the islet pyruvate kinase has no immediate effect on enzyme activity.

Evidence for calcium enhanced phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase by pancreatic islets

Pancreatic islet cytosol contains a calcium-calmodulin dependent protein kinase that can mediate the phosphorylation of an endogenous protein that has an Mr of 57 000, as well as exogenous muscle pyruvate kinase (subunit Mr, 57 000). EGTA and trifluoperazine decreased the phosphorylation. Alkaline inactivation of pyruvate kinase made it a better substrate for the kinase. As in rat islet cytosol, rabbit islet cytosol catalyzed the phosphorylation of a 57 000 Mr protein in the presence of calcium and calmodulin. This phosphoprotein was immunoprecipitated with anti-pyruvate kinase antibody. This is consistent with the idea that the 57 000 Mr phosphoprotein in islet cytosol is the subunit of pyruvate kinase. The paper following this paper shows that the kinetic and immunologic properties of the islet pyruvate kinase indicate it is the M2 isoenzyme and that its phosphorylation does not affect its catalytic activity.

Activation of phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase by 6 phosphogluconate in chicken liver (Gallus domesticus): no evidence for a regulatory role

Phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase in crude extracts of chick liver were activated by 6 phosphogluconate at subsaturating concentrations of their respective substrates. The apparent Ka for phosphofructokinase was 0.79 mM and for pyruvate kinase 0.44 mM. Total pentose phosphate dehydrogenase activity was low in the livers of both fed and starved chicks. Hepatic 6 phosphogluconate concentration was too low to be measured accurately by a conventional spectrophotometric method. It is concluded that the concentration of 6 phosphogluconate is too low for it to have a role in the regulation of phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase activities in chicken liver.

The effect of oxalate on gluconeogenesis by isolated chicken hepatocytes. Increased sensitivity to inhibition as a result of biotin deficiency

Addition of varying concentrations of oxalate to isolated chicken hepatocytes reduced gluconeogenesis from lactate in a manner indicating that pyruvate carboxylase was not the rate-limiting step. With hepatocytes from biotin-deficient chicks, sensitivity to inhibition was increased, and was consistent with pyruvate carboxylase being rate-limiting. Administration of biotin to deficient chicks overnight restores sensitivity to oxalate to normal.

Pyruvate kinase type M2 is phosphorylated in the intact chicken liver cell

Isolated hepatocytes from 24 h starved chicks were depleted of phosphate and incubated in the presence of 32P-orthophosphate. Pyruvate kinase type M2 from crude cell extracts was partially purified by chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel and hydroxylapatite. SDS slab gel electrophoresis of the fractions containing the enzyme and immunoprecipitation with antisera showed the phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase type M2. Phosphoamino acid analysis identified serine as phosphate acceptor.

Glucagon induced inactivation of phosphofructokinase and its counteraction by insulin in isolated hepatocytes from the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus)

The effects of glucagon and insulin on phosphofructokinase activity in isolated chicken hepatocytes were studied. Phosphofructokinase activity was decreased in extracts of hepatocytes exposed to glucagon both at subsaturating (0.2 mM) and saturating (5 mM) concentrations of fructose 6-phosphate. Both effects were still present after Sephadex G-25 gel filtration and subsequent ammonium sulfate precipitation. Half-maximal effects of glucagon were found between 10(-11) and 10(-10) M glucagon. Insulin alone had no effect but decreased the action of glucagon.

Purification and properties of pyruvate kinase type M2 from rat lung

(1) Pyruvate kinase type M2 from rat lung has been purified 840-fold with an overall yield of 20%. The enzyme gave a single band upon SDS-electrophoresis and isoelectrofocusing and had a specific activity of 1340 U/mg protein. The homotetramer of Mr = 224000 and an isoelectric point of pH 5.8 had an amino acid composition closely resembling that of other pyruvate kinase isoenzymes type M2, except that of the chicken liver. The enzyme was crystallized. (2) The enzyme has its pH optimum at pH 6.5. The K0.5 value for phosphoenolpyruvate is 0.26 mM (nH = 1.81) which decreases in the presence of 0.2 mM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to 0.056 mM (nH = 1.06). 1 microM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate activates the enzyme at 0.1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate half-maximally. The Km value for ADP at 1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate is 0.4 mM. The Km value for other nucleoside diphosphates increases in the order ADP less than GDP less than IDP less than UDP. (3) No evidence for an interconversion of pyruvate kinase type M2 from rat or chicken lung was found. The enzyme was neither a substrate for the cAMP-dependent protein kinase from rabbit muscle nor for the cAMP-independent protein kinase from chicken liver. Since pyruvate kinase type M2 from chicken liver is inactivated by phosphorylation catalyzed by a cAMP-independent protein kinase (Eigenbrodt, E., Abdel-Fattah Mostafa, M. and Schoner, W. (1977) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 358, 1047-1055) we suggest that the interconvertible form of pyruvate kinase type M2 may represent a separate form of the pyruvate kinase type M2 family.

