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.

Dependence of adenosine triphosphatase activity of rabbit psoas muscle fibres and myofibrils on substrate concentration.

Abstract: The rate of hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by chemically skinned rabbit muscle fibres was measured as a function of Mg ATP concentration in the range 5 microM to 5 mM. Pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase were used to link adenosine diphosphate formation to oxidation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide which was followed by the change in absorption at 340 nm. The ATPase rate of a fully activated fibre (pCa = 4.5) increased monotonically with Mg ATP concentration in a manner that could be readily fitted by a hyperbola. At 15 degrees C, pH 7 and an ionic strength of 0.2 M the rate at saturating Mg ATP (Vm) was 1.78 +/- 0.2 s-1 per myosin head (mean +/- S.D.; n = 6) and the Mg ATP concentration needed for half the maximal rate (Km) was 16.6 +/- 2 microM. The ATPase of fibres that had been stabilized by cross-linking with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl-aminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) was also investigated. Cross-linking did not significantly affect the Vm or Km and these fibres proved useful for investigating the adequacy of the pyruvate kinase activity for regenerating hydrolysed ATP. Myofibrils were cross-linked with EDC or glutaraldehyde to prevent shortening. Their ATPase properties were investigated: the values of Vm were 0.85 +/- 0.18 (mean +/- S.D.; n = 14) and 0.82 +/- 0.05 s-1 (n = 6) and of Km were 18.0 +/- 2.8 and 12.4 +/- 2.4 microM respectively. The values of Vm and Km for EDC cross-linked myofibrils were fairly insensitive to ionic strength, the Km decreasing 40% and the Vm increasing 50% for a change from 0.2 to 0.3 M. This slight dependence on ionic strength is considered in relation to the ionic strength dependence of the elementary rate constants of the actomyosin subfragment-1 ATPase cycle.

O-GlcNAcylation destabilizes the active tetrameric PKM2 to promote the Warburg effect.

Abstract: The Warburg effect, characterized by increased glucose uptake and lactate production, is a well-known universal across cancer cells and other proliferating cells. PKM2, a splice isoform of the pyruvate kinase (PK) specifically expressed in these cells, serves as a major regulator of this metabolic reprogramming with an adjustable activity subjected to numerous allosteric effectors and posttranslational modifications. Here, we have identified a posttranslational modification on PKM2, O-GlcNAcylation, which specifically targets Thr405 and Ser406, residues of the region encoded by the alternatively spliced exon 10 in cancer cells. We show that PKM2 O-GlcNAcylation is up-regulated in various types of human tumor cells and patient tumor tissues. The modification destabilized the active tetrameric PKM2, reduced PK activity, and led to nuclear translocation of PKM2. We also observed that the modification was associated with an increased glucose consumption and lactate production and enhanced level of lipid and DNA synthesis, indicating that O-GlcNAcylation promotes the Warburg effect. In vivo experiments showed that blocking PKM2 O-GlcNAcylation attenuated tumor growth. Thus, we demonstrate that O-GlcNAcylation is a regulatory mechanism for PKM2 in cancer cells and serves as a bridge between PKM2 and metabolic reprogramming typical of the Warburg effect.

Stimulation of Trypanosoma brucei pyruvate kinase by fructose 2,6‐bisphosphate

Abstract: The activity of pyruvate kinase present in a crude extract of the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei was greatly increased by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, which converted the saturation curve for phosphoenolpyruvate from a sigmoid into a hyperbola with no change in V. Phosphate and arsenate had an effect opposite to that of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and the apparent Ka for fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was shifted from 75 nM to 1.5 microM by the presence of 5 mM phosphate. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate had effects similar to those of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate but at approximately 4000-fold higher concentrations. Pyruvate kinases of Crithidia luciliae and of Leishmania major, two trypanosomatids which are like T. brucei in containing glycosomes, were also stimulated by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and inhibited by phosphate.

Natural Product Micheliolide (MCL) Irreversibly Activates Pyruvate Kinase M2 and Suppresses Leukemia

Abstract: Metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells is essential for tumorigenesis in which pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), the low activity isoform of pyruvate kinase, plays a critical role. Herein, we describe the identification of a nature-product-derived micheliolide (MCL) that selectively activates PKM2 through the covalent binding at residue cysteine424 (C424), which is not contained in PKM1. This interaction promotes more tetramer formation, inhibits the lysine433 (K433) acetylation, and influences the translocation of PKM2 into the nucleus. In addition, the pro-drug dimethylaminomicheliolide (DMAMCL) with similar properties as MCL significantly suppresses the growth of leukemia cells and tumorigenesis in a zebrafish xenograft model. Cell-based assay with knock down PKM2 expression verifies that the effects of MCL are dependent on PKM2 expression. DMAMCL is currently in clinical trials in Australia. Our discovery may provide a valuable pharmacological mechanism for clinical treatment and benefit the development of ...

Organ-specific control of glycolysis in anoxic turtles

Abstract: Control of glycolysis during anoxia was investigated in five organs (heart, brain, liver, and red and white skeletal muscles) of the freshwater turtle, Pseudemys scripta, after 1 or 5 h of submergence in N2-bubbled water. Lactate was produced as the metabolic end product, with distinct organ differences in the amount (net lactate accumulation was 2.4-fold higher in brain than white muscle) and rate (lactate production in liver dropped 16-fold after the 1st h) of lactate accumulation. ATP and total adenylate contents of all organs were reduced (by 15-32%) after 1 h of submergence, but energy charge was maintained; after 5 h, adenylate contents had fully recovered. Changes in the levels of hexose and triose phosphate intermediates of glycolysis indicated an activation of glycolysis within the 1st h of anoxia exposure in brain, heart, and skeletal muscles. By 5 h, however, these were reversed, and a glycolytic rate depression was indicated, consistent with the overall metabolic rate depression accompanying long-term anaerobiosis in the turtle. Crossover analysis indicated glycolytic control at the pyruvate kinase reaction in all organs during both glycolytic activation and metabolic depression; regulatory control at the phosphofructokinase locus was primarily important only during glycolytic activation in heart and red muscle. The same analysis indicated a very rapid glycolytic inhibition in liver occurring within the 1st h of anoxia exposure; this allows glycogenolysis to be directed toward glucose export yielding the fermentative fuel used by other organs during anoxia.