Glycogen, together with lipids, is a reserve of energy for use when needed. Although quantitatively lower than lipids, glycogen has some metabolic advantages.
It is a storage of glucose used to maintain the blood glucose level during fasting, physical activity, and between meals.
It is an energy source used both in aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
By considering the last point, the energy yield of glucose released from glycogen is different under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The metabolic bases of these differences are analyzed below.
Energy yield of glycogen stores under anaerobic conditions
Under anaerobic conditions, the oxidation of glucose to lactate via anaerobic glycolysis yields two molecules of ATP.
Below, the yield of ATP from anaerobic oxidation of glucose released from glycogen by the action of glycogen phosphorylase (EC 2.4.1.1), and debranching enzyme (EC 3.2.1.33) is considered.
Note: glycogen phosphorylase releases about 90% of stored glucose in the form of glucose-1-phoshate (G-1-P), and debranching enzyme the remaining 10% in the form of glucose.
Glycogen phosphorylase and the oxidation of G-1-P under anaerobic conditions
Glycogen synthesis from glucose requires 2 ATP for each molecule of glucose.
The release of glucose-1-phosphate by the action of glycogen phosphorylase allows the recovery of one of the 2 molecules of ATP used in the preparatory phase of glycolysis. The anaerobic oxidation of glucose-6-phosphate, produced from glucose-1-phosphate (G-1-P) by the action of phosphoglucomutase (EC 5.4.2.2), yields therefore three molecules of ATP and not two, because:
one molecule of ATP, instead of two, is used in the preparatory phase of glycolysis, because hexokinase reaction (EC 2.7.1.1) is bypassed;
four molecules of ATP are produced in the payoff phase of glycolysis.
The cost-gain rate is 1/3, namely, there is an energy yield of about 66,7%.
The overall reaction is:
Glycogen(n glucose residues) + 3 ADP + 3 Pi → Glycogen(n-1 glucose residues) + 2 Lactate + 3 ATP
By considering the two molecules of ATP used in the synthesis of glycogen and the anaerobic oxidation of glucose-1-phosphate to lactate, there is a yield of one molecule of ATP for each molecule of glucose stored. The overall reaction is:
Glucose + ADP + Pi → 2 Lactate + ATP
Debranching enzyme and the oxidation of glucose under anaerobic conditions
By considering the glucose released by the action of debranching enzyme, the yield of ATP is zero because:
debranching enzyme releases glucose, then, two molecules of ATP will be used in the preparatory phase of glycolysis;
four molecules of ATP are produced in the payoff phase of glycolysis.
If we now consider the oxidation to lactate of all glucose released from glycogen, there is an energy yield equal to:
1-{[(1/3)*0,9]+[(2/2)*0,1]}=0,60
Then, under anaerobic conditions, there is an energy yield of 60%, hence, glycogen is a good storage form of energy.
Energy yield of glycogen stores under aerobic conditions
Under aerobic conditions, the oxidation of glucose to CO2 and H2O via glycolysis, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, Krebs cycle, mitochondrial electron transport chain, and oxidative phosphorylation yields about 30 molecules of ATP.
Below, the yield of ATP from aerobic oxidation of glucose released from glycogen by the action of glycogen phosphorylase and debranching enzyme is considered.
Glycogen phosphorylase and the oxidation of G-1-P under aerobic condition
The oxidation of glucose-6-phosphate, produced from glucose-1-phosphate by the action of phosphoglucomutase, to CO2 and H2O yields 31 molecules of ATP, and not 30, because only one molecule of ATP is used in the preparatory phase of glycolysis. The cost-gain rate is 1/31, namely, there is an energy yield of about 97%.
The overall reaction is:
Glycogen(n glucose residues) + 31 ADP + 31 Pi → Glycogen(n-1 glucose residues) + 31 ATP + 6 CO2 + 6 H2O
By considering the two molecules of ATP used in the synthesis of glycogen and the aerobic oxidation of glucose-1-phosphate to CO2 and H2O, there is a yield of 29 molecules of ATP for each molecule of glucose stored.
The overall reaction is:
Glucose + 29 ADP + 30 Pi → 29 ATP + 6 CO2 + 6 H2O
Debranching enzyme and the oxidation of glucose under aerobic condition
By considering the glucose released by the action of debranching enzyme, there is a yield of 30 molecules of ATP, because two molecules of ATP are used in the preparatory phase of glycolysis. The cost-gain rate is 2/30, namely, there is an energy yield of about 93,3%.
If we now consider the oxidation to CO2 and H2O of all glucose released from glycogen, there is an energy yield equal to:
1-{[(1/31)*0,9]+[(2/30)*0,1]}=0,96
Then, under aerobic conditions, there is an energy yield of 96%, hence, glycogen is a extremely efficient storage form of energy, with a gain of 36% compared to anaerobic conditions.
References
Nelson D.L., Cox M.M. Lehninger. Principles of biochemistry. 6th Edition. W.H. Freeman and Company, 2012
Stipanuk M.H., Caudill M.A. Biochemical, physiological, and molecular aspects of human nutrition. 3rd Edition. Elsevier health sciences, 2013 [Google eBooks]
Voet D. and Voet J.D. Biochemistry. 4th Edition. John Wiley J. & Sons, Inc. 2011
The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) is a mitochondrial multienzyme complex composed of three different enzymes:
pyruvate dehydrogenase or E1 (EC 1.2.4.1);
dihydrolipoyl transacetylase or dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase or E2 (EC 2.3.1.12);
dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase or dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase or E3 (EC 1.8.1.4).
Each of these enzymes is present in multiple copies whose number, and then the size of the complex itself, varies from species to species, with molecular masses ranging from 4×106 to 1×107 daltons.
The multienzyme complex contains additional subunits:
The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex catalyzes, through five sequential reactions, the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate, an α-keto acid, to form a carbon dioxide molecules (CO2) and the acetyl group of acetyl-coenzyme A or acetyl-CoA, with the release of two electrons, carried by NAD.
Fig. 1 – PDC Reaction
The overall reaction is essentially irreversible, with a ΔG°’ of -8.0 kcal/mol (-33.4 kJ/mol), and requires the intervention of the three enzymes, whose activities are sequentially coordinated. During the reactions, the intermediate products remain bound to the enzymes and, at the end of the reaction sequence, the multienzyme complex is ready for the next cycle;.
Fig. 2 – The Five Reactions Catalyzed by the PDC
Note: the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex catalyzes the same reactions through similar mechanisms in all organisms.
The coenzymes of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex
Five coenzymes are used in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex reactions: thiamine pyrophosphate or TPP, flavin adenine dinucleotide or FAD, coenzyme A or CoA, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide or NAD, and lipoic acid.
Thiamine pyrophosphate is the active form of thiamine or vitamin B1.
Fig. 3 – TPP
TPP is the coenzyme of pyruvate dehydrogenase, to which it is strictly bound through noncovalent interactions. It is involved in the transfer of hydroxyethyl or “activated aldehyde” groups.
Flavin adenine dinucleotide is one the active forms of riboflavin or vitamin B2; the other is flavin mononucleotide (FMN).
Fig. 4 – FAD
FAD is the coenzyme of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, to which it is strictly bound. Like NAD, it participates in electron transfer, or hydride ion (:H– or H+ + 2e–) transfer.
Coenzyme A consists of a β-mercaptoethylamine group connected to pantothenic acid or vitamin B5 through an amide linkage, which, in turn, is bonded to 3′-phosphoadenosine moiety, through a pyrophosphate bridge.
CoA is involved in the reaction catalyzed by dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, and acts as a carrier of acyl groups.
Fig. 5 – Coenzyme A
The β-mercaptoethylamine moiety terminates with a sulfhydryl group (–SH), a reactive thiol crucial for the role played by the coenzyme, because the acyl groups bonded to it through a thioester bond have a high standard free energy of hydrolysis. This provides acyl groups with a high transfer potential, equal to -31.5 kcal/mol (-7.5 kJ/mol), slightly more exergonic [1 kJ/mol (0.2 kcal/mol )] than that for the hydrolysis of ATP to ADP and Pi. Thioesters have therefore a high transfer potential of the acyl group and can donate it to a variety of molecules, that is, such acyl group can be considered as an activated group ready for a transfer. It is also possible to state that the formation of the thioester bond allows to conserve a portion of the free energy derived from the oxidation of the metabolic fuel. It should be noted that coenzyme A is also abbreviated as CoA-SH to emphasize the role played by the thiol group.
Note: in the thioester bond a sulfur atom sits in the position where an oxygen atom is in the ester bond.
Fig. 6 – Ester and Thioester Bonds
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide can be synthesized from tryptophan, an essential amino acid, or from niacin or vitamin B3 or vitamin PP, from Pellagra-Preventing, the source of the nicotinamide moiety.
Fig. 7 – NAD
NAD is involved in the reaction catalyzed dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, and, like FAD, participates in electron transfer, or hydride transfer.
Unlike the other coenzymes of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, lipoic acid does not derive, directly or indirectly, from vitamins and/or essential amino acids, that is, from building blocks that cannot be synthesized de novo by the organism and must be supplied by the diet.
It is the coenzyme of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, to which it is covalently bound, through an amide linkage, to the ɛ-amino group of a lysine residue to form a lipoyl-lysine or lipoamide, the so-called lipoyllysyl arm. It couples electron transfer to acyl group transfer.
Fig. 8 – Lipoyl-lysine
Lipoic acid has two thiol groups that can undergo a reversible intramolecular oxidation to form a disulfide bridge (-S-S-), a reaction analogous to that between two cysteine (Cys) residues of a protein.
Because the disulfide bridge (note: a cyclic disulfide) is capable of undergoing redox reactions, during the reactions catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, it is first reduced to dihydrolipoamide, a dithiol or the reduced form of the prosthetic group, and then, reoxidized to the cyclic form.
Note
Many enzymes require small non protein components, called cofactors, for their catalytic activity. Cofactors can be metal ions or small organic or metalloorganic molecules, and are classified as coenzymes and prosthetic groups.
A prosthetic group is cofactor that binds tightly to an enzyme by non-covalent or covalent bond, namely, it is permanently bound to the protein.
A coenzyme is cofactor that is not permanently bound to the enzyme.
Where is the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex located?
In eukaryotes, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, like the enzymes for citric acid cycle and oxidation of fatty acids, is located in the mitochondrion, where is associated with the surface of the inner membrane facing the matrix.
In prokaryotes, it is located in the cytosol.
Functions of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex
The main functions of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex are to produce acetyl-CoA and NADH.
Fig. 9 – Acetyl-CoA
The acetyl group linked to coenzyme A, an activated acetate, depending on the metabolic conditions within the cell and/or the cell type, can be:
oxidized to two carbon dioxide molecules via the citric acid cycle reactions to harvest a portion of the potential energy stored in the form of ATP or GTP;
utilized for the synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol, steroids, isoprenoids, ketone bodies and acetylcholine.
It is therefore possible to state that, depending on the metabolic conditions and/or cell type, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex commits carbon intermediates from amino acid and glucose catabolism to:
citric acid cycle, and then to the production of energy, e.g. in skeletal muscle in aerobic conditions, and, always, in cardiac muscle; synthesis of lipids and acetylcholine.
In aerobic organisms, NADH can be oxidized to NAD+ via hydride ion transfer to the mitochondrial electron transport chain that, in turn, carries the two electrons to molecular oxygen (O2), allowing the production of 2.5 ATP molecules per pair of electrons.
Fig. 10 – Nicotinamide Ring: Reduced Form
Note: in anaerobic organisms there are electron acceptors alternative to oxygen, such as sulfate or nitrate.
Conceptually, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is the bridge between glycolysis and the citric acid cycle. However, due to the irreversibility of the overall reaction catalyzed by the multienzyme complex, it acts as an one-way bridge: pyruvate can be decarboxylated, oxidized and the remaining acetyl unit linked to the CoA, but it is not possible to carry out the opposite reaction, namely, to convert acetyl-CoA into pyruvate.
The irreversibility of this reaction, and the absence of alternative pathways, explain why it is not possible to use acetyl-CoA, and therefore fatty acids, as a substrate for gluconeogenesis (see below).
Other sources of acetyl-CoA
Other than pyruvate, the acetyl group of acetyl-CoA can derive from the oxidation of fatty acids and the catabolism of many amino acids. However, regardless of its origin, acetyl-CoA represents an entry compound for new carbon units into the citric acid cycle. And, it is also possible to state that the acetyl group of acetyl-CoA represents the form in which most of the carbon enters the cycle.
Sources of pyruvate
Pyruvate can derive from different cytosolic sources.
Under physiological conditions, in most cells it derives mainly from glycolysis: the oxidation of a glucose molecule yields two pyruvate molecules.
Lactate can be oxidized to pyruvate in the reaction catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27). In fact, isoenzymes in which the H subunit predominates, such as LDH1 or H4, a homopolymer of H subunits found in cardiac muscle, a tissue with completely aerobic metabolism, preferentially catalyze lactate oxidation.
Lactate oxidation can occurs in hepatocytes, too, during gluconeogenesis, favored by the low NADH/NAD+ ratio in the cytosol.
It should be noted that lactate is a metabolite deriving from the catabolism of glucose, and therefore from carbohydrate catabolism.
Another source is malate, by the reaction catalyzed by the cytosolic malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40), which is implicated in the exchange of intermediates of the citric acid cycle, such as oxaloacetate, malate and citrate, between the cytosol and the mitochondrial matrix.
Malate + NADP+ → Pyruvate + CO2 + NADPH + H+
Finally, the carbon skeleton of six amino acids, namely, alanine, cysteine, glycine, serine, threonine and tryptophan, can be partly or completely converted into pyruvate.
In turn, pyruvate is a metabolic intermediate which can be metabolized by different pathways, both anabolic and catabolic. Examples are gluconeogenesis, the synthesis of lipids, and the oxidative metabolism. In addition, it can have an anaplerotic function, playing a role in the maintenance of the metabolic flow through the acid cycle citric.
Mitochondrial pyruvate transport
In eukaryotes, glycolysis occurs in the cytosol whereas all the subsequent steps of the aerobic metabolism, that is, the reactions catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, the citric acid cycle, the electron transport chain, and the oxidative phosphorylation occur in the mitochondria.
Similarly to most other metabolites and anions, the transport of pyruvate across the outer mitochondrial membrane is probably mediated by a relatively non-specific, voltage-dependent anion channel. Conversely, its transport across the inner mitochondrial membrane occurs through a specific transporter made up of two proteins named MPC1 and MPC2, acronym of mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, which form a hetero-oligomeric complex in the membrane.
Structure of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex
Although the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is composed of multiple copies of three different enzymes and catalyzes the same reactions by similar mechanisms in all the organisms in which it is present, it has a very different quaternary structure.
The structure of E. colimultienzyme complex, which has a weight of ∼4,600 kD and a diameter of ∼300 Å, was the first to be characterized, thanks to the work of Lester Reed. In this complex, 24 units of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase form a structure with cubic symmetry, namely, the enzymes, associated as trimers, are placed at the corners of a cube. Dimers of pyruvate dehydrogenase are associated with dihydrolipoyl transacetylase core, at the center of each edge of the cube, for a total of 24 units. Finally, dimers of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase are located at the center of each of the six faces of the cube, for a total of 12 units. Note that the entire complex is composed of 60 units. A similar structure with cubic symmetry is also found in most other Gram-negative bacteria.
In some Gram-positive bacteria and in eukaryotes, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex has a dodecahedral form, namely, that of a regular polyhedron with 20 vertices, 12 pentagonal faces, and 30 edges, with icosahedral symmetry, also called I symmetry. Considering for example the multienzyme complex present in mitochondria, it is the largest known multienzyme complex, with a weight of ∼10,000 kD and a diameter of ∼500 Å, so more than 5 times the size of a ribosome. Noteworthy, it can be visualized with the electron microscope. The complex is composed of a dodecahedral core, with a diameter of about 25 nm, formed, as in Gram-negative bacteria, by dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, but consisting of 20 trimers of the enzyme, for a total of 60 units, located at the vertices of the structure. The core is surrounded by 30 units of pyruvate dehydrogenase, one centered on each edge, and 12 units of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, one centered on each face. The entire complex is therefore composed of 102 units.
The quaternary structure of the complex is further complicated, as mentioned previously, by the presence of three additional subunits: a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, a pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase, and the E3-binding protein.
Kinase and phosphatase are bound to the dihydrolipoyl transacetylase core.
E3BP is bound to each of the 12 pentagonal faces, and therefore is present in about 12 copies. It is required to bind dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase to the core of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, as demonstrated by the fact that its partial proteolysis decreases the binding ability of the dehydrogenase. In E3-binding protein it is possible to identify a C-terminal domain, that has no catalytic activity, and a lipoamide-containing domain, similar to that of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, capable of accepting an acetyl group, too. However, the removal of this domain does not cause any reduction of the catalytic activity of the multienzyme complex.
Structure of pyruvate dehydrogenase or E1
Pyruvate dehydrogenase of eukaryotes and some Gram-positive bacteria is composed of two different polypeptide chains, called α and β, associated to form a 2-fold symmetric α2β2 heterotetramer. Conversely, in E. coli and other Gram-negative bacteria the two subunits are fused to form a single polypeptide chain, and the enzyme is a homodimer.
The enzyme has two active sites.
Considering the heterotetrameric structure of Bacillus stearothermophilus pyruvate dehydrogenase, a Gram-positive bacteria, each thiamine pyrophosphate binds between the N-terminal domains of an α and a β subunit, at the end of a ∼21 Å deep funnel-shaped channel leading to the active site, with its reactive group, the thiazole ring (see fig. 3), closest to the channel entrance. At the entrance this channel there are also two conserved loops, essential both for the catalytic activity of the enzyme and for its regulation. The X-ray analysis of B. stearothermophilus enzyme, when it binds both TPP and the peripheral subunit-binding domain (PSBD) of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, which binds to the C-terminal domain of the β subunits, has revealed that, in addition to a heterotetramer with a very tight structure, the two active sites have a different structure, in particular regarding the arrangement of the two conserved loops. In fact, in one enzyme subunit, in the presence of the activated form of thiamine pyrophosphate, the inner loop is ordered in a way that it blocks the entrance to the active site, whereas the loop at the entrance of the other active site is disordered and does not block the entrance. This explains, from a structural point of view, the observed differences in the rate of substrate binding exhibited by the two active sites. A similar arrangement and asymmetry have been observed in all thiamine pyrophosphate-dependent enzymes of which the structure has been solved.
In addition to TPP and a magnesium ion (Mg2+), located in each of the two active sites, a third Mg2+ is located at the centre of the tetramer, within a ∼20 Å deep solvent-filled tunnel that connects the two active sites. The tunnel is largely lined by 10 conserved amino acid residues from all four subunits, in particular glutamate (Glu) and aspartate (Asp), six and four, respectively, plus other acidic residues around the TPP aminopyrimidine ring. And it should be underlined the absence of basic residues to neutralize them. Similar tunnels have been found in all thiamine pyrophosphate-dependent enzymes with known crystalline structure, with dimeric or tetrameric structure, for example in transketolase, an enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway.
Note: B. stearothermophilus belongs to the phylum Firmicutes and is recently renamed Geobacillus stearothermophilus.
What is the function of the acidic tunnel?
Through mutagenesis experiments on B. stearothermophilus pyruvate dehydrogenase, the tunnel has been shown to play a role in the catalytic mechanism.
The change of some of the aforementioned acidic residues to neutral amino acids does not alter, compared with the wild-type pyruvate dehydrogenase:
the efficiency of incorporation of the modified enzyme into the multienzyme complex;
However, rate of decarboxylation is reduced by over 70% compared to the wild-type enzyme, as well as, once the multienzyme complex is assembled with the mutant pyruvate dehydrogenase, the PDC activity, which is reduced by over 85% compared to the wild-type complex. But how does this occur?
Because the distance between the substituted amino acids and the active sites is ≥7 Å, that is, these amino acids are remote from the active sites of pyruvate dehydrogenase, they cannot directly influence its catalytic activity. Then, the catalytic mechanism described below was proposed.
Considering the apoenzyme, thiamine pyrophosphate binds fast and strongly to the first active site, is activated, and the active site is closed, thus protecting the zwitterionic thiazolium from the external environment.
Conversely, in the second active site TPP binds, but is not activated, and the active site remains in an open conformation.
In the first active site, pyruvate reacts with the thiazolium C-2, and thiamine pyrophosphate of the second active site, which is a general acid, donates a proton to the first site. The result is a decarboxylation in the first site and the activation of the coenzyme in the second site, which is then closed.
It should be noted that while the activation of the first thiamine pyrophosphate is the result of the binding to the active site, the activation of the second coenzyme, and therefore of the second active site, is coupled to the decarboxylation of pyruvate in the first active site. Or, from another point of view, while an active site requires a general acid, the other requires a general base. Protons are needed for the catalytic activity, and their transport between the two active sites occurs via the acidic tunnel. They are reversibly shuttled along a chain of donor-acceptor groups provided by glutamate and aspartate residues and the entrained water, that act as a proton wire.
It seems, therefore, that unlike many other enzymes, in which the communication between the active sites occurs through conformational changes and subunit rearrangements, in pyruvate dehydrogenase and in the other TPP-dependent enzymes, the proton wire is the molecular basis of such communication.
At this point, the holoenzyme has been formed and the active sites are in a dynamic equilibrium, each exchanging between the dormant and the activated state. This seems to be the state in which the enzyme is found in vivo at the start of each catalytic cycle.
A consequence of such a mechanism is that, as the catalytic cycles occur, the two active sites are out of phase with each other, namely, when an active site requires a general acid, the other requires a general base, and vice versa.
Finally, it should be noted that this mechanism allows the switching of the loops that close the active sites so as to:
coordinate substrate uptake and product release;
explain the asymmetry existing between the two active sites.
Note: an apoenzyme is an enzyme that lacks the association of its cofactors. Conversely, an holoenzyme is an apoenzyme together with its cofactors. The apoenzyme is a catalytically inactive enzyme, whereas the holoenzyme is a catalytically active enzyme.
Structure of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase or E2
Three functionally distinct domains can be identify in the structure of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase: an N-terminal lipoyl domain, a peripheral subunit-binding domain, and a C-terminal catalytic domain or acyltransferase domain. These domains are connected by 20- to 40 amino acid residues rich in alanine and proline, hydrophobic amino acids that are interspersed with charged residues. These linkers are highly flexible and largely extended, that allows the three domains to kept away from each other.
The N-terminal lipoyl domain is composed of ∼80 amino acid residues, and is so called because it binds lipoic acid. The number of these domains depend on the species, ranging from one to three. For example, there is one domain in B. stearothermophilus and in yeasts, two in Streptococcus faecalis and in mammals, and three in Azotobacter vinelandii and E. coli.
The link between the ɛ-amino group of a lysine residue and lipoic acid leads to the formation of a flexible arm, the lipoyl-lysine, which has a maximum extended length of ∼14 Å. Adding the polypeptide segment which connects the N-terminal domain to the adjacent domain, whose length is greater than 140 Å, the resulting flexible tether is able to swings the lipoyl group between the active sites of pyruvate dehydrogenase and dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, as well as to interact with neighboring dihydrolipoyl transacetylases of the core.
It should be noted that the number of these tethers is 3 x 24 = 72 in E. coli, whereas in mammals 2 x 60 = 120, based on the number of N-terminal domains and the units of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase.