Immunological and kinetic properties of pyruvate kinase in rat pancreatic islets

Pyruvate kinase in rat pancreatic islets was characterized immunologically and kinetically. It is concluded that this activity is predominantly if not totally of the M(2) type.

Pyruvate kinases of salmon: purification and comparison with the isozymes from birds and mammals

Pyruvate kinase occurs as two major forms in coho salmon; the type M isozyme occurs primarily in muscle and heart, but type K has a more generalized tissue distribution, in parallel with the type K isozyme in other vertebrate systems. In order to assess the evolutionary relationships among the fish, avian, and mammalian isozymes of pyruvate kinase, we have purified the two isozymes from fish, have examined some of their physical properties, and have studied their immunological relationships to the avian and mammalian isozymes. Salmon type K is at least partially inactivated by antibody to bivine type L pyruvate kinase as well as by antibodies produced against chicken, bovine, and salmon type M isozymes. Salmon type M pyruvate kinase, on the other hand, is not significantly corss-reactive with the bovine type L isozyme, but is at least partially inactivated by antibodies produced against bovine or chicken type M isozymes. Mammalian type L pyruvate kinase is immunologically distinct from either mammalian type K or type M, but salmon type K has some structural features in common with all three mammalian isozymes. Thus, salmon fish type K pyruvate kinase could be similar to a primordial form that was antecedent to the three major differentiated isozymes of higher vertebrates.

Modification of pyruvate kinase activity by proteins from chicken liver

The partial purification of a protein fraction inhibiting pyruvate kinase isoenzymes is described. The fraction was isolated from the (NH4)2SO4 step of the purification procedure for pyruvate kinase isoenzymes from chicken liver (Eigenbrodt, E. & Schoner, W. (1977) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 358, 1033-1046) by extraction with 1N NaOH, acidification to pH 3, ethanol precipitation and chromatography of the supernatant on DEAE-cellulose. The inhibitor fraction was further purified by disc gel electrophoresis using a gel gradient from 10 to 25%; this procedure separated activating proteins from the inhibitor fraction. The inhibitor fraction inhibited the pyruvate kinase isoenzymes from chicken in the sequence of decreasing effect: M2 greater than L greater than M1. The inhibition was due to a decrease in the affinity for phosphoenolpyruvate. The inhibitor is stable against heating for 5 min in 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate at 100 degrees C; it is destroyed by pepsin digestion. The inhibitor fraction could be purified further only by dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. This resulted in the separation of 2 inhibitors (Mr = 33,500 +/- 8500 and ca. 5000), an activator (Mr = 15,100 +/- 5200), and an unidentified protein (Mr = 27,000).

Apparent inhibition of pyruvate kinase by phosphocreatine and phosphoarginine

1. Addition of a non-dialysable, heat-labile and acid-precipitable factor which was not absorbed on DEAE-cellulose column, could restore the sensitivity of the chromatographed muscle pyruvate kinase from Marphysa sanguinea towards phosphocreatine inhibition. 2. This factor, being non-specific as it acts on pyruvate kinase isozymes from different sources, demonstrated high creatine kinase activity. 3. High concentrations of ADP, creatine or replacement of ADP with IDP/UDP or high pH abolished the inhibition indicating that the inhibition was mediated through creatine kinase by depleting ADP. 4. Apparent inhibition of phosphocreatine was related to the relative activities of 3 intracellular enzymes--pyruvate kinase, creatine kinase and adenosine triphosphatase.

Comparative studies of vertebrate and invertebrate pyruvate kinases

1. Electrophoretic patterns showed that among the vertebrates studied, L isozyme was present in rat and frog liver and also in rat kidney. 2. M2 is a frequent component in vertebrate tissues, giving support to the proposal that M2 is the ancestral form differentiating to other isozymes. 3. The above trend cannot simply apply to invertebrates. 4. Muscle pyruvate kinases from various animals were inhibited by the particular phosphagen present in their muscle. 5. The inhibition may have an important role in the regulation of glycolysis in muscle.

Inactivation of pyruvate kinase type M2 from chicken liver by phosphorylation, catalyzed by a cAMP-independent protein kinase

A cAMP-independent protein kinase from chicken liver phosphorylated and inactivated pyruvate kinase type M2 from the same tissue. Complete inactivation was reached when 4 mol of phosphate were incorporated/mol of tetrameric pyruvate kinase. The protein kinase bound with high affinity to pyruvate kinase type M2 (Km value for pyruvate kinase = 6 X 10(-10)M; it phosphorylated phosvitin and casein but not histones, ATP and GTP were substrates. The differences between the properties of this protein kinase in the interconversion of pyruvate kinase and that described previously are discussed.