title: Expression of rat liver 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase and its kinase domain in Escherichia coli.
abstract: The rat liver bifunctional enzyme, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (ATP:D-fructose-6-phosphate 2-phosphotransferase/D-fructose-2,6-bisphosphate 2-phosphohydrolase, EC 2.7.1.105/EC 3.1.3.46) and its separate kinase domain were expressed in Escherichia coli by using an expression system based on bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase. The bifunctional enzyme (470 residues per subunit) was efficiently expressed as a protein that starts with the initiator methionine residue and ends at the carboxyl-terminal tyrosine residue. The expressed protein was purified to homogeneity by anion exchange and Blue Sepharose chromatography and had kinetic and physical properties similar to the purified rat liver enzyme, including its behavior as a dimer during gel filtration, activation of the kinase by phosphate and inhibition by alpha-glycerol phosphate, and mediation of the bisphosphatase reaction by a phosphoenzyme intermediate. The expressed 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase also started with the initiator methionine but ended at residue 257. The partially purified kinase domain was catalytically active, had reduced affinities for ATP and fructose 6-phosphate compared with the kinase of the bifunctional enzyme, and had no fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase activity. The kinase domain also behaved as an oligomeric protein during gel filtration. The expression of an active kinase domain and the previous demonstration of an actively expressed bisphosphatase domain provide strong support for the hypothesis that the hepatic enzyme consists of two independent catalytic domains encoded by a fused gene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tauler
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: el-Maghrabi
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Pilkis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D005796:Genes; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007700:Kinetics; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D025481:Phosphofructokinase-2; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D010770:Phosphotransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D010957:Plasmids; D051381:Rats; D015183:Restriction Mapping
chemical_list: D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D010770:Phosphotransferases; D025481:Phosphofructokinase-2; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases