Pyruvate kinase

About: Pyruvate kinase is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5683 publications have been published within this topic receiving 180020 citations. The topic is also known as: ATP:pyruvate 2-O-phosphotransferase & phosphoenolpyruvate kinase.

Cryptococcus neoformans Requires a Functional Glycolytic Pathway for Disease but Not Persistence in the Host

Abstract: Cryptococcus neoformans is an important fungal pathogen of immunocompromised individuals, with a close relative, Cryptococcus gattii, emerging as a serious threat for the immunocompetent. During initial infection, C. neoformans colonizes the airspaces of the lungs, resulting in pneumonia, and subsequently migrates to the central nervous system (CNS). We sought to understand fungal carbon utilization during colonization of these fundamentally different niches within the host, in particular the roles of gluconeogenesis and glycolysis. We created mutants at key points in the gluconeogenesis/glycolysis metabolic pathways that are restricted for growth on lactate and glucose, respectively. A phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mutant (the pck1Δ mutant), blocked for entry of 2- and 3-carbon substrates into gluconeogenesis and attenuated for virulence in a murine inhalation model, showed wild-type (WT) persistence in a rabbit cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) model of cryptococcosis. Conversely, both the pyruvate kinase (pyk1Δ) and the hexose kinase I and II (hxk1Δ/hxk2Δ) mutants, which show impaired glucose utilization, exhibited severely attenuated virulence in the murine inhalation model of cryptococcosis and decreased persistence in the CNS in both the rabbit CSF and the murine inhalation models while displaying adequate persistence in the lungs of mice. These data suggest that glucose utilization is critical for virulence of C. neoformans and persistence of the yeast in the CNS.

Mitochondrial mutations contribute to HIF1alpha accumulation via increased reactive oxygen species and up-regulated pyruvate dehydrogenease kinase 2 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract: Purpose: Mitochondrial mutations have been identified in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but the pathways by which phenotypic effects of these mutations are exerted remain unclear. Previously, we found that mitochondrial ND2 mutations in primary HNSCC increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and conferred an aerobic, glycolytic phenotype with HIF1α accumulation and increased cell growth. The purpose of the present study was to examine the pathways relating these alterations. Experimental Design: Mitochondrial mutant and wild-type ND2 constructs were transfected into oral keratinocyte immortal cell line OKF6 and head and neck cancer cell line JHU-O19 and established transfectants. The protein levels of HIF1α, pyruvate dehydrogenease (PDH), phosphorylated PDH, and pyruvate dehydrogenease kinase 2 (PDK2), together with ROS generation, were compared between the mutant and the wild type. Meanwhile, the effects of small molecule inhibitors targeting PDK2 and mitochondria-targeted catalase were evaluated on the ND2 mutant transfectants. Results: We determined that ND2 mutant down-regulated PDH expression via up-regulated PDK2, with an increase in phosphorylated PDH. Inhibition of PDK2 with dichloroacetate decreased HIF1α accumulation and reduced cell growth. Extracellular treatment with hydrogen peroxide, a ROS mimic, increased PDK2 expression and HIF1α expression, and introduction of mitochondria-targeted catalase decreased mitochondrial mutation-mediated PDK2 and HIF1α expression and suppressed cell growth. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that mitochondrial ND2 mutation contributes to HIF1α accumulation via increased ROS production, up-regulation of PDK2, attenuating PDH activity, thereby increasing pyruvate, resulting in HIF1α stabilization. This may provide insight into a potential mechanism, by which mitochondrial mutations contribute to HNSCC development.

Differential Transcript Levels of Genes Associated with Glycolysis and Alcohol Fermentation in Rice Plants (Oryza sativa L.) under Submergence Stress.

Abstract: Expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in specialized metabolic pathways is assumed to be regulated coordinately to maintain homeostasis in plant cells. We analyzed transcript levels of rice (Oryza sativa L.) genes associated with glycolysis and alcohol fermentation under submergence stress. When each transcript was quantified at several times, two types (I and II) of mRNA accumulation were observed in response to submergence stress. Transcripts of type I genes reached a maximum after 24 h of submergence and were reduced by transfer to aerobic conditions or by partial exposure of shoot tips to air. In a submergence-tolerant rice cultivar, transcript amounts of several type I genes, such as glucose phosphate isomerase, phosphofructokinase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, and enolase, increased significantly compared to an intolerant cultivar after 24 h of submergence. This suggests that the mRNA accumulation of type I genes increases in response to anaerobic stress. mRNA accumulation of type II genes, such as aldolase and pyruvate kinase, reached a maximum after 10 h of submergence. Following transfer to aerobic conditions, their transcript levels were not so rapidly decreased as were type I genes. These results suggest that the mRNA levels of genes engaged in glycolysis and alcohol fermentation may be regulated differentially under submergence stress.