One pyruvate dehydrogenase can therefore acetylate numerous dihydrolipoyl transacetylases, and one dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase can reoxidize many dihydrolipoamide groups.
Moreover, it also occurs:
an interchange of the acetyl groups between the lipoyl groups of the dihydrolipoyl transacetylase core;
the exchange of both acetyl groups and disulfides between the tethered arms.
The C-terminal catalytic domain, which, of course, contains the active site, is composed of ∼250 amino acid residues arranged to form a hollow cage-like structure containing channels large enough to allow substrates and products to diffuse in and out. For example, CoA ad lipoamide, the two substrate of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, bind, in their extended conformation, at the opposite ends of a channel located at the interface between each pair of subunits in each trimers.
Structure of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase or E3
The structure of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase was deduced from studies of the enzyme in several microorganisms. It has a homodimeric structure, with each ∼470 amino acid residue chain folded into four domains, from the N-terminal to the C-terminal end: a FAD-binding domain, a NAD+-binding domain, a central domain, and an interface domain. All domains participate in the formation of the active site. FAD is almost completely hidden inside the protein because, unlike thiol or NADH, it is easily oxidizable and must therefore be protected from the surrounding solution, namely, from O2. In fact, in the absence of the nicotinamide coenzyme, the phenol side chain of a tyrosine residue (Tyr), for example Tyr181 in the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas putida, covers the NAD+-binding pocket so as to protect FADH2 from the contact with the surrounding solution.
Fig. 12 – FADH2
Conversely, when NAD+ is located in the active site, the phenol side chain of the aforementioned tyrosine residue is interposed between the nicotinamide ring and the flavin ring.
In the active site of the enzyme’s oxidized form is also present a redox-active disulphide bridge. It forms between two cysteine residues located in a highly conserved segment of the polypeptide chain, e.g., Cys43 and Cys48 in P. putida, and is located on opposite side of the flavin ring with respect to the nicotinamide ring. The disulphide bridge links consecutive turns in a segment of a distorted α-helix, and, noteworthy, in the absence of such distortion, Cα atoms of the two cysteine residues would be too distant to allow the disulfide bridge to form.
Dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase has therefore two electron acceptors: FAD and the redox-active disulphide bridge.
Note: the heterocyclic rings of NAD and FAD are parallel and in contact through van der Waals interactions; S48 is also in contact through van der Waals interactions with the flavin ring, on the opposite side of it from the NAD ring.
Reaction of pyruvate dehydrogenase or E1
In the reaction sequence catalyzed by components of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, pyruvate dehydrogenase catalyzes the first two steps, namely:
the decarboxylation of pyruvate to form CO2 and the hydroxyethyl-TPP intermediate;
the reductive acetylation of the lipoyl group of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase.
The first reaction is essentially identical to pyruvate decarboxylase reaction (EC 4.1.1.1), which carries out a non-oxidative decarboxylation in glucose fermentation to ethanol. What differs is the fate of the hydroxyethyl group bound to thiamine pyrophosphate that, in the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase is transferred to the next enzyme in the sequence, dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, whereas in the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase is converted into acetaldehyde.
Catalytic mechanism of pyruvate dehydrogenase or E1
In thiamine pyrophosphate-dependent enzymes, the thiazolium ring is the active center, but only as dipolar carbanion or ylid, namely, as a dipolar ion, or zwitterion (German for “hybrid ion”), with positive charge on the N-3 and negative charge on C-2. Conversely, the positively charged thiazolium ring, that is, positive charged nitrogen and no charge on C-2, can be defined as “dormant” or inactive form.
The reaction begins with the nucleophilic attack by C-2 carbanion to the carbonyl carbon of pyruvate, which has the oxidation state of an aldehyde, and leads to the formation of a covalent bond between coenzyme and pyruvate.
Then, the cleavage of C-1–C-2 bond of pyruvate occurs. This leads to the release of the carboxyl group, namely, of the C-1 as CO2, while the remaining carbon atoms, C-2 and C-3, stay bound to the thiamine pyrophosphate as hydroxyethyl group. The cleavage of the C-1–C-2 bond, and therefore the decarboxylation of pyruvate, is favored by the fact that the negative charge on the C-2 carbon, that is unstable, is stabilized by the presence in the thiazolium ring of the positively charged N-3, a imine nitrogen (C=N+), that is, due to the presence of an electrophilic or electron deficient structure that acts as an electron sink or electron trap, in which the carbanion electrons can be delocalized by resonance.
At this point, the intermediate stabilized by resonance can be protonated to form hydroxyethyl-TPP.
Note: this first reaction catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase is that in which the private dehydrogenase complex exercises its substratum specificity; furthermore, it is the slowest of the five reactions, hence limiting the rate of the overall reaction.
Fig. 13 – E1: Catalytic Mechanism
The enzyme then catalyzes the oxidation of the hydroxyethyl group to an acetyl group, and its transfer on lipoyllysyl arm of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase. The reaction begins with the formation of a carbanion on the hydroxylic carbon of the hydroxyethyl-TPP, by the removal of the carbon-linked proton by an enzyme base.
The carbanion carries out a nucleophilic attack on the lipoamide disulfide, with the formation of a high-energy acetyl-thioester bond with one of the two -SH groups. In this reaction, the oxidation of the hydroxyethyl group to an acetyl group occurs with the concomitant reduction of the lipoamide disulfide bond: the two electrons removed from the hydroxyethyl group are used to reduce the disulfide. This reaction is therefore a reductive acetylation accompanied by the regeneration of the active form of pyruvate dehydrogenase, namely, the enzyme with the thiazolium C-2 in the deprotonated form, the ylid or dipolar carbanion form.
Note that the energy derived from the oxidation of the hydroxyethyl group to an acetyl group drives the formation of the thioester bond between the acetyl group and coenzyme A.
Thiamine pyrophosphate molecule consists of three chemical moieties, from which its chemistry and enzymology depend: a thiazolium ring, a 4-aminopyrimidine ring, and the diphosphate side chain (see fig. 3).
The diphosphate side chain binds the cofactor to the enzyme via the formation of electrostatic bonds between the negative charges carried by its phosphoryl groups and the positive charges carried by Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions, in turn, bound to highly conserved sequences, GlyAspGly (GDG) and GlyAspGly-X26-AsnAsn (GDG-X26-NN), respectively.
The thiazolium ring plays a central role in catalysis, due to its ability to form the C-2 carbanion, that is, a nucleophilic center on the C-2 atom.
Note: as mentioned previously in this article, once bound to the enzyme, thiamine pyrophosphate locates in the active site so that the thiazolium ring is positioned close to the channel entrance leading to the active site.
The aminopyrimidine ring has a dual function:
it anchors the coenzyme holding it in place;
it has a specific catalytic role, participating in acid/base catalysis, as evidenced by studies with thiamine pyrophosphate analogs in which each of the three nitrogen atoms of the ring were replaced in turn. These studies demonstrated that the N-1’ atom and the N-4’-amino group are required, whereas the other nitrogen atom of the ring, the N-3’ atom, is required to a lesser extent.
How is the dipolar carbanion of thiamine pyrophosphate formed?
Three tautomeric forms of the aminopyrimidine ring can be identified in the enzyme-bound coenzyme not involved in the reaction:
the canonical 4’-aminopyrimidine tautomer;
the N-1 protonated form, that is, 4-aminopyrimidinium ion;
the 1’,4’-iminopyrimidine tautomer.
It seems that the 1′,4′-imino tautomer is the tautomer that undergoes deprotonation, before the entry of the substrate into the active site. The C-2 of the thiazolium ring is “much more acidic than most =C-H groups found in other molecules” (see also in the article on the pentose phosphate pathway). The higher acidity, i.e., the fact that the C-2 proton is easily dissociable, is due to the presence of the quaternary nitrogen on the thiazolium ring, a positively charged nitrogen atom able to electrostatically stabilize the resulting carbanion. In the deprotonation reaction, the amino group of the aminopyrimidine ring seems to play an essential role: it acts as a base and is suitably positioned to accept the proton. However, in the 4’-aminopyrimidine tautomer one of its protons sterically collides with the C-2 proton; in addition, its pK is too low to carry out the deprotonation efficiently. A mechanism was therefore proposed, in which the side chain of a conserved glutamate residue, for example βGlu59 in B. stearothermophilus, or Glu51 in Saccharomyces uvarum (brewer’s yeast) pyruvate decarboxylase, donates a proton to the aminopyrimidine, converting it to its 1′,4′-iminopyrimidine tautomer that, accepting the C-2 proton, returns to the canonical 4′-aminopyrimidinic form and allows the formation of the carbanion.
Note: carbanion formation on C-2 is a consequence of an intramolecular proton transfer.
Deprotonation of thiamine pyrophosphate and closure of pyruvate dehydrogenase active site
The loss of the C-2 proton of the thiazolium ring leads, from a positively charged ring, to a dipolar ion, or zwitterion. This change in state of charge triggers a conformational change in one of the two conserved loops at the entrance of the active site channel, specifically, the inner of these loops, that, in turn, leads to the closure of the channel to the surrounding water environment. In this closed conformation the thiazolium carbanion is protected against electrophiles.
To sum up: the deprotonation of thiamine pyrophosphate leads to the closure of the active site and the protection of the newly formed dipolar carbanion, that is, TPP-dependent enzymes would be only active in closed conformation.
Conversely, in the other active site, thiamine pyrophosphate is not in the ylid form, the channel is open, and the site is inactive.
Reaction of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase or E2
In the reaction sequence catalyzed by components of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, dihydrolipoyl transacetylase catalyzes the third step, namely, the transfer of the acetyl group from acetyl-dihydrolipoamide to CoA to form acetyl-CoA and dihydrolipoamide, the fully reduced form of lipoamide, the dithiol.
It should be noted that the acetyl group, initially bound by ester linkage to one of the –SH group of lipoamide is next bound to the –SH group of coenzyme A, again by ester bond, hence the term transesterification.
Catalytic mechanism of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase or E2
During the reaction, the sulfhydryl group of coenzyme A carries out a nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl carbon of the acetyl group of acetyl dihydrolipoamide-dihydrolipoyl transacetylase to form a transient tetrahedral intermediate, that “decomposes” to dihydrolipoamide-dihydrolipoyl transacetylase and acetyl-CoA.
Fig. 14 – E2: Catalytic Mechanism
As previously said, the mobility of the lipoyllysyl arm plays a central role in the reaction mechanism.
Reaction of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase or E3
In the reaction sequence catalyzed by components of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase catalyzes the fourth and fifth steps.
The enzyme catalyzes electron transfers needed to regenerate the disulfide bridge of the lipoyl group of dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, that is, to regenerate the oxidized form of the prosthetic group, and thus completing the catalytic cycle of the transacetylase.
The reaction has a ping-pong catalytic mechanism: it occurs in two successive half-reaction, in which each of the two substrates, NAD+ and dihydrolipoamide, reacts in the absence of the other. Moreover during the first half-reaction, the release of the first product and the formation of an enzyme intermediate complex occur before the second substrate binds, while the enzyme underogoes a structural change, whereas in the second half-reaction the release of the second product and the return of the enzyme to its starting state, again, via a structural change, occur.
Considering the ping-pong kinetic mechanism of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase:
in the first half-reaction the oxidation of dihydrolipoamide to lipoamide occurs;
in the second half-reaction the reduction of NAD+ to NADH occurs.
Catalytic mechanism of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase or E3
Below, the reaction mechanism of P. putida dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase is described.
In the first half-reaction, the oxidized dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (E), i.e., the enzyme with the disulfide bridge between Cys43 and Cys48, binds dihydrolipoamide (LH2) to form the enzyme-dihydrolipoamide complex (E●LH2). At this point, a sulfur atom of dihydrolipoamide carries out a nucleophilic attack on the sulfur of Cys43, to form the disulfide bridge lipoamide-Cys43 (E-S-S-L), while the sulfur of Cys48 is released as a thiolate ion (S–48).
The proton on the second thiol group of lipoamide is then abstracted by histidine (Hys) 451, that acts as a general acid-base catalyst, leading to the formation of a second thiolate ion, this time on the lipoamide (E-S-S-L ●S–), that, through a nucleophilic attack, displaces the sulfur of Cys43, S43, aided in this by general acid catalysis by Hys451 which donates a proton to S43. The catalytic action of Hys451 is essential, as demonstrated by mutagenesis studies in which its substitution with a glutamine residue causes the enzyme to retain ∼ 0.4% of the wild-type catalytic activity.
The thiolate anion S–48 then contacts, through non-covalent interactions, the flavin ring near 4a position (see fig.????), i.e., an electron pair of S–48, which acts as electron donor, is partially transferred to the oxidized flavin ring, which, in turn, is the electron acceptor. The resulting structure is called charge-transfer complex.
Meanwhile, the phenolic side chain of the Tyr181 continues to hinder access to the flavin ring, thus protecting it from oxidation by O2.
Fig. 15 – Dihydrolipoamide Oxidation via E3
To sum up, what occurs is an interchange reaction of disulfide bridges leading to the formation of the oxidized form of lipoamide, the first product, which is released, and the reduced form of the dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase.
The second half-reaction involves the reduction of NAD+ to NADH + H+ by electron transfer from the reactive disulfide of the enzyme via FAD.
Fig. 16 – Oxidation of Reduced E3 by NAD+
It begins with the entry of NAD+ into the active site and its binding to form the EH2●NAD+ complex. It should be noted that the entry of the coenzyme causes the phenolic side chain of the Tyr181 to be pushed aside by the nicotinamide ring.
Following the collapse of the charge-transfer complex, a covalent bond is formed between the flavin atom C-4a and S48, to which the extraction of a proton from S43 by the flavin atom N-5 is accompanied, with the formation of the corresponding thiolate anion, S–43.
S–43carries out a nucleophilic attack on S48, leading to the formation of the redox-active disulphide bridge between Cys43 and Cys48, followed by the breakdown of the covalent bond between S48 and the flavin atom C-4a to form reduced FADH anion, FADH–, with negative charge on atom N-1. It should be noted that dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase is in the oxidized form (E).
Fig. 17 – FADH-
FADH– has a transient existence because the proton bound to its N-5 is instantly transferred, as hydride ion, to the nicotinamide atom C-4, that is juxtaposed to flavin atom N-5. This leads to the formation of FAD and of the second product of the reaction, NADH, which is released.
To sum up, what occurs is that the electrons removed from the hydroxyethyl group, which derives from pyruvate, pass, via FAD, to NAD+. The catalytic cycle of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase is therefore completed, being the enzyme and its coenzymes in their oxidized form. At this point, the catalytic cycle of the entire pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is completed, too, and the complex is ready for a new reaction cycle.
Note: unlike the thiazolium ring of thiamine pyrophosphate, FAD does not acts as electron trap or electron sink, but rather as an electron conduit between the redox-active disulphide, in its reduced form, and NAD+.
Note: the catalytic mechanism of dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase has been determined in analogy with that of glutathione reductase (EC 1.8.1.7), at 33% identical and whose structure is more extensively characterized. It should, however, be noted that although the two enzymes catalyze similar reactions, these usually occur in opposite direction:
dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase uses NAD+ to oxidize two –SH groups to a disulfide (–S–S–);
glutathione reductase uses NADPH to reduce a –S–S– to two thiol groups.
Nevertheless, their active sites are closely superimposable.
Regulation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex
In mammals, the regulation of the activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is essential, both in the fed and fasted states. In fact, the multienzyme complex plays a central role in metabolism because, catalyzing the irreversible oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate, represents the entry point of the carbon flux from all carbohydrate sources as well as from ∼50% of carbon skeletons of glucogenic amino acids, that, as a whole, correspond to ∼60% of the daily calorie intake, into:
the citric acid cycle, and therefore to the full oxidation to CO2;
the synthesis of lipids (fed state) and acetylcholine (see above).
The importance of the regulation of the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl-CoA is also underlined by the fact that mammals, although able to produce glucose from pyruvate, cannot synthesize it from acetyl-CoA, because of the irreversibility of pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction and the absence of alternative pathways. Then, the inhibition of the activity of the complex allows to spare glucose and the amino acids that can be converted into pyruvate, such as alanine, when other fuels, for example acetyl-CoA from fatty acid oxidation, are available.
This explains why the activity of the complex is carefully regulated by:
covalent modifications, namely, phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of specific target proteins.
Regulation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by feedback inhibition and energy status of the cell
The activity of the dephosphorylated form of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is regulated by feedback inhibition.
Acetyl-CoA and NADH allosterically inhibit the enzymes that catalyze their formation, dihydrolipoyl transacetylase and dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, respectively.
In addition, CoA and acetyl-CoA, as well as NAD+ and NADH, compete for binding sites on E2 and E3, respectively, that catalyze reversible reactions. This means that, in the presence of high ratios of [Acetyl-CoA]/[CoA] and [NADH]/ [NAD+], the reactions of transacetylation and dehydrogenation work in reverse; therefore, dihydrolipoyl transacetylase cannot accept the hydroxyethyl group from TPP because it is maintained in the acetylated form. This cause thiamine pyrophosphate to remain bound to pyruvate dehydrogenase in its hydroxyethyl form, which, in turn, decreases the rate of pyruvate decarboxylation. Hence, high ratios of [Acetyl-CoA]/[CoA] and [NADH]/[NAD+] indirectly influence pyruvate dehydrogenase activity.
Fig. 18 – PDC Activiy: Feedback Inhibition
Acetyl-CoA and NADH are also produced by fatty acid oxidation, which takes place, like the reactions of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, within the mitochondrion. This means that the cell, by regulating the activity of the multienzyme complex, preserves carbohydrate stores when fatty acids are available for energy. For example, during the fasted state, liver, skeletal muscle and many other organs and tissues rely primarily on fatty acid oxidation for energy. Conversely, the activity of the multienzyme complex is increased in the fed state, when many different types of cells and tissues mainly use glucose as a fuel.
More generally, when the production of NADH and/or acetil-CoA exceeds the capacity of the cell to use them for ATP production, the activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is inhibited. The same is true when there is no need for additional ATP to be produced. Infact, the activity of multienzyme complex is also sensitive to the energy charge of the cell. Through allosteric mechanisms, high ATP levels inhibit the activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase component of the complex, whereas high ADP levels, that signs that the energy charge of the cell may become low, activate it, thus committing the carbon skeleton of carbohydrates and some amino acids to energy production.
Note: in the skeletal muscle, the activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex increases with increased aerobic activity, resulting in a in greater dependence on glucose as a fuel source.
Regulation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation
Unlike prokaryotes, in mammals the activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is also regulated by covalent modifications, i.e., phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of three specific serine residues of the α subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase, the enzyme that catalyzes the first, irreversible step of the overall reaction sequence.
Note: as mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase is an heterotetramer, there are six potential phosphorylation sites.
Fig. 19 – PDC Activiy: Covalent Modifications
Phosphorylation, which inactivatespyruvate dehydrogenase, and then blocks the overall reaction sequence, is catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase. Two of the aforementioned serine residues are located on the more C-terminal loop, at the entrance of the substrate channel leading to the respective active site, and the phosphorylation of only one of them inactivates the pyruvate dehydrogenase, hence demonstrating the out of phase coupling between its active sites.
Conversely, in the dephosphorylated state the complex is active. Dephosphorylation is catalyzed by a specific protein phosphatase, the pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase.
The activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase are in turn subject to allosteric regulation by several modulators.
Regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase
The activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase depends on the ratios of [NADH]/[NAD+], [acetyl-CoA]/[CoA], and [ATP]/[ADP] , as well as on the pyruvate concentration, in the mitochondrial matrix (see fig. 19).
High ratios of [NADH]/[NAD+] and [acetyl-CoA]/[CoA], as during the oxidation of fatty acids and ketone bodies, activate the kinase, pyruvate dehydrogenase is phosphorylated, and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is inhibited. This allows tissues, such as cardiac muscle, to preserve glucose when fatty acids and/or ketone bodies are utilized for energy, because acetyl-CoA synthesis from pyruvate, and hence from carbohydrates (and some amino acids) is turned off.
Conversely, when the concentrations of NAD+ and coenzyme A are high the activity of the kinase is inhibited and the multienzyme complex is active.
Therefore, acetyl-CoA and NADH, two of the three end products of the reactions catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, allosterically control their synthesis by regulating directly and indirectly, by regulating the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, the activity of the complex.
A high ratio of [ATP]/[ADP] activates the kinase, and then inhibits the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.
Note: unlike many other kinases, such as those involved in the control of glycogen metabolism, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase is not regulated by cAMP levels, but by molecules that signal changes in energy status of the cell and in the availability of biosynthetic intermediates: ATP and NADH, and acetyl-CoA, respectively.
Pyruvate allosterically inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase.
When its levels are high, it binds to kinase and inactivates it, pyruvate dehydrogenase is not phosphorylated, and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex remains active.
Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase is also activated by interaction with dihydrolipoyl transacetylase in its acetylated form, i.e. when acetyl-dihydrolipoamide is present.
Other activators of the kinase is potassium and magnesium ions.
Regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase
The activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase depends on the ratios of [NADH]/[NAD+] and [acetyl-CoA]/[CoA], as well as on [Ca2+], in the mitochondrial matrix (see fig. 19).
Low ratios of [NADH]/[NAD+] and [acetyl-CoA]/[CoA] activate the phosphatase, pyruvate dehydrogenase is dephosphorylated, and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is activated.
Conversely, when the aforesaid ratios are high, phosphatase activity is reduced, kinase activity is increased, and the multienzyme complex is inhibited.
Calcium ion activates pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase.
Ca2+ is an important second messenger that signals the cell requires more energy. Therefore, when its levels are high, as in cardiac muscle cells after epinephrine stimulation or in skeletal muscle cells during the muscular contraction, the phosphatase is active, the complex is dephosphorylated, and then active.
Insulin, too, is involved in the control of the activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex through the activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase. The hormone, in response to increases in blood glucose, stimulatesglycogen synthesis and the synthesis of acetyl-CoA, a precursor in the synthesis of lipids.
Fasting and subsequent refeeding, too, affect the activity of the multienzyme complex.
In tissues such as skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle or kidney, fasting significantly decreases the activity of the complex, whereas refeeding reverses the inhibition of fasting.
In the brain, however, these variations are not observed because the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is essential for ATP production.
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The pentose phosphate pathway, also called the phosphogluconate pathway, is a metabolic pathway, common to all living organisms, for the oxidation of glucose alternative to glycolysis, from which it branches downstream of glucose 6-phosphate synthesis, and whose main functions are the production, in variable ratios, of NADPH, a reduced coenzyme, and ribose 5-phosphate, a five-carbon phosphorylated sugar, namely, a pentose phosphate, hence the name pentose phosphate pathway.
Fig. 1 – The Pentose Phosphate Pathway
In addition to the production of NADPH and ribose 5-phosphate, this pathway has other functions, both anabolic and catabolic.
In yeasts and many bacteria it is involved in the catabolism of the five carbon sugars ribose, xylose and arabinose.
In humans too, it is involved in catabolism of the aforementioned pentoses and of the less common sugars with three, four and seven carbon atoms derived from diet, as well as of:
pentoses derived from the catabolism of structural carbohydrates;
ribose 5-phosphate derived from nucleotide catabolism.
In photosynthetic organisms it contributes to carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation during the Calvin cycle.
In addition to ribose 5-phosphate, it also provides other intermediates for various biosynthetic processes, such as:
erythrose 4-phosphate, used for the synthesis of phenylalanine, tryptophan, and tyrosine, the three aromatic amino acids;
ribulose 5-phosphate, used for riboflavin synthesis;
sedoheptulose 7-phosphate which, in Gram-negative bacteria, is used for the synthesis of heptose units in the lipopolysaccharide layer of the outer membrane.
The phosphogluconate pathway, branching from glycolysis, is also called the hexose monophosphate shunt.
It has been estimated that more than 10% of glucose is shuttled through this metabolic pathway that, noteworthy, although it oxidizes the monosaccharide, does not involve any direct production or consumption of ATP.
The first evidence of the existence of the phosphogluconate pathway was obtained in the 1930s by the studies of Otto Warburg, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1931, who discovered NADP during studies on the oxidation of glucose 6-phosphate to 6-phosphogluconate.
Further indications came from the observation that glucose continued to be metabolized in tissues even in the presence of glycolysis inhibitors, such as fluoride and iodoacetate ions, inhibitors of enolase (EC 4.2.1.11) and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12), respectively.
However, the pathway was fully elucidated only in 1950s thanks to the work of several researchers and primarily of Efraim Racker, Fritz Lipmann, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1953 thanks to the discovery of coenzyme A, Bernard Horecker and Frank Dickens.
Functions of NADPH and ribose 5-phosphate
NADPH is needed for reductive biosynthesis, such as the synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol, steroid hormones and of two non-essential amino acids, proline and tyrosine, from glutamate and phenylalanine, respectively, as well as for the reduction of oxidized glutathione. In such reactions the reduced coenzyme acts as an electron donor, or rather as a donor of a hydride ion (:H–), namely, a proton and two electrons.
Fig. 2 – NADPH
Note: In vertebrates, about half of the NADPH necessary for the reductive steps of fatty acid synthesis derives from the pentose phosphate pathway, and the rest from the malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40) reaction.
Malate + NADP+ ↔ Pyruvate + NADPH + H+ + HCO3–
Ribose 5-phosphate is used for the synthesis of nucleotides and nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, of ATP, coenzymes such as coenzyme A, NAD, NADP and FAD, and of the essential amino acids tryptophan and histidine.
Fig. 3 – Ribose 5-Phosphate
Ribose 5-phosphate is not used as such; it is activated to 5-phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate (PRPP), in the reaction catalyzed by ribose phosphate pyrophosphokinase or PRPP synthase (EC 2.7.6.1).
Ribose 5-phosphate + ATP → 5-Phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate + AMP
Where does the pentose phosphate pathway occur?
In animal cells and bacteria, the hexose monophosphate shunt, as well as glycolysis, fatty acid synthesis, and most of the reactions of gluconeogenesis, occurs in the cytosol. And, considering glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and the pentose phosphate pathway we can state that these three metabolic pathways are interconnected through several shared enzymes and/or intermediates.
In plant cells the phosphogluconate pathway occurs in plastids, and its intermediates can reach the cytosol through membrane pores of these organelles.
In humans, the level of expression of the enzymes of the pathway varies widely from tissue to tissue.
Relatively high levels are found in the liver, adrenal cortex, testicles and ovaries, thyroid, mammary glands during lactation, and in red blood cells. In all these sites, constant supply of NADPH is required to support reductive biosynthesis and/or to counteract the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on sensitive cellular structures, such as DNA, membrane lipids, and proteins by the reduction of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) to reduced glutathione (GSH), in the reaction catalyzed by glutathione reductase (EC 1.8.1.7).
GSSG + NADPH + H+ → 2 GSH + NADP+
Note: Glutathione is a tripeptide, namely, γ-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine, that in the reduced state contains, in the cysteine residue, a sulfhydryl group (-SH), hence the abbreviation GSH. It is the major intracellular antioxidant in erythrocytes, as in most other cells.
The defense against ROS effects is particularly important in cells such as red blood cells and the cells of the cornea and crystalline lens that are directly exposed to oxygen.
High levels of the of the phosphogluconate pathway enzymes are also present in rapidly dividing cells such as enterocytes, skin cells, bone marrow cells, those of the early embryo and, in pathological conditions, cancer cells. Indeed, these cell types require a constant supply of ribose 5-phosphate for nucleic acid synthesis.
Conversely, these enzymes are present in very low levels in skeletal muscle, in which the pentose phosphate pathway is virtually absent and glucose 6-phosphate is primarily used for energy production via glycolysis and the citric acid cycle.
The two phases of the pentose phosphate pathway
Conceptually, the hexose monophosphate shunt can be viewed as consisting of two phases.
In the first phase, the oxidative phase, glucose 6-phosphate, a six-carbon phosphorylated sugar, is converted to ribulose 5-phosphate, a five-carbon phosphorylated sugar, with the concomitant formation of two molecules of NADPH and the release of C-1 of glucose as CO2.
In the second phase, the nonoxidative phase, several phosphorylated carbohydrates are produced, whose fate depends on the relative needs for NADPH, ribose 5-phosphate, and ATP of the cell.
The steps of the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway
The oxidative phase of the phosphogluconate pathway consists of three steps, two irreversible oxidations, the first and third reactions, and a hydrolysis.
Fig. 4 – The Oxidative Phase of the Pentose Phosphate Pathway
Below, the reaction mechanisms of the involved enzymes are explained and, with regard to glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase or G6PD (EC 1.1.1.49), the regulation of the enzymatic activity too.
The oxidation of glucose 6-phosphate to 6-phosphoglucono-δ-lactone
In the first step of the oxidative phase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of glucose 6-phosphate to 6-phosphoglucono-δ-lactone, an intramolecular ester, via the transfer of a hydride ion from carbon 1of glucose 6-phosphate to NADP+, that acts as oxidizing agent.
Fig. 5 – The Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase Reaction
Note: This reaction yields the first molecule of NADPH of the pentose phosphate pathway.
The reaction catalyzed by glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase is unique to the pathway. And, similarly to what happens in most metabolic pathways, also in this case the first reaction unique to the pathway, generally known as a committed step, is an essentially irreversible step, with a ΔG in the liver of -17.6 kJ/mol (-4.21 kcal/mol), and is highly allosterically regulated. And the enzyme is indeed the major control point for the flow of metabolites through the pathway.
In humans, the highest levels of G6PD are found in neutrophils and macrophages, phagocytic cells in which, during inflammation, NADPH is used for to produce superoxide radicals (O2-.) from molecular oxygen in the reaction catalyzed by NADPH oxidase (EC 1.6.3.1).
2 O2 + NADPH → 2 O2-. + NADP+ + H+
In turn, superoxide radicals can be used for the synthesis for defensive purposes, namely, to kill phagocytized microorganisms, of other ROS but also of reactive nitrogen species (RNS), such as:
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), in the reaction catalyzed by superoxide dismutase or SOD (EC 1.15.1.1)
2 O2-. + 2 H+ → H2O2 + O2
peroxynitrite (O=N–O–O), in the reaction with nitric oxide (•NO)
O2–. + •NO → O=N–O–O–
hydroperoxide radical (HOO•)
O2-. + H+ → HOO•
Catalytic mechanism of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase
The catalytic mechanism of the enzyme has been studied in great detail in the microorganism Leuconostoc mesenteroides, whose glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase has the peculiar characteristic of being able to use NAD+ and/or NADP+ as coenzyme.
Fig. 6 – G6PD: Catalytic Mechanism
The enzyme does not require metal ions for its activity; one of the amino acids in the active site acts as a general base being able to abstract a hydride ion from the hydroxyl group bound to C1 of glucose 6-phosphate.
In the bacterial enzyme this is carried out by the atom Nɛ2 of the imidazole ring of a histidine side chain. This nitrogen atom has a lone pair of electrons able to make a nucleophilic attack. This causes glucose 6-phosphate, a cyclic hemiacetal with carbon 1 in the aldehyde oxidation state, to be oxidized to a cyclic ester, namely, a lactone. This allows the transfer of an hydride ion from C1 of glucose to C4 of the nicotinamide ring of NADP+ to form NADPH.
Because such histidine is conserved in many of the glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenases sequenced, it is likely that this catalytic mechanism can be generalized to all glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenases.
Regulation of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity
Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase is the major control point of carbon flow through the pentose phosphate pathway, and then the major control point for the rate of NADPH synthesis.
In humans, the enzyme exists in two forms: the inactive monomeric form, and the active form that exists in a dimer-tetramer equilibrium.
One of the main modulators of its activity is the cytosolic NADP+/NADPH ratio. High levels of NADPH inhibit enzyme activity, because NADPH is a potent competitive inhibitor of G6PD, whereas NADP+ is required for the catalytic activity and for the maintenance of the active conformation. In fact, the binding of the oxidized coenzyme to a specific site close to the dimer interface, but distant from the active site, is required to maintain its dimeric conformation.
Fig. 7 – Regulation of G6PD activity
Under most metabolic conditions the NADP+/NADPH ratio is low, less NADP+ is available to bind to the enzyme, and hence enzyme activity is reduced, regardless of gene expression levels. Under these conditions the oxidative phase is virtually inactive.
Conversely, in cells in which metabolic pathways and/or reactions using NADPH are particularly active, the reduction of cytosolic NADPH concentration, and hence the increase in NADP+ concentration occurs. This leads to an increase in glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, and to the activation of the oxidative phase of the hexose monophosphate pathway.
Therefore it is possible to state that the fate of glucose 6-phosphate, an intermediate common to both glycolysis and the phosphogluconate pathway, also depends on the current needs for NADPH.
A second mechanism for the regulation of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity calls into question the accumulation of acyl-CoAs, intermediates in fatty acid synthesis. These molecules, by binding to the dimeric form of the enzyme, lead to dissociation into the constitutive monomers, and then to the loss of the catalytic activity. Insulin up-regulates the expression of the genes for glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. Therefore, in the well-fed state, the hormone increases carbon flow through the pentose phosphate pathway and then the production of NADPH.
Note: Insulin also promotes the synthesis of fatty acids.
Hydrolysis of 6-phosphoglucono-δ-lactone to 6-phosphogluconate
In the second step of the oxidative phase 6-phosphoglucono-δ-lactone is hydrolyzed to 6-phosphogluconate, a linear molecule.
6-Phosphoglucono-δ-lactone is hydrolytically unstable and undergoes a nonenzymatic ring-opening, a reaction that occurs at a significant rate. However, in the cell this ring-opening reaction, an hydrolysis, is accelerated by the catalytic action of 6-phosphogluconolactonase (EC 3.1.1.31).
Fig. 8 – The 6-Phosphogluconolactonase Reaction
Oxidative decarboxylation of 6-phosphogluconate to ribulose 5-phosphate
In the third step of the oxidative phase, 6-phosphogluconate undergoes an oxidative decarboxylation to form ribulose 5-phosphate, a keto pentose, CO2, and a molecule of NADPH. The reaction is catalyzed by 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.44), enzyme that requires the presence of magnesium ions, Mg2+.
Fig. 9 – The 6-Phosphogluconate Dehydrogenase Reaction
Note: This reaction yields the second molecule of NADPH of the pentose phosphate pathway.
Catalytic mechanism of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase
The catalytic mechanism of the enzyme is similar to that of isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41), an enzyme of the citric acid cycle. It consists of an acid-base catalysis proceeding through a three step mechanism in which two strictly conserved residues, a lysine (Lys), and a glutamate (Glu), are involved; in humans, Lys185 and the Glu192. Lysine acts as acid/base group, whereas glutamate as an acid.
In the first step, the oxidative step, 6-phosphogluconate is oxidized to a β-keto acid, the 3-keto-6-phosphogluconate.
In this step the ε-amino group of the aforementioned lysine acts as a general base, as a nucleophile, abstracting a proton from the hydroxyl group bound to C-3. Then, the transfer of a hydride ion from C-3 to C-4 of the nicotinamide ring of the NADP+occurs. This leads to the formation of the 3-keto intermediate and a molecule of NADPH that leaves the active site.
In the second step, the decarboxylation step, 3-keto-6-phosphogluconate, that is very susceptible to decarboxylation, is converted to the cis-1,2-enediol of ribulose 5-phosphate, a high energy intermediate. In this step the aforementioned lysine acts as a general acid donating an H+ at the C-3 carbonyl oxygen, and the C-1 of glucose 6-phosphate is lost as CO2.
Finally, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase catalyzes a stereospecific keto-enol conversion leading to the formation of ribulose 5-phosphate. In this step, the aforementioned glutamic acid residue acts as a general acid donating an H+ to the C-1 of cis-1,2-enediol intermediate, while the ε-amino group of the lysine accepts a proton from the hydroxyl group bound to the C-2. The result is the formation of ribulose 5-phosphate.
Note: An enediol is an organic compound containing two carbon atoms linked by a double bond and an hydroxyl group (-OH) bound to both carbon atoms. The enediol can have cis or trans configuration.
Fig. 11 – Enediol Configuration
For example, in the plant world many polyphenols possess enediol structures.
Therefore, the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway ends with the production of ribulose 5-phosphate, namely, the substrate for the reactions of the non-oxidative phase.
The overall equation of the oxidative phase is:
The steps of the nonoxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway
The nonoxidative phase of the pathway consists of five steps, all freely reversible, in which a series of interconversions of phosphorylated sugars occurs.
This phase begins with two reactions: the isomerization and epimerization of ribulose 5-phosphate to form ribose 5-phosphate and xylulose 5-phosphate, respectively.
Note: Enzymatic isomerizations and epimerizations play an important role in carbohydrate metabolism. Epimerases (EC 5.1), a subclass of Isomerases (EC 5.), catalyze the configurational reversal at an asymmetric carbon atom, usually by a deprotonation/protonation mechanism.
In isomerization reactions, the interchange of chemical groups occurs between carbon atoms.
Isomerization of ribulose 5-phosphate to ribose 5-phosphate
In the isomerization reaction, ribulose 5-phosphate, a ketose, is converted to the corresponding aldose, ribose 5-phosphate. This reaction is catalyzed by phosphopentose isomerase or ribose 5-phosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.6).
Fig. 12 – The Phosphopentose Isomerase Reaction
Catalytic mechanism of phosphopentose isomerase or ribose 5-phosphate isomerase
The catalytic mechanism of the enzyme is similar to that of phosphohexose isomerase (EC 5.3.1.9), an enzyme of the glycolytic pathway, and leads to the formation of the high energy intermediate cis-1,2-enediol of ribulose 5-phosphate. The formation of the cis-1,2-enediol intermediate occurs via a proton-transfer mechanism common to the aldose-ketose isomerizations.
The proposed catalytic mechanism for phosphopentose isomerase from E. coli, in the direction of ribulose 5-phosphate formation from ribose 5-phosphate, as in the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis, is described below.
In the first step, the furanose ring of the substrate is opened, opening induced by the interaction with an aspartic acid residue (Asp81) that accepts a proton from the hydroxyl group bound to C-1, whereas it is likely that water is the proton donor.
Note: The opening of the furanose ring is quite rare in solution (<0.5%).
Once the chain is opened, a glutamic acid residue (Glu103) acts as a general base, as a nucleophile, abstracting a proton bound to the C-2, whereas Asp81 donates a proton. As a result, cis-1,2-enediol intermediate is produced.
Finally, the protonated Glu103 acts as a general acid and donates an H+ at C-1 of the cis-1,2-enediol intermediate, while Asp81 acts as a general base accepting a proton from the hydroxyl group bound to C-2. The result is the formation of ribulose 5-phosphate.
During the synthesis of ribose 5-phosphate from ribulose 5-phosphate phosphopentose isomerase works in reverse.
Epimerization of ribulose 5-phosphate to xylulose 5-phosphate
The other metabolic fate of ribulose 5-phosphate in the pentose phosphate pathway is to be epimerized to xylulose 5-phosphate, a ketose like ribulose 5-phosphate, in the reaction catalyzed by phosphopentose epimerase (EC 5.1.3.1).
Fig. 14 – The Phosphopentose Epimerase Reaction
Note: Xylulose 5-phosphate is a regulatory molecule that inhibits gluconeogenesis and stimulates glycolysis by controlling the levels of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in the liver.
Catalytic mechanism of phosphopentose epimerase
Also this reaction, like those catalyzed by 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and ribose 5-phosphate isomerase, proceeds through the formation of an enediol intermediate, but with the double bond between C-2 and C-3 and not between C-1 and C-2.
During the reaction an amino acid residue present in the active site of the enzyme acts as a general base, as a nucleophile, and abstracts a proton bound to the C-3, leading to the formation of the cis-2,3-enediol intermediate. Then, an acidic amino acid residue donates a proton to C-3, but from the opposite side, hence, with an inversion at C-3 to form xylulose 5-phosphate.
To this point, the hexose monophosphate shunt has generated for each molecule of glucose 6-phosphate metabolized:
a pool of three pentose 5-phosphates, namely, ribulose 5-phosphate, ribose 5-phosphate and xylulose 5-phosphate, that coexist at equilibrium;
2 molecules of NADPH.
In the following three steps, from the sixth to the eighth, transketolase (EC 2.2.1.1) and transaldolase (EC 2.2.1.2), two enzymes unique to the pentose phosphate pathway, catalyze a series of rearrangements of the carbon skeletons leading to the formation of three-, four-, six-, and seven carbon units, that can be used for various metabolic purposes, depending on the needs of the cell.
Analyzing the flow of metabolites through the different metabolic pathways, the concerted action of transketolase and transaldolase allows the interaction of the pentose phosphate pathway, in particular of its non-oxidative phase, with glycolysis, and gluconeogenesis, as well as with the pathways leading to the formation of numerous vitamins, coenzymes and nucleic acid precursors.
Transketolase: step 6 and 8
Transketolase is the rate-limiting enzyme of the non-oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway, and the first enzyme that acts downstream of ribose 5-phosphate isomerase and phosphopentose epimerase.
Discovered independently in 1953 by Horecker and Racker, and named by Racker, it catalyzes in the sixth and eighth steps, the transfer of a two carbon unit from a ketose, the donor substrate, namely, xylulose 5-phosphate, sedoheptulose 7-phosphate or fructose 6-phosphate, to an aldose, the acceptor substrate, ribose 5-phosphate, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate or erythrose 4-phosphate.
Fig. 16 – Transketolase: the General Reaction
Taking as an example the forward reactions, in the sixth step, the ketose donor is xylulose 5-phosphate, whereas the aldose acceptor is ribose 5-phosphate, to form glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, the remaining three-carbon fragment from xylulose 5-phosphate, and sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, a seven-carbon sugar that will be used in the next step, the seventh.
Fig. 17 – Transketolase: Step 6
In the eighth step, the ketose donor is xylulose 5-phosphate, whereas the aldose acceptor is erythrose 4-phosphate, to form another glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and a fructose 6-phosphate.
Fig. 18 – Transketolase: Step 8
It should be noted that three of the four products of the reactions catalyzed by this enzyme, two molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and one of fructose 6-phosphate, are also intermediates of glycolysis.
Transketolase and thiamine pyrophosphate
Transketolase is an enzyme that requires thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) as a cofactor.
Thiamine pyrophosphate is the biologically active form of thiamin or vitamin B1, and is tightly bound to the enzyme.
Fig. 19 – Thiamine Pyrophosphate
Other enzymes that require TPP as a cofactor are:
pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1), that is involved in alcoholic fermentation;
alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase or E1 component (EC 1.2.4.4) of the branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex;
alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase or E1 component (EC 1.2.4.2) of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, an enzyme of the citric acid cycle.
Thiamine pyrophosphate is involved in the transfer of activated aldehyde intermediates by stabilizing the two-carbon carbanion formed during the reaction.
Catalytic mechanism of transketolase
The carbon atom between the sulfur and nitrogen atoms of the thiazolium ring of thiamine pyrophosphate, namely, the C-2 atom, is much more acidic than most =CH groups found in other molecules because of adjacent positively charged nitrogen atom that electrostatically stabilizes the carbanion resulting from dissociation of the proton. This causes the C-2 proton to be easily dissociable to form a carbanion, i.e. a carbon atom with a negative charge. Such proton abstraction is catalyzed by transketolase.
The carbanion attacks the carbonyl carbon of the substrate, in the step 6, xylulose 5-phosphate or, in the reverse reaction, sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, whereas in the step 8, xylulose 5-phosphate or, in the reverse reaction, fructose 6-phosphate.
Taking as an example the forward reaction of step 6, the covalent adduct between thiamine pyrophosphate and xylulose 5-phosphate undergoes fragmentation, via the cleavage of the C2-C3 bond of xylulose 5-phosphate, to form glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, that is released, and a two carbon unit, a negatively charged hydroxyethyl group, that remains bound to C-2 of the thiazolium ring.
Fig. 20 – Transketolase: Catalytic Mechanism
The negative charge on the hydroxyethyl intermediate, that is, the carbanion intermediate, is stabilized by the thiazolium ring of thiamine pyrophosphate because of the positively charged nitrogen atom that acts as an electron trap or electron sink. Therefore, thiazolium ring provides an electron deficient or electrophilic structure that can delocalize by resonance the carbanion electrons.
Then, the condensation occurs between the hydroxyethyl group and the ribose 5-phosphate, the acceptor aldehyde substrate, via carbanion attack on the aldehyde carbon of ribose 5-phosphate, to form a covalent adduct bound to thiamine pyrophosphate.
Finally, the cleavage of the adduct leads to the release of sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, and regenerates the TPP carbanion.
Note: In addition to xylulose 5-phosphate, sedoheptulose 7-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate, transketolase can use as substrates other 2-keto sugars in a similar way, as well as a variety of different aldose phosphates.
Carbanions and carbocations
A carbanion is a species containing a negatively charged, trivalent carbon.
It is an highly reactive reaction intermediate, resulting from the heterolytic cleavage of a bond between a carbon atom and another atom or group.
The carbanions, having an unshared electron pair, are strong nucleophiles and bases, and attack a proton or an electrophilic center, like a polarized or positively charged center, to form a covalent bond. Due to their reactivity, and with few exceptions, they are transient intermediates in organic reactions, like free radicals and carbocations.
A carbocation is a species containing a positively charged, trivalent carbon. Like free radicals, carbocations are species characterized by an electron deficiency, having not eight but only six electrons in their valence shell. Free radicals have seven electrons in their valence shell. Because of this electronic deficiency, free radicals and carbocations are strong electrophiles, and, like carbanions, are highly reactive reaction intermediates. During the reactions they accept electrons, one the free radicals, two the carbocations, to achieve the stable octet configuration.
The cleavage of a covalent bond between two carbon atom, and more generally between atom A and B, can take place via two different mechanisms: homolytic or heterolytic cleavage.
In homolytic bond cleavage, each atom takes one of the two electrons holding the atoms together to form two species with an odd number of electrons, namely, with one unpaired electron, without charge, called free radicals.
In heterolytic bond cleavage, two charged species, namely, a cation and an anion, are produced, because of one atom retains both bonding electrons.
Fig. 21 – Homolytic and Heterolytic Cleavage
Note: Heterolytic cleavage is more common than homolytic cleavage.
Transaldolase: step 7
Discovered in 1953 by Horecker and Smyrniotis in the brewer’s yeast, assigned to the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it catalyzes, in the seventh step of the pentose phosphate pathway, the transfer of a three carbon unit from a donor substrate, sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, to an acceptor substrate, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, to form fructose 6-phosphate and erythrose 4-phosphate.
Fig. 22 – The Transaldolase Reaction
Note: Like in transketolase catalyzed reactions, the carbon unit donor is a ketose while the acceptor is an aldose.
In the reverse reaction, the donor substrate is fructose 6-phosphate, while the acceptor substrate is erythrose 4-phosphate.
Catalytic mechanism of transaldolase
Unlike transketolase, transaldolase does not require a cofactor for activity.
The reaction occurs in two step, an aldol cleavage and an aldol condensation. Below, the catalytic mechanism of E. coli transaldolase B is analyzed, taking as an example the forward reaction leading to erythrose 4-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate synthesis.
In the first step an ε-amino group of a lysine residue (Lys132) in the active site, after a proton transfer to a glutamic acid residue (Glu96) mediated by a water molecule, performs a nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl carbon of sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, that is, on the C-2 atom. The result is the formation of a carbinolamine with sedoheptulose 7-phosphate.
Fig. 23 – Transaldolase: Catalytic Mechanism
In the second step, the removal of a water molecule from carbinolamine leads to the formation of an enzyme-bound imine or Schiff base intermediate; this step, too, involves the transfer of a proton from Glu96 to the “catalytic” water molecule.
Note: This enzyme-substrate covalent intermediate is quite similar to that formed in the reaction catalyzed by aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13) in the fourth step of glycolysis.
In the next step, the carboxylic group of an aspartic acid residue (Asp17) extracts a proton from the hydroxyl group bound to C-4, leading to the cleavage of the C–C bond between C-3 and C-4. This reaction is an aldol cleavage and releases the first product, erythrose 4-phosphate, an aldose, whereas a three-carbon carbanion remains bound to the enzyme and is stabilized by resonance, like in transketolase catalyzed reactions. In fact, like the nitrogen atom in the thiazolium ring of thiamine pyrophosphate, the nitrogen atom with a positive charge of the Schiff base acts as an electron trap stabilizing the negative charge carried by the carbanion.
Once the acceptor substrate glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate is in the active site, the carbanion performs a nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl carbon of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to form, by aldol condensation, a new C–C bond and an enzyme-bound ketose.
Then, the hydrolysis of the Schiff base releases fructose 6-phosphate, a ketose and the second product of the reaction. At this point, a new reaction cycle can start.
Finally, as seen previously, in the eighth step of the pentose phosphate pathway, transketolase catalyzes the synthesis of fructose 6-phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate from erythrose 4-phosphate and xylulose 5-phosphate.
Regulation of the pentose phosphate pathway
Glucose 6-phosphate is a metabolite that can enter glycolysis or the pentose phosphate pathway depending on the cell’s need for ATP, NADPH and ribose 5-phosphate.
In case of increased need for ATP, glucose 6-phosphate is mostly channelled into glycolysis.
Conversely, if the need for NADPH and/or ribose 5-phosphate increases, most of the phosphorylated sugar is channeled into the pentose phosphate pathway.
From the molecular point of view, the fate of glucose 6-phosphate depends, to a large extent, on the relative activities of the enzymes that metabolize it in glycolysis, namely, phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK-1) (EC 2.7.1.11), and in the hexose monophosphate shunt, namely, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, activities that are highly regulated.
PFK-1 is inhibited when ATP and/or citrate concentrations increase, namely, when the energy charge of the cell is high, whereas it is activated when AMP and/or fructose 2,6-bisphosphate concentrations increase, namely, when the energy charge of the cell is low. Thus, when the energy charge of the cell is high, the carbon flow, and therefore the flow of glucose 6-phosphate through the glycolytic pathway decreases. Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase is inhibited by NADPH and acyl-CoAs, intermediates in fatty acid biosynthesis. Thus, when the cytosolic levels of NADPH increases, the flow of glucose 6-phosphate through the pentose phosphate pathway is inhibited, whereas if NADPH levels drop, the inhibition disappears, the pathway switches on again, and NADPH and ribose 5-phosphate are synthesized.
However, even when glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase is active, the cell is still able to respond to the relative needs of NADPH, ribose 5-phosphate and ATP, regulating accordingly the carbon flow through the phosphogluconate pathway. And, depending on the cell’s need for ATP, NADPH and ribose 5-phosphate, some reactions of glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and the pentose phosphate pathway can be combined in novel ways to emphasize the synthesis of needed metabolites, also exploiting the fact that the non-oxidative phase of the hexose monophosphate shunt is essentially controlled by the availability of the substrates.
The four principal possibilities are described below.
The need for NADPH is much greater than that for ribose 5-phosphate and ATP
When much more NADPH than ribose 5-phosphate is needed, and there is no need for additional ATP to be produced, namely, the energy charge of the cell is high, glucose 6-phosphate enters the pentose phosphate pathway and is completely oxidized to CO2. Such metabolic conditions are found, for example, in the adipose tissue during fatty acid synthesis.
In the oxidative phase of the pathway, two molecules of NADPH are produced for each molecule of glucose 6-phosphate oxidized to ribulose 5-phosphate. Through a combination of the reactions of the non-oxidative phase and of some reactions of gluconeogenesis, namely, those catalyzed by triose phosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.1), aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13), phosphohexose isomerase (EC 5.3.1.9), and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11), six molecules of ribulose 5-phosphate are converted into five molecules of glucose 6-phosphate. Thus, it is possible to state that the reactions of the non-oxidative phase allow the reactions of the oxidative phase to proceed.
Three groups of reactions can be identify.
In the first group there are the reactions catalyzed by the enzymes of the oxidative phase, leading to the formation of two molecules of NADPH and one molecule of ribulose 5-phosphate.
Finally, fructose 6-phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate can be recycled to glucose 6-phosphate via some reactions of gluconeogenesis, so that the cycle can begin again.
The sum of the last two reactions shows that six molecules of ribulose 5-phosphate are converted to five molecules of glucose 6-phosphate.
6 Ribulose 5-phosphate+ H2O → 5 Glucose 6-phosphate + Pi
The sum of the reactions of the first, second and third group gives the overall reaction:
Glucose 6-phosphate + 12 NADP+ + 7 H20 → 6 CO2 + 12 NADPH + 12 H+ + Pi
Therefore, one molecule of glucose 6-phosphate, via six cycles of the pentose phosphate pathway coupled with some reactions of gluconeogenesis, is converted to six molecules of CO2, with the concomitant production of 12 molecules of NADPH, and without net production of ribose-5-phosphate.
The need for NADPH and ATP is much greater than that for ribose 5-phosphate
When much more NADPH than ribose 5-phosphate is needed, and the energy charge of the cell is low, that is, there is a need for ATP, ribulose 5-phosphate formed in the oxidative phase is converted to fructose 6-phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate through the reactions of the non-oxidative phase. These two intermediates, through the reactions of glycolysis, are oxidized to pyruvate with concomitant ATP production.
The net reaction is:
If the cell requires more ATP, the pyruvate produced can be oxidized through the citric acid cycle.
Conversely, if there is no need for additional ATP to be produced, the carbon skeleton of pyruvate can be used as a building block in several biosynthetic pathways.
Note: As in the previous case, there is no net production of ribose 5-phosphate.
The need for ribose 5-phosphate is much greater than that for NADPH
When much more ribose 5-phosphate than NADPH is needed, as in rapidly dividing cells in which there is a high rate of synthesis of nucleotides, precursors of DNA, the reactions of the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway are bypassed, and there is no synthesis of NADPH. Conversely, because the reactions of the non-oxidative phase are easily reversible, the drop in ribose 5-phosphate levels, due to its rapid use, stimulates its synthesis.
What happens is that, through the glycolytic pathway, most of the glucose 6-phosphate is converted to fructose 6-phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. Then, transaldolase and transketolase lead to the synthesis of ribose 5-phosphate and xylulose 5-phosphate. Xylulose 5-phosphate, through the reactions catalyzed by phosphopentose epimerase and ribose 5-phosphate isomerase, is converted to ribose 5-phosphate.
The net reaction is:
Under this metabolic conditions therefore, what happens is an interplay between reactions of glycolysis and of the non-oxidative phase of the phosphogluconate pathway, with the latter in the direction of ribose 5-phosphate synthesis.
It should be noted no metabolites return to glycolysis.
The needs for ribose 5-phosphate and NADPH are balanced
If one molecule of ribose 5-phosphate and two molecules of NADPH per molecule of glucose 6-phosphate metabolized satisfy the metabolic needs of the cell, the reactions that predominate are those of the oxidative phase and that catalyzed by ribose 5-phosphate isomerase.
The net reaction is:
Under this metabolic conditions, too, no metabolites return to glycolysis.
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Glycolysis, from Greek word glykys, meaning “sweet”, and lysis, meaning “dissolution or breakdown”, can be defined as the sequence of enzymatic reactions that, in the cytosol, also in the absence of oxygen, leads to the conversion of one molecule of glucose, a six carbon sugar, to two molecules of pyruvate, a three carbon compound, with the concomitant production of two molecules of ATP, the universal energy currency in biological systems.
Fig. 1 – The Glycolytic Pathway
Glycolysis, which evolved before a substantial amount of oxygen had accumulated in the atmosphere, is the metabolic pathway with the largest flux of carbon in most living cells, and is present in almost all organisms.
This pathway, not requiring oxygen, played a crucial role in metabolic processes during the first 2 billion years of evolution of life, and probably represents the most ancient biological mechanism for extracting energy from organic molecules when oxygen availability is low. Moreover, it is a source of precursors for aerobic catabolism and for various biosynthetic processes.
Note: Glycolysis is also known as the Embden-Meyerhof pathway, named after Gustav Embden and Otto Meyerhof, the two researchers who elucidated the entire pathway in the muscle.
Glycolysis: the first metabolic pathway to be elucidated
The development of biochemistry has gone hand in hand with the elucidation of glucose metabolism, especially glycolysis, the first metabolic pathway to have been elucidated.
Though the elucidation of this metabolic pathway was worked out in the ‘40 of the last century, the key discovery about glucose metabolism was made in 1897, quite by accident, following a problem arose a year earlier, when a German chemist, M. Hahn, in attempting to obtain and preserve cell-free protein extracts of yeast, encountered difficulties in its conservation. A colleague, Hans Buchner, remembering a method for preserving jams, suggested to add sucrose to the extract.
Fig. 2 -Eduard Buchner
Eduard Buchner, Hans’s brother, put the idea of Hans into practice, and observed that the solution produced bubbles. This prompted Eduard to conclude that a fermentation was occurring, a quite surprising discovery. Indeed fermentation, according to Pasteur’s assertion in 1860, was inextricably tied to living cells, whereas it was now demonstrated that it could also occur outside them. Briefly, these two researchers refuted the vitalist dogma and had a pivotal role in starting modern biochemistry.
Eduard Buchner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1907 for this research, and was the first of several researchers who won the award for their discoveries concerning the glycolytic pathway.
It was later demonstrated, working with muscle extracts, that many of the reactions of lactic fermentation were the same of those of alcoholic fermentation , thus revealing the underlying unity in biochemistry.
As previously mentioned, glycolysis was then fully elucidated in the first half of the last century largely due to the work of researchers such as Gerty and Carl Cori, Carl Neuberg, Arthur Harden, William Young, Jacob Parnas, Otto Warburg, Hans von Euler-Chelpin, Gustav Embden and Otto Meyerhof. In particular, Warburg and von Euler-Chelpin elucidated the whole pathway in yeast, and Embden and Meyerhof in muscle in the 30’s.
Why is glycolys so important?
Glycolysis is essential to most living cells both from the energy point of view and as a source of precursors for many other metabolic pathways. And the rate of carbon flow through glycolysis, namely, the amount of glucose converted to pyruvate per unit time, is regulated to meet these two basic needs for the cell.
From the energetic point of view, although glycolysis is a relatively inefficient pathway, it can occur in the absence of oxygen, the condition in which life evolved on Earth and that many contemporary cells, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic, experience. Here are some examples.
In most animals, muscles exhibit an activity-dependent anaerobiosis, namely, they can work anaerobically for short periods. For example, when animals, but also athletes, perform high intense exercises, their need for ATP exceeds body’s ability to supply oxygen to the muscle. In such situation, muscles function, albeit for a short period of time, anaerobically.
Another example is the cornea of the eye, a poorly vascularized tissue.
Many microorganisms live in environments where oxygen is low or absent, such as deep water, soil, but also skin pores. And a variety of microorganisms called obligate anaerobes cannot survive in the presence of oxygen, a highly reactive molecule. Examples are Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium tetani, and Clostridium botulinum, that cause gangrene, tetanus and botulism, respectively.
It should also be underlined that glycolysis also plays a key role in those cells and tissues in which glucose is the sole source of energy, such as:
red blood cells, lacking mitochondria,
sperm cells;
the brain, which can also use ketone bodies for fuel in times of low glucose;
the adrenal medulla.
A similar situation is also found in the plant world where many aquatic plants and some plant tissues specialized in starch accumulation, such as potato tubers, use glucose as the main source of energy.
Note: There are organisms that are facultative anaerobes, namely organisms that can survive in the presence and in the absence of oxygen, acting aerobically or anaerobically, respectively. Examples are animals belonging to the genus Mytilus, which display an habitat-dependent anaerobiosis, a condition similar to the activity-dependent anaerobiosis seen in muscle.
Finally, it should not be forgotten that under aerobic conditions, in cells with mitochondria, glycolysis constitutes the upper part of the metabolic pathway leading to the complete oxidation of glucose to carbon dioxide (CO2) and water for energy purposes.
Fig. 3 – Glycolysis: Source of Building Blocks for Biosynthesis
Some glycolytic intermediates, for example glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P), fructose 6-phosphate (F-6-P) or dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP), may be used as building blocks in several metabolic pathways, such as those leading to the synthesis of glycogen, fatty acids, triglycerides, nucleotides, of some amino acids, or 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (2,3-BPG).
The steps of glycolysis
The 10 steps that make up glycolysis can be divided into two phases.
The first, called the preparatory phase, consists of 5 steps and starts with the conversion of glucose to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (F-1,6-BP) through three enzymatic reactions, namely, a phosphorylation at C-1, an isomerization, and a second phosphorylation, this time at C-6, with consumption of 2 ATP. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate is then cleaved into two phosphorylated three-carbon compounds, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Finally, the isomerization of DHAP to a second molecule of glyceraldehyde-3- phosphate occurs. In the preparatory phase therefore a glucose is split into two molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, and two ATP are consumed.
In the second phase, called the payoff phase, consisting of the remaining 5 steps of the pathway, the two molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate are converted into two molecules of pyruvate, with the concomitant production of 4 ATP. So, in this phase, part of the energy present in the chemical bonds of glucose is extracted and conserved in the form of ATP. Furthermore, reducing equivalents are extracted and conserved in the form of the reduced coenzyme NADH. The metabolic fate of NADH will depend on the cell type and aerobic or anaerobic conditions.
Note: Glucose metabolized in the glycolytic pathway derives both from glucose that enters the cell through specific membrane transporters, that in turn derives from the bloodstream, and glucose 6-phosphate produced by glycogen degradation.
Reaction 1: glucose phosphorylation to glucose 6-phosphate
In the first step of the glycolytic pathway glucose is phosphorylated to glucose 6-phosphate at the expense of one ATP.
Glucose + ATP → Glucose 6-phosphate + ADP + H+
In most cells this reaction is catalyzed by hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1), enzyme present in the cells of all organisms, and in humans with four isozyme).
Hexokinase and pyruvate kinase, the other kinase of the glycolysis, like many other kinases, require the presence of magnesium ion, Mg2+, or of another bivalent metal ion such as manganese, Mn2+, for their activity. Mg2+ binds to the ATP to form the complex MgATP2-, and in fact the true substrate of the enzyme is not ATP but this complex. It should be emphasized that the nucleophilic attack by a hydroxyl group (-OH) of glucose at the terminal phosphorus atom of the ATP is facilitated by the action of Mg2+ that interacts with the negative charges of the phosphoryl groups of the nucleoside triphosphate.
The formation of the phosphoester bond between a phosphoryl group and the hydroxyl group at C-6 of glucose is thermodynamically unfavorable and requires energy to proceed, energy that is provided by the ATP. Indeed, while the phosphorylation of glucose at C-6 by inorganic phosphate has a ΔG°’ of 13.8 kJ/mol (3.3 kcal/mol), namely, it is an endergonic reaction, the hydrolysis of ATP to ADP and Pi has ΔG°’ of -30.5 kJ/mol (-7.3 kcal/mol), namely, it is an exergonic reaction. The net reaction has a ΔG°’ of (-30.5 + 13.8) = -16.7 kJ/mol (-7.3 + 3.3 = -4.0 kcal/mol). Under cellular conditions the reaction is even more favorable, with a ΔG equal to -33.5 kJ/mol (-8.0 kcal/mol).
Therefore, this is an essentially irreversible reaction.
Note: In biochemistry, phosphorylations are fundamental reactions catalyzed by enzymes called kinases, a subclass of transferases. Kinases catalyze the transfer of the terminal phosphoryl group, or γ-phosphoryl group, of a nucleoside triphosphate to an acceptor nucleophile to form a phosphoester bond. Specifically, hexokinase catalyzes the transfer of the γ-phosphoryl group of ATP to a variety of hexoses, that is, sugars with six carbons, such as fructose and mannose), in addition to glucose.
The importance of glucose phosphorylation
The phosphorylation of the glucose has some functions.
Glucose 6-phosphate, due to its negative charge and because there are no transporters for phosphorylated sugars in the plasma membrane, cannot diffuse out of the cell. Thus, after the initial phosphorylation, no further energy is needed to keep the phosphorylated molecule within the cell, despite the large difference between its intra- and extracellular concentrations.
Similar considerations are valid for each of the eight phosphorylated intermediates between glucose 6-phosphate and pyruvate.
The rapid phosphorylation of glucose maintains a low intracellular concentration of the hexose, thus favoring its facilitated diffusion into the cell.
Phosphorylation causes an increase in the energy content of the molecule, that is, it starts to destabilize it, thus facilitating its further metabolism.
Other possible fates of glucose 6-phosphate
Glucose 6-phosphate is a key metabolite of glucose metabolism. In fact, in addition to be metabolized in the glycolytic pathway, in anabolic conditions it can have other fates (see Fig. 3). Here are some examples.
NADPH, needed for reductive biosynthesis, such as fatty acid, cholesterol, steroid hormone, and deoxyribonucleotide biosynthesis, and for preventing oxidative damage in cells such as erythrocytes; ribose 5-phosphate, used in nucleotide synthesis but also in NADH, FADH2 and coenzyme A synthesis.
Reaction 2: isomerization of glucose 6-phosphate to fructose 6-phosphate
In the second step of the glycolytic pathway, the isomerization of glucose 6-phosphate, an aldose, to fructose 6-phosphate, a ketose, occurs. This reaction is catalyzed by phosphoglucose isomerase, also known as phosphohexose isomerase or glucose phosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.9).
Glucose 6-phosphate ⇄ Fructose 6-phosphate
Like hexokinase, phosphoglucose isomerase requires the presence of Mg2+.
The ΔG°’ of the reaction is 1.7 kJ/mol (0.4 kcal/mol), while the ΔG is -2.5 kJ/mol (-0.6 kcal/mol). These small values indicate that the reaction is close to equilibrium and is easily reversible.
The reaction essentially consists in the shift of the carbonyl group at C-1 of the open-chain form of glucose 6-phosphate to C-2 of the open-chain form of fructose 6-phosphate.
Fig. 4 – Phosphoglucose Isomerase Reaction
The enzymatic reaction can be divided at least into three steps. Since in aqueous solution both hexoses are primarily present in the cyclic form, the enzyme must first open the ring of G-6P, catalyze the isomerization, and, finally, the formation of the five-membered ring of F-6-P.
This isomerization is a critical step for glycolytic pathway, as it prepares the molecule for the subsequent two steps.
Why?
The phosphorylation that occurs in the third step requires the presence of an alcohol group at C-1, and not of a carbonyl group.
In the fourth step, the covalent bond between C-3 and C-4 is cleaved, and this reaction is facilitated by the presence of the carbonyl group at C-2.
Reaction 3: phosphorylation of fructose 6-phosphate to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate
In the third step of the glycolytic pathway, a second phosphorylation reaction occurs. Phosphofructokinase 1 or PFK-1 (EC 2.7.1.11) catalyzes the phosphorylation of fructose 6-phosphate at C-1 to form fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, at the expense of one ATP.
PFK-1 is so named to distinguish it from phosphofructokinase 2 or PFK-2 (EC 2.7.1.105), the enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of fructose 6-phosphate to fructose 2,6-bisphosphate.
Like the reaction catalyzed by hexokinase/glucokinase, this phosphorylation, too, is an essentially irreversible step, irreversibility, once again, achieved by coupling, by phosphofructokinase 1, with the hydrolysis of ATP. In fact, phosphorylation of fructose 6-phosphate by inorganic phosphate is endergonic, with a ΔG°’ of 16.3 kJ/mol (3.9 kcal/mol), whereas, when the reaction is coupled to the hydrolysis of ATP, the overall equation becomes exergonic, with a ΔG°’ of -14.2 kJ/mol (-3.4 kcal/mol) and a ΔG of -22.2 kJ/mol (-5.3 kcal/mol).
While hexokinase allows to trap glucose inside the cell, phosphofructokinase 1 prevents glucose to be used for glycogen synthesis or the production of other sugars, but is instead metabolized in the glycolytic pathway. In fact, unlike glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate cannot be used directly in other metabolic pathways than glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, that is, phosphofructokinase 1 catalyzes the first “committed” step of the glycolytic pathway. Such reactions are usually catalyzed by enzymes regulated allosterically, that prevent the accumulation of both intermediates and final products. PFK-1 is no exception, being subject to allosteric regulation by positive and negative effectors that signal the energy level and the hormonal status of the organism.
Some protists and bacteria, and perhaps all plants, have a phosphofructokinase that uses pyrophosphate (PPi) as a donor of the phosphoryl group in the synthesis of F-1,6-BP. This reaction has a ΔG°’ of -2.9 kJ/mol (-12.1 kcal/mol).
Fructose 6-phosphate + PPi → Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate + Pi
Note: The prefix bis– in bisphosphate, as fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, indicates that there are two phosphoryl groups are bonded to different atoms.
The prefix di– in diphosphate, as in adenosine diphosphate, indicates that there are two phosphoryl groups connected by an anhydride bond to form a pyrophosphoryl group, namely, they are directly bonded to one another.
Similar rules also apply to the nomenclature of molecules that have three phosphoryl groups standing apart, such as inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, or connected by anhydride bonds, such as ATP or guanosine triphosphate or GTP.
Reaction 4: cleavage of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate into two three-carbon fragments
In the fourth step of the glycolytic pathway, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, often called simply aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13), catalyzes the reversible cleavage of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate into glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, an aldose, and dihydroxyacetone phosphate, a ketose. The enzyme cleaves the bond between C-3 and C-4.
All glycolytic intermediates downstream to this reaction are three-carbon molecules, instead of six-carbon molecules as the previous ones.
The ΔG°’ of the reaction in the direction of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate production is of 23.8 kJ/mol (5.7 kcal/mol), and the Km is approximately 10-4 M, values that would indicate that the reaction does not proceed as written from left to right. However, under normal cellular conditions, due to the lower concentrations of the reactants, the ΔG is -1.3 kJ/mol (-0.3 kcal/mol), a very small value, thus the reaction is easily reversible, that is, essentially to equilibrium.
Note: The name “aldolase” derives from the nature of the reverse reaction, from right to left as written, that is, an aldol condensation.
Reaction 5: interconversion of dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
Of the two products of the previous reaction, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate goes directly into the second phase of the glycolytic pathway. Conversely, DHAP is not on the direct pathway of glycolysis and must be converted, isomerized, to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to continue through the pathway. This isomerization is catalyzed by triose phosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.1).
Triose phosphate isomerase, in converting dihydroxyacetone phosphate into glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, catalyzes the transfer of a hydrogen atom from C-1 to C-2, that is, catalyzes an intramolecular oxidation-reduction. And in essence, after the enzyme reaction, the carbons C-1, C-2 and C-3 of the starting glucose to become equivalent, chemically indistinguishable, from the carbons C-6, C-5 and C-4, respectively.
Therefore, the net result of the the last two steps of glycolysis is the production of two molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate.
The ΔG°’ of the reaction is of 7.5 kJ/mol (1.8 kcal/mol), while the ΔG is 2.5 kJ/mol (0.6 kcal/mol). Although at equilibrium dihydroxyacetone phosphate represent about 96% of the trioso phosphates, the reaction proceeds readily towards the formation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate because of the subsequent step of the glycolytic pathway that removes the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate produced.
One of the distinguishing features of triose phosphate isomerase is the great catalytic efficiency. The enzyme is in fact considered kinetically perfect. Why? The enzyme enhances the isomerization rate by a factor of 1010 compared with that obtained with a catalyst such as acetate ion. Indeed, the Kcat/KM ratio for the isomerization of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate is equal to 2×108 M-1s-1, value close to the diffusion-controlled limit. Thus, the rate-limiting step in the reaction catalyzed by triose phosphate isomerase is diffusion-controlled encounter of enzyme and substrate.
From the energetic point of view, the last two steps of glycolysis are unfavorable, with ΔG°’ of 31.3 kJ/mol (7.5 kcal/mol), whereas the net ΔG°’ of the first five reactions is of 2.1 kJ/mol (0.5 kcal/mol), with a Keq of about 0.43. And it is the free energy derived from the hydrolysis two ATP that, under standard-state conditions, makes the value of the overall equilibrium constant close to one. If instead we consider ΔG, it is quite negative, -56.8 kJ/mol (-13.6 kcal/mol).
Notice that dihydroxyacetone phosphate may also be reduced to glycerol 3-phosphate (see Fig. 3) in the reaction catalyzed by cytosolic glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8).
The enzyme acts as a bridge between glucose and lipid metabolism because the glycerol 3-phosphate produced is used in the synthesis of lipids such as triacylglycerols.
This reaction is an important sources of glycerol 3-phosphate in adipose tissue and small intestine.
Reaction 6: oxidation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate
In the sixth step of the glycolytic pathway, the first step of the second phase, the payoff phase, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12) catalyses the oxidation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate (1,3-BPG), with the concomitant reduction of NAD+ to NADH.
This is the first of the two glycolytic reactions in which the chemical energy needed for the subsequent synthesis of ATP is harvested and made available; the other reaction is catalyzed by enolase (EC 4.2.1.11). Why?
This reaction is the sum of two processes.
In the first reaction, the oxidation of the aldehyde group to a carboxyl group occurs, step in which NAD+ is used as oxidizing agent. The reaction is quite exergonic, with a ∆G’° of -43 kJ/mol (-10.3 kcal/mol).
In the second reaction, the formation of the bond between the carboxylic group at C-1 of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate and orthophosphate occurs, to form an anhydride called acyl phosphate. The reaction is quite endergonic, with a ∆G’° of 49.3 kJ/mol (11.8 kcal/mol).
These two chemical processes must not take place in succession but must be coupled in order to allow the formation of the acyl phosphate because the oxidation of the aldehyde group is used to drive the formation of the anhydride, with an overall ΔG°’ of 6.3 kJ/mol (1.5 kcal/mol), and a ΔG of 2.5 kJ/mol (0.6 kcal/mol), both slightly endergonic.
Therefore, the free energy that might be released as heat is instead conserved by the formation of the acyl phosphate.
Note: The reversible reduction of the nicotinamide ring of NAD+ or NADP+ is due to the loss of two hydrogen atoms by another molecule, in this case the aldehyde group of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, that undergoes oxidation, and to the subsequent transfer of a hydride ion, the equivalent of two electrons and a proton, to the nicotinamide ring. The other proton removed from the substrate is released to the aqueous solution. Below, the half reactions for both coenzymes.
NAD+ + 2 e– + 2 H+ → NADH + H+
NADP+ + 2 e– + 2 H+ → NADH + H+
Reaction 7: phosphoglycerate kinase and the first ATP forming reaction
In the seventh step of the glycolytic pathway, phosphoglycerate kinase (EC 2.7.2.3) catalyzes the transfer of the high-energy phosphoryl group from the acyl phosphate of 1,3-BPG to ADP to form ATP and 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PG).
1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate + ADP + H+ ⇄ 3-Phosphoglycerate + ATP
The ΔG°’ of the reaction is of -18.5 kJ/mol (-4.4 kcal/mol), namely, it is an exergonic reaction. The ΔG is 1.3 kJ/mol (0.3 kcal/mol).
The high phosphoryl-transfer potential of the acyl phosphate is used to phosphorylate ADP. The production of ATP in this manner is called substrate-level phosphorylation. In other words, part of the energy released during the oxidation of the aldehyde group in the sixth step is now conserved by the synthesis of ATP from the ADP and Pi.
The reaction catalyzed by phosphoglycerate kinase is the first reaction of glycolysis in which part of the chemical energy present in glucose molecule is conserved as ATP. And, because the reactions catalyzed by aldolase and triose phosphate isomerase, step 4 and 5, respectively, lead to the formation of two molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate per molecule of glucose, in this step two ATP are produced and the ATP debt created by the preparatory phase, steps 1 and 3, respectively, is “paid off”.
It should be noted that the enzyme is named for the reverse reaction, from right to left as written, that is, the phosphorylation of 3-phosphoglycerate to form 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate at the expense of one ATP.
Indeed, this enzyme, like all other enzymes, is able to catalyze the reaction in both directions. And the direction leading to the synthesis of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate occurs during the photosynthetic CO2 fixation and gluconeogenesis.
The sixth and seventh reactions of glycolysis, are, as a whole, an energy-coupling process in which the common intermediate is 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate. While the reaction leading to the synthesis of 1,3-BPG is endergonic, with a ΔG°’ of 6.3 kJ/mol (1.5 kcal/mol), the second reaction is strongly exergonic, with a ΔG°’ of -18.5 kJ/mol (-4,4 kcal/mol). The overall ΔG°’ is -12.2 kJ/mol (-2.9 kcal/mol), namely, the reaction catalyzed by phosphoglycerate kinase is sufficiently exergonic to pull even the previous one, too, making the overall reaction exergonic.
Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate + ADP + Pi + NAD+ ⇄ 3-Phosphoglycerate + ATP + NADH + H+
In reality, phosphoglycerate kinase reaction is sufficiently exergonic to pull also the reactions catalyzed by aldolase and triose phosphate isomerase.
What is substrate-level phosphorylation?
Substrate-level phosphorylation is defined as the production of ATP by the transfer of a phosphoryl group from a substrate to ADP, a process involving chemical intermediates and soluble enzymes.
There is also a second type of phosphorylation for the synthesis of ATP called oxidative phosphorylation, a process involving not chemical intermediates and soluble enzymes but transmembrane proton gradients and membrane-bound enzymes.
Because the standard free energy of hydrolysis of the phosphoryl group of 3-phosphoglycerate is equal to 12.5 kJ/mol (-3 kcal/mol), it is not sufficient to produce ATP by phosphoryl group transfer. In the two subsequent reactions of glycolysis, 3-phosphoglycerate is converted to phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), a molecule with a phosphoryl group transfer potential sufficiently elevated to allow the synthesis of ATP.
Reaction 8: from 3-phosphoglycerate to 2-phosphoglycerate
In the eighth step of the glycolytic pathway, 3-phosphoglycerate is converted into 2-phosphoglycerate (2-PG), in a reversible reaction catalyzed by phosphoglycerate mutase (EC 5.4.2.1). The reaction requires Mg2+, and has a very small ΔG, equal to about 0.8 kJ/mol (0.2 kcal/mol) and a ΔG°’ of 4.4 kJ/mol (1.1 kcal/mol).
Phosphoglycerate mutase is a mutase, enzymes that catalyze intramolecular group transfers, in this case the transfer of a phosphoryl group from C-3 to C-2 of the 3-phosphoglycerate. Mutases, in turn, are a subclass of isomerases.
The mechanism by which this reaction takes place depends on the type of organism studied. For example, in yeast or in rabbit muscle the reaction occurs in two steps and involves the formation of phosphoenzyme intermediates. In the first step, a phosphoryl group bound to a histidine residue in the active site of the enzyme is transferred to the hydroxyl group at C-2 of 3-PG to form 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate. In the next step, the enzyme acts as a phosphatase converting 2,3-BPG into 2-phosphoglycerate; however, the phosphoryl group at C-3 is not released but linked to the histidine residue of the active site to regenerate the intermediate enzyme-His-phosphate. Schematically:
Notice that the phosphoryl group of 2-phosphoglycerate is not the same as that of the substrate 3-phosphoglycerate.
Approximately once in every 100 catalytic cycles, 2,3-BPG dissociates from the active site of the enzyme, leaving it unphosphorylated, that is, in the inactive form. The inactive enzyme may be reactivated by binding 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, which must, therefore, be present in the cytosol to ensure the maximal activity of the enzyme. And 2,3-BPG is present in small, but sufficient amounts in most cells, except for red blood cells, where it acts as an allosteric inhibitor, too, reducing the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen, and has a concentration of 4-5 mM.
Note: 3-Phosphoglycerate can also be used for the biosynthesis of serine, from which glycine and cysteine derive (see Fig. 3). The biosynthesis of serine begins with the reaction catalyzed by phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.95). The enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of 3-phosphoglycerate to 3-phosphohydroxypyruvate and the concomitant reduction of NAD+ to NADH. This reaction is also the rate-limiting step of this biosynthetic pathway, because serine inhibits the activity of the enzyme.
Synthesis of 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate and the Rapoport-Luebering pathway
1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate can be also converted into 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (see Fig. 3).
In red blood cells this reaction is catalyzed by the bisphosphoglycerate mutase, one of the three isoforms of phosphoglycerate mutase found in mammals. The enzyme requires the presence of 3-phosphoglycerate as it catalyzes the intermolecular transfer of a phosphoryl group from C-1 of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to the C-2 of 3-phosphoglycerate. Therefore, 3-phosphoglycerate becomes 2,3-BPG, while 1,3-BPG is converted into 3-phosphoglycerate. The mutase enzyme activity has EC number 5.4.2.4.
Fig. 5 – Synthesis of 2,3-Bisphosphoglycerate
2,3-Bisphosphoglycerate can then be hydrolyzed to 3-phosphoglycerate in the reaction catalyzed by the phosphatase activity of bisphosphoglycerate mutase, that removes the phosphoryl group at C-2. This activity has EC number 3.1.3.13. The enzyme is also able to catalyze the interconversion of 2-phosphoglycerate and 3-phosphoglycerate, therefore, it is a trifunctional enzyme. 3-Phosphoglycerate can then re-enter the glycolytic pathway. This detour from glycolysis, also called Rapoport-Luebering pathway, that leads to the synthesis of 3-phosphoglycerate without any ATP production.
The other two isoforms of phosphoglycerate mutase, phosphoglycerate mutase 1 or type M, present in the muscle, and phosphoglycerate mutase 2 or type B, present in all other tissues, are able to catalyze, in addition to the interconversion of the 2-phosphoglycerate and 3-phosphoglycerate, the two steps of Rapoport-Luebering pathway, although with less efficacy than the glycolytic reaction. Therefore they are trifunctional enzymes.
Reaction 9: formation of phosphoenolpyruvate
In the ninth step of the glycolytic pathway, 2-phosphoglycerate is dehydrated to form phosphoenolpyruvate, an enol, in a reversible reaction catalyzed by enolase.
2-Phosphoglycerate ⇄ Phosphoenolpyruvate + H2O
The reaction requires Mg2+ that stabilizes the enolic intermediate that is formed during the process.
The ΔG°’ of the reaction is 7.5 kJ/mol (1.8 kcal/mol), while ΔG -3.3 kJ/mol (-0.8 kcal/mol).
Like 1,3-BPG, phosphoenolpyruvate has a phosphoryl group transfer potential high enough to allow ATP formation. Why does this phosphoryl group have a high free energy of hydrolysis?
Although phosphoenolpyruvate and 2-phosphoglycerate contain nearly the same amount of metabolic energy with respect to decomposition to CO2, H20 and Pi, 2-PG dehydration leads to a redistribution of energy such that the standard free energy of hydrolysis of the phosphoryl groups vary as described below:
-17.6 kJ/mol (-4.2 kcal/mol) for 2-phosphoglycerate, a phosphoric ester;
-61.9 kJ/mol (-14.8 kcal/mol) for phosphoenolpyruvate, an enol phosphate.
What happens is that the phosphoryl group traps PEP in its unstable enol form. When, in the last step of glycolysis, phosphoenolpyruvate donates the phosphoryl group to ADP, ATP and the enol form of pyruvate are formed. The enol form of pyruvate is unstable and tautomerizes rapidly and nonenzymatically to the more stable keto form, that predominates at pH 7. So, the high phosphoryl-transfer potential of PEP is due to the subsequent enol-keto tautomerization of pyruvate.
Reaction 10: the transfer of the phosphoryl group from the phosphoenolpyruvate to the ADP
In the final step of the glycolytic pathway, pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) catalyzes the transfer of the phosphoryl group from phosphoenolpyruvate to ADP to form pyruvate and ATP. This is the second substrate-level phosphorylation of glycolysis.
Phosphoenolpyruvate + ADP + H+ → Pyruvate + ATP
The enzyme is a tetramer and, like PFK-1, is a highly regulated. Indeed, it has binding sites for numerous allosteric effectors. Moreover, in vertebrates, there are at least three isozymes of pyruvate kinase, of which the M type predominates in muscle and brain, while the L type in liver. These isozymes have many properties in common, whereas differ in the response to hormones such as glucagon, epinephrine and insulin.
The enzyme activity is stimulated by potassium ion (K+) and some other monovalent cations.
The reaction is essentially irreversible, with a ΔG°’ of -31.4 kJ/mol (-7.5 kcal/mol), and a ΔG of -16.7 kJ/mol (-4.0 kcal/mol), largely due, as anticipated in the previous paragraph, to the tautomerization of the pyruvate from the enol form to the more stable keto form.
Fig. 6 – Spontaneous Tautomerization of Pyruvate
And, of the -61.9 kJ/mol (14.8 kcal/mol) released from the hydrolysis of the phosphoryl group of PEP, nearly half is conserved in the formation of the phosphoanhydride bond between ADP and Pi, whose ΔG°’ is of -30.5 kJ/mol (-7.3 kcal/mol). The remaining energy, -31.4 kJ/mol (-7.5 kcal/mol), is the driving force that makes the reaction proceed towards ATP production.
While the reaction catalyzed by phosphoglycerate kinase, in the seventh step of the glycolytic pathway, pays off the ATP debt of the preparatory phase, the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate kinase allows a net gain of two ATP.
The fate of NADH and pyruvate produced in glycolysis
Glycolysis produces 2 NADH, 2 ATP, and 2 pyruvate molecules per molecule of glucose. NADH must be reoxidized to NAD+ to allow glycolysis to proceed. NAD+, a coenzyme that is produced from the vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is present in limited amounts in the cytosol, ≤ 10-5M, a value well below than that of glucose metabolized in a few minutes, and must be continuously regenerated. Therefore, the final step of the glycolytic pathway is the regeneration of NAD+ from NADH through aerobic or anaerobic pathways, each of which involves pyruvate. Such pathways allow, therefore, maintenance of the redox balance of the cell.
Fig. 7 – Possible Catabolic Fates of the Pyruvate Produced in Glycolysis
Pyruvate is a versatile metabolite that can enter several metabolic pathways, both anabolic and catabolic, depending on the type of cell, the energy state of the cell and the availability of oxygen. With the exception of some variations encountered in bacteria, exploited, for example, in food industry for the production of various foods such as many cheeses, there are essentially three pathways in which pyruvate may enter:
This allows glycolysis to proceed in both anaerobic and aerobic conditions.
It is therefore possible to state that the catabolic fate of the carbon skeleton of glucose is influenced by the cell type, the energetic state of the cell, and the availability of oxygen.
Lactic acid fermentation
In animals, with few exceptions, and in many microorganisms when oxygen availability is insufficient to meet the energy requirements of the cell, or if the cell is without mitochondria, the pyruvate produced by glycolysis is reduced to lactate in the cytosol, in a reaction catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27).
Pyruvate + NADH + H+ ⇄ Lactate + NAD+
In the reaction, pyruvate, by accepting electrons from NADH, is reduced to lactate, while NAD+ is regenerated. And the overall equilibrium of the reaction strongly favors the formation of lactate, as shown by the value of ΔG°’ of -25.1 kJ/mol (-6 kcal/mol).
The conversion of glucose to lactate is called lactic acid fermentation. The overall equation of the process is:
Glucose + 2 Pi + 2 ADP + 2H+ → 2 Lactate + 2 ATP + 2 H2O
Notice that fermentation, discovered by Louis Pasteur who defined it “la vie sans l’air”, is a metabolic pathway that:
extracts energy from glucose and stores it as ATP;
does not consume oxygen;
does not change the concentration of NAD+ or NADH.
With regard to coenzymes, neither NAD+ nor NADH appears in the overall equation, although both are crucial in the process, that is, no net oxidation-reduction occurs. In other words, in the conversion of glucose, C6H12O6, to lactate, C3H6O3, the ratio of hydrogen to carbon atoms of the reactants and products does not change.
From an energy point of view, it should however be emphasized that fermentation extracts only a small amount of the chemical energy of glucose.
In humans, much of the lactate produced enters the Cori cycle for glucose production via gluconeogenesis. We can also state that lactate production shifts part of the metabolic load from the extrahepatic tissues, such as skeletal muscle during intense bouts of exercise, like a 200-meter, when the rate of glycolysis can almost instantly increase 2,000-fold, to the liver.
In contrast to skeletal muscle that releases lactate into the venous blood, the heart muscle is able to take up and use it for fuel, due to its completely aerobic metabolism and to the properties of the heart isozyme of lactate dehydrogenase, referred to as H4. Therefore, portion of the lactate released by skeletal muscle engaged in intense exercise is used by the heart muscle for fuel.
Note: Lactate produced by microorganisms during lactic acid fermentation is responsible for both the scent and taste of sauerkraut, namely, fermented cabbage, as well as for the taste of soured milk.
Alcoholic fermentation
In microorganisms such as brewer’s and baker’s yeast, in certain plant tissues, and in some invertebrates and protists, pyruvate, under hypoxic or anaerobic conditions, may be reduced in two steps to ethyl alcohol or ethanol, with release of CO2.
The first step involves the non-oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to form acetaldehyde, an essentially irreversible reaction. The reaction is catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1), an enzyme that requires Mg2+ and thiamine pyrophosphate, a coenzyme derived from vitamin thiamine or vitamin B1. The enzyme is absent in vertebrates and in other organisms that perform lactic acid fermentation.
In the second step, acetaldehyde is reduced to ethanol in a reaction catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1), an enzyme that contains a bound zinc atom in its active site. In the reaction, NADH supplies the reducing equivalents and is oxidized to NAD+. At neutral pH, the equilibrium of the reaction lies strongly toward ethyl alcohol formation.
The conversion of glucose to ethanol and CO2 is called alcoholic fermentation. The overall reaction is:
Glucose + 2 Pi + 2 ADP + 2 H+ → 2 Ethanol + 2 CO2 + 2 ATP + 2 H2O
And, as for lactic fermentation, even in alcoholic fermentation no net oxidation-reduction occurs.
Alcoholic fermentation is the basis of the production of beer and wine. Notice that the CO2 produced by brewer’s yeast is responsible for the characteristics “bubbles” in beer, champagne and sparkling wine, while that produced by baker’s yeast causes dough to rise.
Fate of pyruvate and NADH under aerobic conditions
In cells with mitochondria and under aerobic conditions, the most common situation in multicellular and many unicellular organisms, the oxidation of NADH and pyruvate catabolism follow distinct pathways.
In the mitochondrial matrix, pyruvate is first converted to acetyl-CoA in the reactions catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, a mitochondrial multienzyme complex. In the reaction, a oxidative decarboxylation, pyruvate loses a carbon atom as CO2, and the remaining two carbon unit is bound to Coenzyme A to form acetyl-coenzyme A or acetyl-CoA.
Pyruvate + NAD+ + CoA → acetyl-CoA + CO2 + NADH + H+
The acetyl group of acetyl-CoA is then completely oxidized to CO2 in the citric acid cycle, with production of NADH and FADH2. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex therefore represents a bridge between glycolysis, which occurs in the cytosol, and the citric acid cycle, which occurs in the mitochondrial matrix.
In turn, electrons derived from oxidations that occur during glycolysis are transported into mitochondria via the reduction of cytosolic intermediates. In this way, in the cytosol NADH is oxidized to NAD+, while the reduced intermediate, once in the mitochondrial matrix, is reoxidized through the transfer of its reducing equivalents to Complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Here the electrons flow to oxygen to form H2O, a transfer that supplies the energy needed for the synthesis of ATP through the process of oxidative phosphorylation. Of course, also the electrons carried by NADH formed by pyruvate dehydrogenase complex reactions and citric acid cycle and by FADH2 formed by citric acid cycle meet a similar fate.
Note: FADH2 transfers its reducing equivalents not to Complex I but to Complex II.
Anabolic fates of pyruvate
Under anabolic conditions, the carbon skeleton of pyruvate may have fates other than complete oxidation to CO2 or conversion to lactate. In fact, after its conversion to acetyl-CoA, it may be used, for example, for the synthesis of fatty acids, or of the amino acid alanine (see Fig. 3).
Glycolysis and ATP production
In the glycolytic pathway the glucose molecule is degraded to two molecules of pyruvate.
In the first phase, the preparatory phase, two ATP are consumed per molecule of glucose in the reactions catalyzed by hexokinase and PFK-1. In the second phase, the payoff phase, 4 ATP are produced through substrate-level phosphorylation in the reactions catalyzed by phosphoglycerate kinase and pyruvate kinase. So there is a net gain of two ATP per molecule of glucose used. In addition, in the reaction catalyzed by glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, two molecules of NADH are produced for each glucose molecule.
Fig. 8 – Free-Energy Changes of Glycolytic Reactions
The overall ΔG°’ of glycolysis is -85 kJ/mol (-20.3 kcal/mol), value resulting from the difference between the ΔG°’ of the conversion of glucose into two pyruvate molecules, -146 kJ/mol (-34,9 kcal/mol), and the ΔG°’ of the formation of ATP from ADP and Pi, 2 x 30.5 kJ/mol = 61 kJ / mol (2 x 7.3 kcal/mol = 14.6 kcal/mol). Here are the two reactions.
Glucose + 2 NAD+ → 2 Pyruvate + 2 NADH + 2 H+
2 ADP + 2 Pi → 2 ATP + 2 H2O
The sum of the two reactions gives the overall equation of glycolysis.
Thus, under standard conditions, the amount of released energy stored within ATP is (61/146) x 100 = 41.8%.
Notice that the overall equation of glycolysis can also be derived by considering all the reagents, ATP, NAD+, ADP, and Pi and all the products.
Cancelling the common terms on both sides of the equation, we obtain the overall equation shown above.
Glycolysis and ATP production under anaerobic conditions
Under anaerobic conditions, regardless of what is the metabolic fate of pyruvate, conversion to lactate, ethanol or other molecules, there is no additional production of ATP downstream of glycolysis.
Therefore under these conditions, glycolysis extracts only a small fraction of the chemical energy of the glucose molecule, energy equal to 2840 kJ/mol (679 kcal/mol) released as a result of its conversion to CO2 and H2O. Indeed, only 146 kJ/mol are released in the conversion of a glucose molecule to two pyruvate molecules, equal to 5%, [(146/2,840) x 100], of the available chemical energy. Therefore, pyruvate still contains most of the chemical energy of the hexose.
Similarly, the 4 electrons carried by NADH produced in step 6 of glycolysis cannot be used for ATP production.
In lactic acid fermentation, the ΔG°’ associated with the conversion of a glucose molecule to two molecules of lactate is -183.6 kJ/mol (-43.9 kcal/mol), and 33.2% of such free energy, [(61/183.6) x 100] is stored within ATP, whereas it is 41.8% in the conversion of a glucose molecule to two molecules of pyruvate.
It should be noted that under actual conditions the amount of free energy required for the synthesis of ATP from ADP and Pi is much higher than that required under standard conditions, namely, approximately 50% of the energy released is stored within ATP.
Glycolysis and ATP production under aerobic conditions
Under aerobic conditions, in cells with mitochondria, the amount of chemical energy that can be extracted from glucose and stored within ATP is much greater than under anaerobic conditions.
If we consider the two NADH produced during glycolysis, the flow of their 4 reducing equivalents along the mitochondrial electron transport chain allows the production of 2-3 ATP per electron pair through oxidative phosphorylation. Therefore, 6 to 8 ATP are produced when one molecule of glucose is converted into two molecules of pyruvate, 2 from glycolysis and 4-6 from oxidative phosphorylation.
Note: The amount of ATP produced from the reducing equivalents of NADH depends upon the mechanism by which they are shuttled into mitochondria.
On the other hand, if we analyze the coordinated and consecutive action of glycolysis, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, citric acid cycle, mitochondrial electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation, much more energy can be extracted from glucose and stored within ATP. In this case, according to what reported by Lehninger, 30 to 32 ATP are produced for each glucose molecule, although recent estimates suggest a net production equal to 29.85 ATP/glucose, or 29.38 ATP/glucose if also ATP formed from GTP, in turn produced by the citric acid cycle, is exported. Considering both estimates, the production of ATP is about 15 times greater than under anaerobic condition.
Feeder pathways for glycolysis
Other carbohydrates besides glucose, both simple and complex, can be catabolized via glycolysis, after enzymatic conversion to one of the glycolytic intermediates. Among the most important are:
the monosaccharides galactose, fructose, and the less common mannose.
Fig. 9 – Feeder Pathways for Glycolysis
Dietary starch and disaccharides must be hydrolyzed in the intestine to the respective monosaccharides before being absorbed. Once in the venous circulation, monosaccharides reach the liver through the portal vein; this organ is the main site where they are metabolized.
Glycogen and starch
Regarding the phosphorolytic breakdown of starch and endogenous glycogen refer to the corresponding articles.
Fructose
Under physiological conditions, the liver removes much of the ingested fructose from the bloodstream before it can reach extrahepatic tissues.
The hepatic pathway for the conversion of the monosaccharide to intermediates of glycolysis consists of several steps.
In the first step fructose is phosphorylated to fructose 1-phosphate at the expense of one ATP. This reaction is catalyzed by fructokinase (EC 2.7.1.4), and requires the presence of Mg2+.
Fructose + ATP → Fructose 1-phosphate + ADP + H+
As for glucose, fructose phosphorylation traps the molecule inside the cell.
In the second step fructose 1-phosphate aldolase catalyzes the hydrolysis, an aldol cleavage, of fructose 1-phosphate to dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde.
Dihydroxyacetone phosphate is an intermediate of the glycolytic pathway and, after conversion to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, may flow through the pathway. Conversely, glyceraldehyde is not an intermediate of the glycolysis, and is phosphorylated to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate at the expense of one ATP. The reaction is catalyzed by triose kinase (EC 2.7.1.28), and requires the presence of Mg2+.
Glyceraldehyde + ATP → Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate + ADP + H+
In hepatocytes, therefore, a molecule of fructose is converted to two molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, at the expense of two ATP, as for glucose.
In extrahepatic sites, such as skeletal muscle, kidney or adipose tissue, fructokinase is not present, and fructose enters the glycolytic pathway as fructose 6-phosphate. In fact, as previously seen, hexokinase can catalyzes the phosphorylation of fructose at C-6.
Fructose + ATP → Fructose 6-phosphate + ADP + H+
However, the affinity of the enzyme for fructose is about 20 times lower than for glucose, so in the hepatocyte, where glucose is much more abundant than fructose, or in the skeletal muscle under anaerobic conditions, that is, when glucose is the preferred fuel, little amounts of fructose 6-phosphate are formed.
Conversely, in adipose tissue, fructose is more abundant than glucose, so that its phosphorylation by hexokinase is not competitively inhibited to a significant extent by glucose. In this tissue, therefore, fructose 6-phosphate synthesis is the entry point into glycolysis for the monosaccharide.
With regard to the metabolic effects of fructose, it is important to underline that in the liver the monosaccharide, being phosphorylated at C-1, enters glycolysis at triose phosphate level, thus downstream to the reaction catalyzed by PFK-1, an enzyme that plays a key role in the regulation of the flow of carbon through this metabolic pathway. Conversely, when fructose is phosphorylated at C-6, it enters the glycolytic pathway upstream of PFK-1.
Sorbitol
Fructose is the entry point into glycolysis for sorbitol, a sugar present in many fruits and vegetables, and used as a sweetener and stabilizer, too. In the liver, sorbitol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.99.21) catalyzes the oxidation of sorbitol to fructose.
Sorbitol + NAD+ → Fructose + NADH + H+
The reaction requires the presence of zinc ion, and occurs in the cytosol.
Galactose
Galactose, for the most part derived from intestinal digestion of the lactose, once in the liver is converted, via the Leloir pathway, to glucose 1-phosphate.
For a more in-depth discussion of the Leloir pathway, see the article on galactose.
The metabolic fate of glucose 1-phosphate depends on the energy status of the cell.
Under conditions promoting glucose storage, glucose 1-phosphate can be channeled to glycogen synthesis. Conversely, under conditions that favor the use of glucose as fuel, glucose 1-phosphate is isomerized to glucose 6-phosphate in the reversible reaction catalyzed by phosphoglucomutase (EC 5.4.2.2).
Glucose 1-phosphate ⇄ Glucose 6-phosphate
In turn, glucose 6-phosphate can be channeled to glycolysis and be used for energy production, or dephosphorylated to glucose in the reaction catalyzed by glucose 6-phosphatase, and then released into the bloodstream.
Mannose
Mannose is present in various dietary polysaccharides, glycolipids and glycoproteins. In the intestine, it is released from these molecules, absorbed, and, once reached the liver, is phosphorylated at C-6 to form mannose 6-phosphate, in the reaction catalyzed by hexokinase.
Mannose + ATP → Mannose 6-phosphate + ADP + H+
Mannose 6-phosphate is then isomerized to fructose 6-phosphate in the reaction catalyzed by mannose 6-phosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.8.).
Mannose 6-phosphate ⇄ Fructose 6-phosphate
Regulation of glycolysis
The flow of carbon through the glycolytic pathway is regulated in response to metabolic conditions, both inside and outside the cell, essentially to meet two needs: the production of ATP and the supply of precursors for biosynthetic reactions.
And in the liver, to avoid wasting energy, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis are reciprocally regulated so that when one pathway is active, the other slows down. As explained in the article on gluconeogenesis, during evolution this was achieved by selecting different enzymes to catalyze the essentially irreversible reactions of the two pathways, whose activity are regulated separately. Indeed, if these reactions proceeded simultaneously at high speed, they would create a futile cycle or substrate cycle. A such fine regulation could not be achieved if a single enzyme operates in both directions.
The control of the glycolytic pathway involves essentially the reactions catalyzed by hexokinase, PFK-1, and pyruvate kinase, whose activity is regulated through:
allosteric modifications, that occur on a time scale of milliseconds and are instantly reversible;
covalent modifications, that is, phosphorylations and dephosphorylation, that occur on a time scale of seconds;
changes in enzyme concentrations, resulting from changes in the rate of their synthesis and/or degradation, that occur on a time scale of hours.
In humans, hexokinase has four tissue specific isozymes, designated as hexokinase I, II, III, and IV, encoded by as many genes.
Hexokinase I is the predominant isozyme in the brain, whereas in skeletal muscle hexokinase I and II are present, accounting for 70-75% and 25-30% of the isozymes, respectively.
Hexokinase IV, also known as glucokinase (EC 2.7.1.2), is mainly present in hepatocytes and β cells of the pancreas, where it is the predominant isozyme. In the liver it catalyzes, with glucose 6-phosphatase, the substrate cycle between glucose and glucose 6-phosphate. Glucokinase differs from the other hexokinase isozymes in kinetic and regulatory properties.
Note: Isoenzymes or isozymes are different proteins that catalyze the same reaction, and that generally differ in kinetic and regulatory properties, subcellular distribution, or in the cofactors used. They may be present in the same species, in the same tissue or even in the same cell.
Comparison of the kinetic properties of hexokinase isozymes
The kinetic properties of hexokinase I, II, and III are similar.
Hexokinase I and II have a Km for glucose of 0.03 mM and 0.1 mM, respectively. Therefore these isoenzymes work very efficiently at normal blood glucose levels, 4-5 mM.
Conversely, glucokinase has a high Km for glucose, approximately 10 mM; this means that the enzyme works efficiently only when blood glucose concentration is high, for example after a meal rich in carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.
Regulation of the activity of hexokinases I-III
Hexokinases I-III are allosterically inhibited by glucose 6-phosphate, the product of their reaction. This ensures that glucose 6-phosphate does not accumulate in the cytosol when glucose is not needed for energy, for glycogen synthesis, for the pentose phosphate pathway, or as a source of precursors for biosynthetic pathways, leaving, at the same time, the monosaccharide in the blood, available for other organs and tissues. For example, when PFK-1 is inhibited, fructose 6-phosphate accumulates and then, due to phosphoglucose isomerase reaction, glucose 6-phosphate accumulates. Therefore, inhibition of PFK-1 leads to inhibition of hexokinases I-III.
In skeletal muscle, the activity of hexokinase I and II is coordinated with that of GLUT4, a low Km glucose transporter (5mM), whose translocation to the plasma membrane is induced by both insulin and physical activity. The combined action of GLUT4 on plasma membrane and hexokinase in the cytosol maintains a balance between glucose uptake and its phosphorylation. Because blood glucose concentration is between 4 and 5 mmol/L, its entry into the myocyte through GLUT4 may cause an increase in its concentration sufficient to saturate, or near saturate the enzyme, which therefore operates at or near its Vmax.
Regulation of the activity of hepatic glucokinase
Glucokinase differs in three respects from hexokinases I-III, and is particularly suitable for the role that the liver plays in glycemic control. Why?
As previously said, glucokinase has a Km for glucose of about 10 mM, much higher than the Km for glucose of hexokinases I-III, and higher than the value of fasting blood glucose levels (4-5 mM) as well. In the liver, where it is the predominant hexokinase isoenzyme, its role is to provide glucose 6-phosphate for the synthesis of glycogen and fatty acids. The activity of glucokinase is linked to that of GLUT2, the major glucose transporter in hepatocytes, with a high Km for glucose, approximately 10 mM. Hence, GLUT2 is very active when blood glucose concentration is high, rapidly equilibrating sugar concentrations in cytosol of hepatocytes and blood. Under such conditions glucokinase is active and converts glucose to glucose 6-phosphate, and, due to high Km for glucose, its activity continues to increase even when the intracellular concentration of the monosaccharide reaches or exceeds 10 mM. Therefore, the rate at which glucose uptake and phosphorylation occurs are determined by the value of blood glucose level itself. On the other hand, when glucose availability is low, its concentration in the cytosol of hepatocytes is just as low, much lower than the Km for glucose of glucokinase, so that glucose produced through gluconeogenesis and/or glycogenolysis is not phosphorylated and can leave the cell.
A similar situation also occurs in pancreatic β cells, where the GLUT2/glucokinase system causes the intracellular G-6-P concentration to equalize with glucose concentration in the blood, allowing the cells to detect and respond to hyperglycemia.
Unlike hexokinases I-III, glucokinase is not inhibited by glucose 6-phosphate, that is, is not product inhibited, and catalyzes its synthesis even when it accumulates.
Glucokinase is inhibited by the reversible binding of glucokinase regulatory protein or GKRP, a liver-specific regulatory protein. The mechanism of inhibition by GKRP occurs via the anchorage of glucokinase inside the nucleus, where it is separated from the other glycolytic enzymes.
Fig. 10 – Regulation of Hepatic Glucokinase
The binding between glucokinase and GKRP is much tighter in the presence of fructose 6-phosphate, whereas it is weakened by glucose and fructose 1-phosphate.
In the absence of glucose, glucokinase is in its super-opened conformation that has low activity. The rise in cytosolic glucose concentration causes a concentration dependent transition of glucokinase to its close conformation, namely, its active conformation that is not accessible for glucokinase regulatory protein. Hence, glucokinase is active and no longer inhibited.
Notice that fructose 1-phosphate is present in the hepatocyte only when fructose is metabolized. Hence, fructose relieves the inhibition of glucokinase by glucokinase regulatory protein. Example
After a meal rich in carbohydrates, blood glucose levels rise, glucose enters the hepatocyte through GLUT2, and then moves inside the nucleus through the nuclear pores. In the nucleus glucose determines the transition of glucokinase to its close conformation, active and not accessible to GKRP, allowing glucokinase to diffuse in the cytosol where it phosphorylates glucose.
Conversely, when glucose concentration declines, such as during fasting when blood glucose levels may drop below 4 mM, glucose concentration in hepatocytes is low, and fructose 6-phosphate binds to GKRP allowing it to bind tighter to glucokinase. This results in a strong inhibition of the enzyme. This mechanism ensures that the liver, at low blood glucose levels, does not compete with other organs, primarily the brain, for glucose.
In the cell, fructose 6-phosphate is in equilibrium with glucose 6-phosphate, due to phosphoglucose isomerase reaction. Through its association with GKRP, fructose 6-phosphate allows the cell to decrease glucokinase activity, so preventing the accumulation of intermediates.
To sum up, when blood glucose levels are normal, glucose is phosphorylated mainly by hexokinases I-III, whereas when blood glucose levels are high glucose can be phosphorylated by glucokinase as well.
Regulation of phosphofructokinase 1 activity
Phosphofructokinase 1 is the key control point of carbon flow through the glycolytic pathway.
The enzyme, in addition to substrate binding sites, has several binding sites for allosteric effectors.
ATP, citrate, and hydrogen ions are allosteric inhibitors of the enzyme, whereas AMP, Pi and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate are allosteric activators.
Fig. 11 – Regulation of PFK 1 and Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase
It should be noted that ATP, an end product of glycolysis, is also a substrate of phosphofructokinase 1. Indeed, the enzyme has two binding sites for the nucleotide: a low-affinity regulatory site, and a high affinity substrate site.
What do allosteric effectors signal?
ATP, AMP and Pi signal the energy status of the cell.
The activity of PFK-1 increases when the energy charge of the cell is low, namely, when there is a need for ATP, whereas it decreases when the energy charge of the cell is high, namely when ATP concentration in the cell is high. How?
When the nucleotide is produced faster than it is consumed, its cellular concentration is high. Under such condition ATP, binding to its allosteric site, inhibits PFK-1 by reducing the affinity of the enzyme for fructose 6-phosphate. From the kinetic point of view, the increase in ATP concentration modifies the relationship between enzyme activity and substrate concentration, chancing the hyperbolic fructose 6-phosphate velocity curve into a sigmoidal one, and then, increasing Km for the substrate. However, under most cellular conditions, ATP concentration does not vary much. For example, during a vigorous exercise ATP concentration in muscle may lower of about 10% compared to the resting state, whereas glycolysis rate varies much more than would be expected by such reduction.
When ATP consumption exceeds its production, ADP and AMP concentrations rise, in particular that of AMP, due to the reaction catalyzed by adenylate kinase (EC 2.7.4.3), that form ATP from ADP.
ADP + ADP ⇄ ATP + AMP
The equilibrium constant, Keq, of the reaction is:
Keq = [ATP][AMP]/[ADP]2= 0.44
Under normal conditions, ADP and AMP concentrations are about 10% and often less than 1% of ATP concentration, respectively. Therefore, considering that the total adenylate pool is constant over the short term, even a small reduction in ATP concentration leads, due to adenylate kinase activity, to a much larger relative increase in AMP concentration. In turn, AMP acts by reversing the inhibition due to ATP.
Therefore, the activity of phosphofructokinase 1 depends on the cellular energy status:
when ATP is plentiful, enzyme activity decreases;
when AMP levels increase and ATP levels fall, enzyme activity increases.
Why is not ADP a positive effector of PFK-1? There are two reasons.
When the energy charge of the cell falls, ADP is used to regenerate ATP, in the reaction catalyzed by adenylate kinase Moreover, as previously said, a small reduction in ATP levels leads to larger-percentage changes in ADP levels and, above all, in AMP levels.
Hydrogen ions inhibit PFK-1. Such inhibition prevents, by controlling the rate of glycolysis, excessive lactate buildup and the consequent fall of blood pH.
Citrate is an allosteric inhibitor of PFK-1 that acts by enhancing the inhibitory effect of ATP.
It is the product of the first step of the citric acid cycle, a metabolic pathway that provides building blocks for biosynthetic pathways and directs electrons into mitochondrial electron transport chain for ATP synthesis via oxidative phosphorylation. High citrate levels in the cytosol mean that, in the mitochondria, an overproduction of building blocks is occurring and the current energy are met, namely, the citric acid cycle has reached saturation. Under such conditions glycolysis, that feeds the cycle under aerobic condition, can slow down, sparing glucose.
So, it should be noted that PFK-1 couples glycolysis and the citric acid cycle.
In the liver, the central control point of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis is the substrate cycle between F-6-P and F-1,6-BP, catalyzed by PFK-1 and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase.
The liver plays a pivotal role in maintaining blood glucose levels within the normal range.
When blood glucose levels drop, glucagon stimulates hepatic glucose synthesis, via both glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, and at the same time signals the liver to stop consuming glucose to meet its needs.
Conversely, when blood glucose levels are high, insulin causes the liver to use glucose for energy, and to synthesize glycogen, and triglycerides.
In this context, the regulation of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis is mediated by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, a molecule that allows the liver to play a major role in regulating blood glucose levels, and whose levels are controlled by insulin and glucagon.
As a result of binding to its allosteric site on PFK-1, fructose 2,6-bisphosphateincreases the affinity of the enzyme for fructose 6-phosphate, its substrate, while decreases its affinity for the allosteric inhibitors citrate and ATP. It is remarkable to note that under physiological concentrations of the substrates and positive and negative allosteric effectors, phosphofructokinase 1 would be virtually inactive in the absence of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate.
On the other hand, the binding of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate to fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase inhibits the enzyme, even in the absence of AMP, another allosteric inhibitor of the enzyme.
Due to these effects, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate increases the net flow of glucose through glycolysis.
For an more in-depth analysis of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate metabolism, refer to the article on gluconeogenesis.
Another metabolite involved in the control of the flow of carbon through glycolysis and gluconeogenesis is xylulose 5-phosphate, a product of the pentose phosphate pathway, whose concentration in hepatocytes rises after ingestion of a carbohydrate-rich meal. The molecule, by activating protein phosphatase 2A, finally leads to an increase in the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, and then to an increase in the flow of carbon through glycolysis and to a reduction in the flow of carbon through gluconeogenesis.
Regulation of pyruvate kinase activity
A further control point of carbon flow through glycolysis and gluconeogenesis is the substrate cycle between phosphoenolpyruvate and pyruvate, catalyzed by pyruvate kinase for glycolysis, and by the combined action of pyruvate carboxylase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (EC 4.1.1.32) for gluconeogenesis.
All isozymes of pyruvate kinase are allosterically inhibited by high concentrations of ATP, long-chain fatty acids, and acetyl-CoA, all signs that the cell is in an optimal energy status. Alanine, too, that can be synthesized from pyruvate through a transamination reaction, is an allosteric inhibitor of pyruvate kinase; its accumulation signals that building blocks for biosynthetic pathways are abundant.
Fig. 12 – Regulation of Hepatic Pyruvate Kinase
Conversely, pyruvate kinase is allosterically activated by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, the product of the first committed step of glycolysis. Therefore, F-1,6-BP allows pyruvate kinase to keep pace with the flow of intermediates. It should be underlined that, at physiological concentration of PEP, ATP and alanine, the enzyme would be completely inhibited without the stimulating effect of F-1,6-BP.
The hepatic isoenzyme, but not the muscle isoenzyme, is also subject to regulation through phosphorylation by:
protein kinase A or PKA, activated by the binding of glucagon to the specific receptor or epinephrine to β-adrenergic receptors;
calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase or CAMK, activated by the binding of epinephrine to α1-adrenergic receptors.
Phosphorylation of the enzyme decreases its activity, by increasing the Km for phosphoenolpyruvate, and slows down glycolysis.
For example, when the blood glucose levels are low, glucagon-induced phosphorylation decreases pyruvate kinase activity. The phosphorylated enzyme is also less readily stimulated by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate but more readily inhibited by alanine and ATP. Conversely, the dephosphorylated form of pyruvate kinase is more sensitive to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and less sensitive to ATP and alanine. In this way, when blood glucose levels are low, the use of glucose for energy in the liver slows down, and the sugar is available for other tissues and organs, such as the brain. However, it should be noted that pyruvate kinase does not undergo glucagon-induced phosphorylation in the presence of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate.
An increase in the insulin/glucagon ratio, on the other hand, leads to dephosphorylation of the enzyme and then to its activation. The dephosphorylated enzyme is more readily stimulated by its allosteric activators F-1,6-BP, and less readily inhibited by allosteric inhibitors alanine and ATP.
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Gluconeogenesis is a metabolic pathway that leads to the synthesis of glucose from pyruvate and other non-carbohydrate precursors, even in non-photosynthetic organisms.
It occurs in all microorganisms, fungi, plants and animals, and the reactions are essentially the same, leading to the synthesis of one glucose molecule from two pyruvate molecules. Therefore, it is in essence glycolysis in reverse, which instead goes from glucose to pyruvate, and shares seven enzymes with it.
Fig. 1 – Gluconeogenesis and Glycolysis
Glycogenolysis is quite distinct from gluconeogenesis: it does not lead to de novo production of glucose from non-carbohydrate precursors, as shown by its overall reaction:
Glycogen or (glucose)n → n glucose molecules
The following discussion will focus on gluconeogenesis that occurs in higher animals, and in particular in the liver of mammals.
Gluconeogenesis is an essential metabolic pathway for at least two reasons.
It ensures the maintenance of appropriate blood glucose levels when the liver glycogen is almost depleted and no carbohydrates are ingested.
Maintaining blood glucose within the normal range, 3.3 to 5.5 mmol/L (60 and 99 mg/dL), is essential because many cells and tissues depend, largely or entirely, on glucose to meet their ATP demands; examples are red blood cells, neurons, skeletal muscle working under low oxygen conditions, the medulla of the kidney, the testes, the lens and the cornea of the eye, and embryonic tissues. For example, glucose requirement of the brain is about 120 g/die that is equal to:
over 50% of the total body stores of the monosaccharide, about 210 g, of which 190 g are stored as muscle and liver glycogen, and 20 g are found in free form in body fluids;
about 75% of the daily glucose requirement, about 160 g.
During fasting, as in between meals or overnight, the blood glucose levels are maintained within the normal range due to hepatic glycogenolysis, and to the release of fatty acids from adipose tissue and ketone bodies by the liver. Fatty acids and ketone bodies are preferably used by skeletal muscle, thus sparing glucose for cells and tissues that depend on it, primarily red blood cells and neurons. However, after about 18 hours of fasting or during intense and prolonged exercise, glycogen stores are depleted and may become insufficient. At that point, if no carbohydrates are ingested, gluconeogenesis becomes important.
And, the importance of gluconeogenesis is further emphasized by the fact that if the blood glucose levels fall below 2 mmol/L, unconsciousness occurs.
The excretion of pyruvate would lead to the loss of the ability to produce ATP through aerobic respiration, i.e. more than 10 molecules of ATP for each molecule of pyruvate oxidized.
Where does gluconeogenesis occur?
In higher animals, gluconeogenesis occurs in the liver, kidney cortex and epithelial cells of the small intestine, that is, the enterocytes.
Quantitatively, the liver is the major site of gluconeogenesis, accounting for about 90% of the synthesized glucose, followed by kidney cortex, with about 10%. The key role of the liver is due to its size; in fact, on a wet weight basis, the kidney cortex produces more glucose than the liver.
In the kidney cortex, gluconeogenesis occurs in the cells of the proximal tubule, the part of the nephron immediately following the glomerulus. Much of the glucose produced in the kidney is used by the renal medulla, while the role of the kidney in maintaining blood glucose levels becomes more important during prolonged fasting and liver failure. It should, however, be emphasized that the kidney has no significant glycogen stores, unlike the liver, and contributes to maintaining blood glucose homeostasis only through gluconeogenesis and not through glycogenolysis.
Part of the gluconeogenesis pathway also occurs in the skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and brain, although at very low rate. In adults, muscle is about 18 the weight of the liver; therefore, its de novo synthesis of glucose might have quantitative importance. However, the release of glucose into the circulation does not occur because these tissues, unlike liver, kidney cortex, and enterocytes, lack glucose 6-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.9), the enzyme that catalyzes the last step of gluconeogenesis (see below).
Therefore, the production of glucose 6-phosphate, including that from glycogenolysis, does not contribute to the maintenance of blood glucose levels, and only helps to restore glycogen stores, in the brain small and limited mostly to astrocytes. For these tissues, in particular for skeletal muscle due to its large mass, the contribution to blood glucose homeostasis results only from the small amount of glucose released in the reaction catalyzed by enzyme debranching (EC 3.2.1.33) of glycogenolysis.
With regard to the cellular localization, most of the reactions occur in the cytosol, some in the mitochondria, and the final step) within the endoplasmic reticulum cisternae.
Irreversible steps of gluconeogenesis
As previously said, gluconeogenesis is in essence glycolysis in reverse. And, of the ten reactions that constitute gluconeogenesis, seven are shared with glycolysis; these reactions have a ΔG close to zero, therefore easily reversible. However, under intracellular conditions, the overall ΔG of glycolysis is about -63 kJ/mol (-15 kcal/mol) and of gluconeogenesis about -16 kJ/mol (-3.83 kcal/mol), namely, both the pathways are irreversible.
The irreversibility of the glycolytic pathway is due to three strongly exergonic reactions, that cannot be used in gluconeogenesis, and listed below.
The phosphorylation of glucose to glucose 6-phosphate, catalyzed by hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1) or glucokinase (EC 2.7.1.2).
ΔG = -33.4 kJ/mol (-8 kcal/mol)
ΔG°’ = -16.7 kJ/mol (-4 kcal/mol)
The phosphorylation of fructose 6-phosphate to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, catalyzed by phosphofructokinase-1 or PFK-1 (EC 2.7.1.11)
ΔG = -22.2 kJ/mol (-5.3 kcal/mol)
ΔG°’ = -14.2 kJ/mol (-3.4 kcal/mol)
The conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate or PEP to pyruvate, catalyzed by pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40)
ΔG = -16.7 kJ/mol (-4.0 kcal/mol)
ΔG°’ = -31.4 kJ/mole (-7.5 kcal/mol)
In gluconeogenesis, these three steps are bypassed by enzymes that catalyze irreversible steps in the direction of glucose synthesis: this ensures the irreversibility of the metabolic pathway.
Below, such reactions are analyzed.
From pyruvate to phosphoenolpyruvate
The first step of gluconeogenesis that bypasses an irreversible step of glycolysis, namely the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate kinase, is the conversion of pyruvate to phosphoenolpyruvate.
Phosphoenolpyruvate is synthesized through two reactions catalyzed, in order, by the enzymes:
pyruvate carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.1);
phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase or PEP carboxykinase (EC 4.1.1.32).
Pyruvate → Oxaloacetate → Phosphoenolpyruvate
Fig. 2 – PEP
Pyruvate carboxylase catalyzes the carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, with the consumption of one ATP. The enzyme requires the presence of magnesium or manganese ions
Pyruvate + HCO3–+ ATP → Oxaloacetate + ADP + Pi
The enzyme, discovered in 1960 by Merton Utter, is a mitochondrial protein composed of four identical subunits, each with catalytic activity. The subunits contain a biotin prosthetic group, covalently linked by amide bond to the ε-amino group of a lysine residue, that acts as a carrier of activated CO2 during the reaction. An allosteric binding site for acetyl-CoA is also present in each subunit.
It should be noted that the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate carboxylase, leading to the production of oxaloacetate, also provides intermediates for the citric acid cycle or Krebs cycle. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase is present, approximately in the same amount, in mitochondria and cytosol of hepatocytes. The isoenzymes are encoded by separate nuclear genes.
The enzyme catalyzes the decarboxylation and phosphorylation of oxaloacetate to phosphoenolpyruvate, in a reaction in which GTP acts as a donor of high-energy phosphate. PEP carboxykinase requires the presence of both magnesium and manganese ions. The reaction is reversible under normal cellular conditions.
Oxaloacetate + GTP ⇄ PEP + CO2 + GDP
During this reaction, a CO2 molecule, the same molecule that is added to pyruvate in the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate carboxylase, is removed. Carboxylation-decarboxylation sequence is used to activate pyruvate, since decarboxylation of oxaloacetate facilitates, makes thermodynamically feasible, the formation of phosphoenolpyruvate.
More generally, carboxylation-decarboxylation sequence promotes reactions that would otherwise be strongly endergonic, and also occurs in the citric acid cycle, in the pentose phosphate pathway, also called the hexose monophosphate pathway, and in the synthesis of fatty acids.
The levels of PEP carboxykinase before birth are very low, while its activity increases several fold a few hours after delivery. This is the reason why gluconeogenesis is activated after birth.
The sum of the reactions catalyzed by pyruvate carboxylase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase is:
Pyruvate + ATP + GTP + HCO3– → PEP + ADP + GDP + Pi + CO2
ΔG°’ of the reaction is equal to 0.9 kJ/mol (0.2 kcal/mol), while standard free energy change associated with the formation of pyruvate from phosphoenolpyruvate by reversal of the pyruvate kinase reaction is + 31.4 kJ/mol (7.5 kcal/mol).
Although the ΔG°’ of the two steps leading to the formation of PEP from pyruvate is slightly positive, the actual free-energy change (ΔG), calculated from intracellular concentrations of the intermediates, is very negative, -25 kJ/mol (-6 kcal/mol). This is due to the fast consumption of phosphoenolpyruvate in other reactions, that maintains its concentration at very low levels. Therefore, under cellular conditions, the synthesis of PEP from pyruvate is irreversible.
It is noteworthy that the metabolic pathway for the formation of phosphoenolpyruvate from pyruvate depends on the precursor: pyruvate or alanine, or lactate.
Phosphoenolpyruvate precursor: pyruvate or alanine
The bypass reactions described below predominate when alanine or pyruvate is the glucogenic precursor.
Pyruvate carboxylase is a mitochondrial enzyme, therefore pyruvate must be transported from the cytosol into the mitochondrial matrix. This is mediated by transporters located in the inner mitochondrial membrane, referred to as MPC1 and MPC2. These proteins, associating, form a hetero-oligomer that facilitates pyruvate transport.
Pyruvate can also be produced from alanine in the mitochondrial matrix by transamination, in the reaction catalyzed by alanine aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.2).
Fig. 3 – Conversion of Pyruvate to PEP
Since the enzymes involved in the later steps of gluconeogenesis, except glucose-6-phosphatase, are cytosolic, the oxaloacetate produced in the mitochondrial matrix is transported into the cytosol. However, there are no oxaloacetate transporters in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The transfer to the cytosol occurs as a result of its reduction to malate, that, on the contrary, can cross the inner mitochondrial membrane. The reaction is catalyzed by mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37), an enzyme also involved in the citric acid cycle, where the reaction proceeds in the reverse direction. In the reaction NADH is oxidized to NAD+.
Oxaloacetate + NADH + H+ ⇄ Malate + NAD+
Although ΔG°’ of the reaction is highly positive, under physiological conditions, ΔG is close to zero, and the reaction is easily reversible.
Malate crosses the inner mitochondrial membrane through a component of the malate-aspartate shuttle, the malate-α-ketoglutarate transporter. Once in the cytosol, the malate is re-oxidized to oxaloacetate in the reaction catalyzed by cytosolic malate dehydrogenase. In this reaction NAD+ is reduced to NADH.
Malate + NAD+ → Oxaloacetate + NADH + H+
Note: Malate-aspartate shuttle is the most active shuttle for the transport of NADH-reducing equivalents from the cytosol into the mitochondria. It is found in mitochondria of liver, kidney, and heart.
The reaction enables the transport into the cytosol of mitochondrial reducing equivalents in the form of NADH. This transfer is needed for gluconeogenesis to proceed, as in the cytosolic the NADH, oxidized in the reaction catalyzed by glyceraldehydes 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12), is present in very low concentration, with a [NADH]/[NAD+] ratio equal to 8×10-4, about 100,000 times lower than that observed in the mitochondria.
Finally, the oxaloacetate is converted to phosphoenolpyruvate in the reaction catalyzed by PEP carboxykinase.
Phosphoenolpyruvate precursor: lactate
Lactate is one of the major gluconeogenic precursors. It is produced for example by:
red blood cells, that are completely dependent on anaerobic glycolysis for ATP production;
skeletal muscle during intense exercise, that is, under low oxygen condition, when the rate of glycolysis exceeds the rate of the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.
When lactate is the gluconeogenic precursor, PEP synthesis occurs through a different pathway than that previously seen. In the hepatocyte cytosol NAD+ concentration is high and the lactate is oxidized to pyruvate in the reaction catalyzed by the liver isoenzyme of lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27). In the reaction NAD+ is reduced to NADH.
Lactate + NAD+ → Pyruvate + NADH + H+
The production of cytosolic NADH makes unnecessary the export of reducing equivalents from the mitochondria.
Pyruvate enters the mitochondrial matrix to be converted to oxaloacetate in the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate carboxylase. In the mitochondria, oxaloacetate is converted to phosphoenolpyruvate in the reaction catalyzed by mitochondrial pyruvate carboxylase. Phosphoenolpyruvate exits the mitochondria through an anion transporter located in the inner mitochondrial membrane, and, once in the cytosol, continues in the gluconeogenesis pathway.
Note: The synthesis of glucose from lactate may be considered as the part of the Cori cycle that takes place in the liver.
From fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to fructose 6-phosphate
The second step of gluconeogenesis that bypasses an irreversible step of the glycolytic pathway, namely the reaction catalyzed by PFK-1, is the dephosphorylation of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to fructose 6-phosphate.
This reaction, catalyzed by fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase or FBPasi-1 (EC 3.1.3.11), a Mg2+ dependent enzyme located in the cytosol, leads to the hydrolysis of the C-1 phosphate of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, without production of ATP.
Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate + H2O → Fructose 6-phosphate + Pi
The ΔG°’ of the reaction is -16.3 kJ/mol (-3.9 kcal/mol), therefore an irreversible reaction.
From glucose 6-phosphate to glucose
The third step of gluconeogenesis that bypasses an irreversible step of the glycolytic pathway, namely the reaction catalyzed by hexokinase or glucokinase, is the dephosphorylation of glucose 6-phosphate to glucose.
This reaction is catalyzed by the catalytic subunit of glucose 6-phosphatase, a protein complex located in the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes, enterocytes and cells of the proximal tubule of the kidney. Glucose 6-phosphatase complex is composed of a glucose 6-phosphatase catalytic subunit and a glucose 6-phosphate transporter called glucose 6-phosphate translocase or T1. Glucose 6-phosphatase catalytic subunit has the active site on the luminal side of the organelle. This means that the enzyme catalyzes the release of glucose not in the cytosol but in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum.
Glucose 6-phosphate, both resulting from gluconeogenesis, produced in the reaction catalyzed by glucose 6-phosphate isomerase or phosphoglucose isomerase (EC 5.3.1.9), and glycogenolysis, produced in the reaction catalyzed by phosphoglucomutase (EC 5.4.2.2), is located in the cytosol, and must enter the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum to be dephosphorylated. Its transport is mediated by glucose-6-phosphate translocase.
The catalytic subunit of glucose 6-phosphatase, a Mg2+-dependent enzyme, catalyzes the last step of both gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis. And, like the reaction catalyzed by fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, this reaction leads to the hydrolysis of a phosphate ester.
Glucose 6-phosphate + H2O → Glucose + Pi
It should also be underlined that, due to orientation of the active site, the cell separates this enzymatic activity from the cytosol, thus avoiding that glycolysis, that occurs in the cytosol, is aborted by enzyme action on glucose 6-phosphate.
The ΔG°’ of the reaction is -13.8 kJ/mol (-3.3 kcal/mol), therefore it is an irreversible reaction. If instead the reaction were that catalyzed by hexokinase/glucokinase in reverse, it would require the transfer of a phosphate group from glucose 6-phosphate to ADP. Such a reaction would have a ΔG equal to +33.4 kJ/mol (+8 kcal/mol), and then strongly endergonic. Similar considerations can be made for the reaction catalyzed by FBPase-1.
Glucose and Pi group seem to be transported into the cytosol via different transporters, referred to as T2 and T3, the last one an anion transporter.
Finally, glucose leaves the hepatocyte via the membrane transporter GLUT2, enters the bloodstream and is transported to tissues that require it. Conversely, under physiological conditions, as previously said, glucose produced by the kidney is mainly used by the medulla of the kidney itself.
Gluconeogenesis: energetically expensive
Like glycolysis, much of the energy consumed is used in the irreversible steps of the process.
Six high-energy phosphate bonds are consumed: two from GTP and four from ATP. Furthermore, two molecules of NADH are required for the reduction of two molecules of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate in the reaction catalyzed by glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The oxidation of NADH causes the lack of production of 5 molecules of ATP that are synthesized when the electrons of the reduced coenzyme are used in oxidative phosphorylation.
Also these energetic considerations show that gluconeogenesis is not simply glycolysis in reverse, in which case it would require the consumption of two molecules of ATP, as shown by the overall glycolytic equation.
At least in the liver, ATP needed for gluconeogenesis derives mostly from the oxidation of fatty acids or of the carbon skeletons of the amino acids, depending on the available “fuel”.
Coordinated regulation of gluconeogenesis and glycolysis
If glycolysis and gluconeogenesis were active simultaneously at a high rate in the same cell, the only products would be ATP consumption and heat production, in particular at the irreversible steps of the two pathways, and nothing more.
For example, considering PFK-1 and FBPasi-1:
ATP + Fructose 6-phosphate → ADP + Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate
Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate + H2O → Fructose 6-phosphate + Pi
The sum of the two reactions is:
ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi + Heat
Two reactions that run simultaneously in opposite directions result in a futile cycle or substrate cycle. These apparently uneconomical cycles allow to regulate opposite metabolic pathways. In fact, a substrate cycle involves different enzymes, at least two, whose activity can be regulated separately. A such regulation would not be possible if a single enzyme would operate in both directions. The modulation of the activity of involved enzymes occurs through:
allosterical mechanisms;
covalent modifications, such as phosphorylation and dephosphorylation;
changes in the concentration of the involved enzymes, due to changes in their synthesis/degradation ratio.
Allosteric mechanisms are very rapid and instantly reversible, taking place in milliseconds. The others, triggered by signals from outside the cell, such as hormones, like insulin, glucagon, or epinephrine, take place on a time scale of seconds or minutes, and, for changes in enzyme concentration, hours.
This allows a coordinated regulation of the two pathways, ensuring that when pyruvate enters gluconeogenesis, the flux of glucose through the glycolytic pathway slows down, and vice versa.
oxaloacetate, in the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate carboxylase, to continue in the gluconeogenesis pathway.
The metabolic fate of pyruvate depends on the availability of acetyl-CoA, that is, by the availability of fatty acids in the mitochondrion.
When fatty acids are available, their β-oxidation leads to the production of acetyl-CoA, that enters the Krebs cycle and leads to the production of GTP and NADH. When the energy needs of the cell are met, oxidative phosphorylation slows down, the [NADH]/[NAD+] ratio increases, NADH inhibits the citric acid cycle, and acetyl-CoA accumulates in the mitochondrial matrix. Acetyl-CoA is a positive allosteric effector of pyruvate carboxylase, and a negative allosteric effector of pyruvate kinase. Moreover, it inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase complex both through feedback inhibition and phosphorylation through the activation of a specific kinase.
Fig. 4 – Two Alternative Fates for Pyruvate
This means that when the energy charge of the cell is high, the formation of acetyl-CoA from pyruvate slows down, while the conversion of pyruvate to glucose is stimulated. Therefore acetyl-CoA is a molecule that signals that additional glucose oxidation for energy is not required and that glucogenic precursors can be used for the synthesis and storage of glucose.
Conversely, when acetyl-CoA levels decrease, the activity of pyruvate kinase and of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex increases, and therefore also the flow of metabolites through the citric acid cycle. This supplies energy to the cell.
Summarizing, when the energy charge of the cell is high pyruvate carboxylase is active, and that the first control point of gluconeogenesis determines what will be the fate of pyruvate in the mitochondria.
Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase
The second major control point in gluconeogenesis is the reaction catalyzed by fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase. The enzyme is allosterically inhibited by AMP. Therefore, when AMP levels are high, and consequently ATP levels are low, gluconeogenesis slows down. This means that, as previously seen, FBPase-1 is active when the energy charge of the cell is sufficiently high to support de novo synthesis of glucose.
Conversely, PFK-1, the corresponding glycolytic enzyme, is allosterically activated by AMP and ADP and allosterically inhibited by ATP and citrate, the latter resulting from the condensation of acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate.
Fig. 5 – Regulation of FBPase-1 and PFK-1
Therefore:
when AMP levels are high, gluconeogenesis slows down, and glycolysis accelerates;
when ATP levels are high or when acetyl-CoA or citrate are present in adequate concentrations, gluconeogenesis is promoted, while glycolysis slows down.
The increase in citrate levels indicates that the activity of the citric acid cycle can slow down; in this way, pyruvate can be used in glucose synthesis.
PFK-1, FBPase-1 and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate
The liver plays a key role in maintaining blood glucose homeostasis: this requires regulatory mechanisms that coordinate glucose consumption and production. Two hormones are mainly involved: glucagon and insulin. They act intracellularly through fructose 2,6-bisphosphate or F26BP, an allosteric effector of PFK-1 and FBPase-1. This molecule is structurally related to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, but is not an intermediate in glycolysis or gluconeogenesis.
Fig. 6 – Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate
It was discovered in 1980 by Emile Van Schaftingen and Henri-Gery Hers, as a potent activator of PFK-1. In the subsequent year, the same researchers showed that it is also a potent inhibitor of FBPase-1.
Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, by binding to the allosteric site on PFK-1, reduces the affinity of the enzyme for ATP and citrate, allosteric inhibitors, and at the same time increases the affinity of the enzyme for fructose 6-phosphate, its substrate. PFK-1, in the absence of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, and in the presence of physiological concentrations of ATP, fructose 6-phosphate, and of allosteric effectors AMP, ATP and citrate, is practically inactive. Conversely, the presence of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate activates PFK-1, thus stimulating glycolysis in the hepatocytes. At the same time fructose 2,6-bisphosphate slows down gluconeogenesis by inhibiting fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, even in the absence of AMP. However, the effects of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate and AMP on FBPase-1 activity are synergistic.
Fig. 7 – Role of F26BP in the Regulation of Gluconeogenesis and Glycolysis
Fructose-2,6-bisphosphate concentration is regulated by the relative rates of synthesis and degradation. It is synthesized from fructose 6-phosphate in the reaction catalyzed by phosphofructokinase-2 or PFK-2 (EC 2.7.1.105), and is hydrolyzed to fructose 6-phosphate in the reaction catalyzed by fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase or FBPasi-2 (EC 3.1.3.46). These two enzymatic activities are located on a single bifunctional enzyme or tandem enzyme. In the liver, the balance of these two enzymatic activities is regulated by insulin and glucagon, as described below.
Glucagon It is released into the circulation when blood glucose levels drop, signaling the liver to reduce glucose consumption for its own needs and to increase de novo synthesis of glucose and its release from glycogen stores.
After binding to specific membrane receptors, glucagon stimulates hepatic adenylate cyclase (EC 4.6.1.1) to synthesize 3′,5′-cyclic AMP or cAMP, that activates cAMP-dependent protein kinase or protein kinase A or PKA (EC 2.7.11.11). The kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation, at the expense of one molecule of ATP, of a specific serine residue (Ser32) of PFK-2/FBPase-2. As a result of the phosphorylation, phosphatase activity increases while kinase activity decreases. Such reduction, due to the increase in the Km for fructose 6-phosphate, causes a decrease in the levels of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, that, in turn, inhibits glycolysis and stimulates gluconeogenesis. Therefore, in response to glucagon, hepatic production of glucose increases, enabling the organ to counteract the fall in blood glucose levels.
Note: glucagon, like adrenaline, stimulates gluconeogenesis also by increasing the availability of substrates such as glycerol and amino acids.
Insulin
After binding to specific membrane receptors, insulin activates a protein phosphatase, the phosphoprotein phosphatase 2A or PP2A, that catalyzes the removal of the phosphate group from PFK-2/FBPase-2, thus increasing PFK-2 activity and decreasing FBPase-2 activity. (At the same time, insulin also stimulates a cAMP phosphodiesterase that hydrolyzes cAMP to AMP). This increases the level of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, that, in turn, inhibits gluconeogenesis and stimulates glycolysis.
In addition, fructose 6-phosphate allosterically inhibits FBPase-2, and activates PFK-2. It should be noted that the activities of PFK-2 and FBPase-2 are inhibited by their reaction products. However, the main effectors are the level of fructose 6-phosphate and the phosphorylation state of the enzyme.
Glucose 6-phosphatase
Unlike pyruvate carboxylase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, the catalytic subunit of glucose-6-phosphatase is not subject to allosteric or covalent regulation. The modulation of its activity occurs at the transcriptional level. Low blood glucose levels and glucagon, namely, factors that lead to increased glucose production, and glucocorticoids stimulate its synthesis, that, conversely, is inhibited by insulin.
Also, the Km for glucose 6-phosphate is significantly higher than the range of physiological concentrations of glucose 6-phosphate itself. This is why it is said that the activity of the enzyme is almost linearly dependent on the concentration of the substrate, that is, enzyme is controlled by the level of substrate.
PEP carboxykinase
The enzyme is regulated mainly at the level of synthesis and degradation. For example, high levels of glucagon or fasting increase protein production through the stabilization of its mRNA and the increase in its transcription rate. High blood glucose levels or insulin have opposite effects.
Xylulose 5-phosphate
Xylulose 5-phosphate, a product of the pentose phosphate pathway, is a recently discovered regulatory molecule. It stimulates glycolysis and inhibits gluconeogenesis by controlling the levels of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in the liver.
Fig. 8 – Xylulose 5-phosphate
When blood glucose levels increase, e.g. after a meal high in carbohydrates, the activation of glycolysis and hexose monophosphate pathway occurs in the liver. Xylulose 5-phosphate produced activates protein phosphatase 2A, that, as previously said, dephosphorylates PFK-2/FBPase-2, thus inhibiting FBPase-2 and stimulating PFK-2. This leads to an increase in the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, and then to the inhibition of gluconeogenesis and stimulation of glycolysis, resulting in increased production of acetyl-CoA, the main substrate for lipid synthesis. At the same time, an increase in flow through the hexose monophosphate shunt occurs, leading to the production of NADPH, a source of electrons for lipid synthesis. Finally, PP2A also dephosphorylates carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein or ChREBP, a transcription factor that activates the expression of hepatic genes for lipid synthesis. Therefore, in response to an increase in blood glucose levels, lipid synthesis is stimulated.
It is therefore evident that xylulose 5-phosphate is a key regulator of carbohydrate and fat metabolism.
Precursors of gluconeogenesis
Besides the aforementioned pyruvate, the major gluconeogenic precursors are lactate, glycerol, the majority of the amino acids, and, more generally, any compound that can be converted to pyruvate or oxaloacetate.
Glycerol
Glycerol is released by hydrolysis of triglycerides in adipose tissue, and of glycerophospholipids. With the exception of propionyl-CoA, it is the only part of the lipid molecule that can be used for de novo synthesis of glucose in animals.
Glycerol enters gluconeogenesis, or glycolysis, depending on the cellular energy charge, as dihydroxyacetone phosphate or DHAP, whose synthesis occurs in two steps.
Fig. 9 – Conversion of Glycerol to DHAP
In the first step, glycerol is phosphorylated to glycerol 3-phosphate, in the reaction catalyzed by glycerol kinase (EC 2.7.1.30), with the consumption of one ATP. The enzyme is absent in adipocytes but present in the liver; this means that glycerol needs to reach the liver to be further metabolized.
Glycerol 3-phosphate is then oxidized to dihydroxyacetone phosphate, in the reaction catalyzed by glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8). In this reaction NAD+ is reduced to NADH.
During prolonged fasting, glycerol is the major gluconeogenic precursor, accounting for about 20% of glucose production.
Glucogenic amino acids
Pyruvate and oxaloacetate are the entry points for the glucogenic amino acids, i.e. those whose carbon skeleton or part of it can be used for de novo synthesis of glucose.
Amino acids result from the catabolism of proteins, both food and endogenous proteins, like those of skeletal muscle during the fasting state or during intense and prolonged exercise.
The catabolic processes of each of the twenty amino acids that made up the proteins converge to form seven major products, acetyl-CoA, acetoacetyl-CoA, α-ketoglutarate, succinyl-CoA, fumarate, oxaloacetate, and pyruvate.
Except acetyl-CoA, acetoacetyl-CoA , the other five molecules can be used for gluconeogenesis. This means that gluconeogenic amino acids may also be defined as those whose carbon skeleton or part of it can be converted to one or more of the above molecules.
Below, the entry points of the gluconeogenic amino acids are shown.
Pyruvate: alanine, cysteine, glycine, serine, threonine and tryptophan.
Oxaloacetate: aspartate and asparagine.
α-Ketoglutarate: glutamate, arginine, glutamine, histidine and proline.
Succinyl-CoA: isoleucine, methionine, threonine and valine.
Fumarate: phenylalanine and tyrosine.
Fig. 10 – Glucogenic and Ketogenic Amino Acids
α-Ketoglutarate, succinyl-CoA and fumarate, intermediates of the citric acid cycle, enter the gluconeogenic pathway after conversion to oxaloacetate.
The utilization of the carbon skeletons of the amino acids requires the removal of the amino group. Alanine and glutamate, the key molecules in the transport of amino groups from extrahepatic tissues to the liver, are major glucogenic amino acids in mammals. Alanine is the main gluconeogenic substrate for the liver; this amino acid is shuttled to the liver from muscle and other peripheral tissues through the glucose-alanine cycle.
Ketogenic amino acids
Acetyl-CoA and acetoacetyl-CoA cannot be used for gluconeogenesis and are precursors of fatty acids and ketone bodies. The stoichiometry of the citric acid cycle elucidates why they cannot be used for de novo synthesis of glucose.
Acetyl-CoA, in the reaction catalyzed by citrate synthase, condenses with oxaloacetate to form citrate, a molecule with 6 carbon atoms instead of 4 as oxaloacetate. However, although the two carbon atoms from acetyl-CoA become part of the oxaloacetate molecule, two carbon atoms are oxidized and removed as CO2, in the reactions catalyzed by isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.42) and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex. Therefore, acetyl-CoA does not yield any net carbon gain for the citric acid cycle.
Furthermore, the reaction leading to the formation of acetyl-CoA from pyruvate, catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, that is the bridge between glycolysis and the Krebs cycle, is irreversible, and there is no other pathway to convert acetyl-CoA to pyruvate.
For this reason, amino acids whose catabolism produces acetyl-CoA and/or acetoacetyl-CoA, are termed ketogenic.
Only leucine and lysine are exclusively ketogenic.
Note: Plants, yeasts, and many bacteria can use acetyl-CoA for de novo synthesis of glucose as they do have the glyoxylate cycle. This cycle has four reactions in common with the citric acid cycle, two unique enzymes, isocitrate lyase (EC 4.1.3.1) and malate synthase (EC 2.3.3.9), but lacks the decarboxylation reactions. Therefore, organisms that have such pathway are able to use fatty acids for gluconeogenesis.
Five amino acids, isoleucine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, threonine and tryptophan, are both glucogenic and ketogenic, because part of their carbon backbone can be used for gluconeogenesis, while the other gives rise to ketone bodies.
Propionate
Propionate, a three carbon fatty acid, is a gluconeogenic precursor because, as propionyl-CoA, the active molecule, can be converted to succinyl-CoA.
Below, the different sources of propionate are analyzed.
It may arise from β-oxidation of odd-chain fatty acids such as margaric acid, a saturated fatty acid with 17 carbon atoms. Such fatty acids are rare compared to even-chain fatty acids, but present in significant amounts in the lipids of some marine organisms, ruminants, and plants. In the last pass through the β-oxidation sequence, the substrate is a five carbon fatty acid. This means that, once oxidized and cleaved to two fragments, it produces an acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA.
Another source is the oxidation of branched-chain fatty acids, with alkyl branches with an odd number of carbon atoms. An example is phytanic acid, produced in ruminants by oxidation of phytol, a breakdown product of chlorophyll.
In ruminants, propionate is also produced from glucose. Glucose is released from breakdown of cellulose by bacterial cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4) in the rumen, one of the four chambers that make up the stomach of these animals. These microorganisms then convert, through fermentation, glucose to propionate, which, once absorbed, may be used for gluconeogenesis, synthesis of fatty acids, or be oxidized for energy.
In ruminants, in which gluconeogenesis tends to be a continuous process, propionate is the major gluconeogenic precursor.
Propionate may also result from the catabolism of valine, leucine, and isoleucine (see above).
The oxidation of propionyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA involves three reactions that occur in the liver and other tissues.
Fig. 11 – Conversion of Propionyl-CoA to Succinyl-CoA
In the first reaction, propionyl-CoA is carboxylated to D-methylmalonyl-CoA in the reaction catalyzed by propionyl-CoA carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.3), a biotin-requiring enzyme. This reaction consumes one ATP. In the subsequent reaction, catalyzed by methylmalonyl-CoA epimerase (EC 5.1.99.1), D-methylmalonyl-CoA is epimerized to its L-stereoisomer. Finally, L-methylmalonyl-CoA undergoes an intramolecular rearrangement to succinyl-CoA, in the reaction catalyzed by methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (EC 5.4.99.2). This enzyme requires 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin or coenzyme B12, a derivative of cobalamin or vitamin B12, as a coenzyme.
References
Bender D.A. Introduction to nutrition and metabolism. 3rd Edition. Taylor & Francis, 2004
Kabashima T., Kawaguchi T., Wadzinski B.E., Uyeda K. Xylulose 5-phosphate mediates glucose-induced lipogenesis by xylulose 5-phosphate-activated protein phosphatase in rat liver. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2003;100:5107-12. doi:10.1073/pnas.0730817100
Kuriyama H. et all. Coordinated regulation of fat-specific and liver-specific glycerol channels, aquaporin adipose and aquaporin 9. Diabetes 2002;51(10):2915-21. doi:10.2337/diabetes.51.10.2915
McCommis K.S. and Finck B.N. Mitochondrial pyruvate transport: a historical perspective and future research directions. Biochem J 2015;466(3):443-54. doi:10.1042/BJ20141171
Nelson D.L., M. M. Cox M.M. Lehninger. Principles of biochemistry. 6th Edition. W.H. Freeman and Company, 2012
Rosenthal M.D., Glew R.H. Medical biochemistry – Human metabolism in health and disease. John Wiley J. & Sons, Inc., Publication, 2009
Soty M., Chilloux J., Delalande F., Zitoun C., Bertile F., Mithieux G., and Gautier-Stein A. Post-Translational regulation of the glucose-6-phosphatase complex by cyclic adenosine monophosphate is a crucial determinant of endogenous glucose production and is controlled by the glucose-6-phosphate transporter. J Proteome Res 2016;15(4):1342-49. doi:10.1021/acs.jproteome.6b00110
Stipanuk M.H., Caudill M.A. Biochemical, physiological, and molecular aspects of human nutrition. 3rd Edition. Elsevier health sciences, 2013 [Google eBooks]
Van Schaftingen E., and Hers H-G. Inhibition of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase by fructose-2,6-bisphosphate. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1981;78(5):2861-63 doi:10.1073/pnas.78.5.2861
Van Schaftingen E., Jett M-F., Hue L., and Hers, H-G. Control of liver 6-phosphofructokinase by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and other effectors. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1981;78(6):3483-86 doi:10.1073/pnas.78.6.3483
The glucose-alanine cycle, or Cahill cycle, proposed for the first time by Mallette, Exton and Park, and Felig et al. between 1969 and 1970, consists of a series of steps through which extrahepatic tissues, for example the skeletal muscle, export pyruvate and amino groups as alanine to the liver, and receive glucose from the liver via the bloodstream.
The main steps of the glucose-alanine cycle are summarized below.
When in extrahepatic tissues amino acids are used for energy, pyruvate, derived from the glycolytic pathway, is used as amino group acceptor, forming alanine, a nonessential amino acid.
Alanine diffuses into the bloodstream and reaches the liver.
In the liver, the amino group of alanine is transferred to α-ketoglutarate to form pyruvate and glutamate, respectively.
The amino group of glutamate mostly enters the urea cycle, and in part acts as a nitrogen donor in many biosynthetic pathways.
Pyruvate enters the gluconeogenesis pathway and is used for glucose synthesis.
The newly formed glucose diffuses into the bloodstream and reaches the peripheral tissues where, due to glycolysis, is converted into pyruvate that can accept amino groups from the free amino acids, thus closing the cycle.
Therefore, the glucose-alanine cycle provides a link between carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, as schematically described below.
Glucose → Pyruvate → Alanine → Pyruvate → Glucose
Fig. 1 – Glucose-Alanine Cycle
The glucose-alanine cycle occurs not only between the skeletal muscle, the first tissue in which it was observed, and the liver, but involves other cells and extrahepatic tissues including cells of the immune system, such as lymphoid organs.
The analysis of the steps of the glucose-alanine cycle is made considering the cycle between skeletal muscle and the liver.
Both intracellular and extracellular proteins are continuously hydrolyzed to the constituent amino acids and resynthesized, and the rate at which these processes occur is balanced precisely, thereby preventing loss of fat free mass.
However, under catabolic conditions, such as intense and prolonged exercise or fasting, the rate of muscle protein breakdown exceeds synthesis. This leads to the liberation of amino acids, some of which are used for energy and others for gluconeogenesis. And the oxidation of the carbon skeletons of amino acids, in particular branched chain amino acids or BCAA (leucine, isoleucine and valine), may be a significant source of energy for the muscle. For example, after about 90 minutes of strenuous exercise, amino acid oxidation in muscle provides 10-15% of the energy needed for contraction.
The utilization of the carbon skeletons of amino acids for energy involves the removal of the amino group, and then the excretion of amino nitrogen in a non-toxic form.
The removal of the α-amino group occurs by transamination, that can be summarized as follows:
α-Keto acid + Amino acid ⇄ New amino acid + New α-keto acid
Such reactions, catalyzed by enzymes called aminotransferases or transaminases (EC 2.6.1) are freely reversible.
Branched chain amino acids, for example, transfer the amino group to α-ketoglutarate or 2-oxoglutaric acid, to form glutamate and the α-keto acid derived from the original amino acid, in a reaction catalyzed by branched chain aminotransferase or BCAT (EC 2.6 .1.42).
The Cahill cycle in skeletal muscle
In skeletal muscle, the newly formed glutamate may react with ammonia to form glutamine, for many tissues and organs, such as the brain, the major vehicle for interorgan transport of nitrogen. The reaction is catalyzed by the cytosolic enzyme glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2), and consumes an ATP.
Glutamate + NH4+ + ATP → Glutamine + ADP + Pi
In this case, glutamate leaves the Cahill cycle.
Alternatively, and in contrast to what happens in most of the other tissues, the newly formed glutamate may transfer the amino group to pyruvate, derived from glycolysis, to form alanine and α-ketoglutarate. This transamination is catalyzed by alanine aminotransferase or ALT (EC 2.6.1.2), an enzyme found in most animal and plant tissues.
Glutamate + Pyruvate ⇄ Alanine + α-Ketoglutarate
The alanine produced and that derived directly from protein breakdown, and muscle proteins are rich in alanine, can leave the cell and be carried by the bloodstream to the liver; in this way the amino group reaches the liver. And the rate at which alanine formed by transamination of pyruvate is transferred into the circulation is proportional to the intracellular pyruvate production.
Note: Alanine and glutamine are the major sources of nitrogen and carbon in interorgan amino acid metabolism.
The Cahill cycle in the liver
Once in the liver, a hepatic alanine aminotransferase catalyzes a transamination in which alanine, the major gluconeogenic amino acid, acts as an amino group donor and α-ketoglutarate as an α-keto acid acceptor. The products of the reaction are pyruvate, i.e. the carbon skeleton of alanine, and glutamate.
Alanine + α-Ketoglutarate ⇄ Glutamate + Pyruvate
Glutamate, in the reaction catalyzed by glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.2), an enzyme present in the mitochondrial matrix, forms ammonium ion, which enters the urea cycle, and α-ketoglutarate, which can enter the Krebs cycle. This reaction is an anaplerotic reaction that links amino acid metabolism with the Krebs cycle.
However, glutamate can also react with oxaloacetate to form aspartate and α-ketoglutarate, in a reaction catalyzed by aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1). Aspartate is involved in the formation of urea as well as in the synthesis of purines and pyrimidines.
Also the pyruvate produced may have different metabolic fates: it can be oxidized for ATP production, and then leave the glucose-alanine cycle, or enter the gluconeogenesis pathway, and thus continue in the cycle.
The glucose produced is released from the liver into the bloodstream and delivered to various tissues that require it, as the skeletal muscle, in which it is used for pyruvate synthesis. In turn, the newly formed pyruvate may react with glutamate, thus closing the cycle.
Transaminases
As previously mentioned, the removal of the amino group from amino acids occurs through transamination (see above for the general reaction). These reactions are catalyzed by enzymes called aminotransferases or transaminases.
They are cytosolic enzymes, present in all cells and particularly abundant in the liver, kidney, intestine and muscle; they require pyridoxal phosphate or PLP, the active form of vitamin B6 or pyridoxine, as a coenzyme, which is tightly bound to the active site.
In transamination reactions, the amino group of free amino acids, except of threonine and lysine, is channeled towards a small number of α-keto acids, notably pyruvate, oxaloacetate and α-ketoglutarate.
Cells contain different types of aminotransferases: many are specific for α-ketoglutarate as α-keto acid acceptor, but differ in specificity for the amino acid, from which they are named. Examples are the aforementioned alanine aminotransferase, also called alanine transaminase and glutamic pyruvic transferase or GPT, and aspartate aminotransferase or AST, also called glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase or GOT.
It should be underlined that there is no net deamination in these reactions, no loss of amino groups, as the α-keto acid acceptor is aminated and the amino acid deaminated.
Functions of the glucose-alanine cycle
This cycle has various functions.
It transports nitrogen in a non-toxic form from peripheral tissues to the liver.
It removes pyruvate from peripheral tissues. This leads to a higher production of ATP from glucose in these tissues. In fact, the NADH produced during glycolysis can enter the mitochondria and be oxidized through oxidative phosphorylation.
It allows to maintain a relatively high concentration of alanine in hepatocytes, sufficient to inhibit protein degradation.
It may play a role in host defense against infectious diseases.
Finally, it is important to underline that there is no net synthesis of glucose in the glucose-alanine cycle.
Energy cost of the glucose-alanine cycle
Like the Cori cycle, also the glucose-alanine cycle has an energy cost, equal to 3-5 ATP.
The part of the cycle that takes place in peripheral tissues involves the production of 5-7 ATP per molecule of glucose:
Instead in the liver, gluconeogenesis and the urea cycle cost 10 ATP:
6 ATP are consumed in the during gluconeogenesis per molecule of glucose synthesized;
4 ATP are consumed in the urea cycle per molecule of urea synthesized.
The glucose-alanine cycle, like the Cori cycle, shifts part of the metabolic burden from extrahepatic tissues to the liver. However, the energy cost paid by the liver is justified by the advantages that the cycle brings to the whole body, as it allows, in particular conditions, an efficient breakdown of proteins in extrahepatic tissues (especially skeletal muscle), which in turn allows to obtain gluconeogenic substrates as well as the use of amino acids for energy in extrahepatic tissues.
Similarities and differences between Cahill cycle and Cori cycle
There are some analogies between the two cycles, which are listed below.
The Cahill cycle partially overlaps the Cori cycle when pyruvate is converted to glucose and the monosaccharide is transported to extrahepatic tissues, in which it is converted again to pyruvate via the glycolytic pathway.
Like the Cori cycle, the glucose-alanine cycle occurs between different cell types, unlike metabolic pathways such as glycolysis, Krebs cycle or gluconeogenesis that occur within individual cells
Fig. 2 – Glucose-Alanine Cycle and Cori Cycle
Below, some differences between the two cycles.
The main difference concerns the three carbon intermediate that from peripheral tissues reach the liver: lactate in the Cori cycle, and alanine in the glucose-alanine cycle.
Another difference concerns the fate of the NADH produced by glycolysis in peripheral tissues.
In the Cori cycle, the coenzyme acts as reducing agent to reduce pyruvate to lactate, in the reaction catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27).
In the glucose-alanine cycle, this reduction does not occur and the electrons of NADH can be transported into the mitochondria via the malate-aspartate and glycerol 3-phosphate shuttles, generating NADH, the first shuttle, and FADH2, the other shuttle. And the yield of ATP from NADH and FADH2 is 2.5 and 1.5, respectively.
Finally, from the previous point, it is clear that, unlike the Cori cycle, the Cahill cycle requires the presence of oxygen and mitochondria in the peripheral tissues.
References
Berg J.M., Tymoczko J.L., and Stryer L. Biochemistry. 5th Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, 2002
Felig P., Pozefsk T., Marlis E., Cahill G.F. Alanine: key role in gluconeogenesis. Science 1970;167(3920):1003-4. doi:10.1126/science.167.3920.1003
Gropper S.S., Smith J.L., Groff J.L. Advanced nutrition and human metabolism. Cengage Learning, 2009 [Google eBooks]
Lecker S.H., Goldberg A.L. and Mitch W.E. Protein degradation by the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway in normal and disease states. J Am Soc Nephrol 2006;17(7):1807-19. doi:10.1681/ASN.2006010083
Mallette L. E., Exton J.H., and Park C.R. Control of gluconeogenesis from amino acids in the perfused rat liver. J Biol Chem 1969;244(20):5713-23.
Nelson D.L., Cox M.M. Lehninger. Principles of biochemistry. 6th Edition. W.H. Freeman and Company, 2012
Raju S.M., Madala B. Illustrated medical biochemistry. Jaypee Brothers Publishers, 2005 [Google eBooks]
Wu G. Amino acids: biochemistry and nutrition. CRC Press, 2013 [Google eBooks]
The Cori cycle, or glucose-lactate cycle, was discovered by Carl Ferdinand Cori and Gerty Theresa Radnitz, a husband-and-wife team, in the ‘30s and ‘40s of the last century . They demonstrated the existence of a metabolic cooperation between the skeletal muscle working under low oxygen conditions and the liver. This cycle can be summarized as follows:
the conversion of glucose to lactic acid, or lactate, by anaerobic glycolysis in skeletal muscle cells;
the diffusion of lactate from muscle cells into the bloodstream, by which it is transported to the liver;
the conversion of lactate to glucose by hepatic gluconeogenesis;
the diffusion of glucose from the hepatocytes into the bloodstream, by which it is transported back to the skeletal muscle cells, thereby closing the cycle.
Summarizing, we have: part of the lactate produced in skeletal muscle is converted to glucose in the liver, and transported back to skeletal muscle, thus closing the cycle.
Glucose → Lactate →Glucose
The importance of this cycle is demonstrated by the fact that it may account for about 40% of plasma glucose turnover.
In addition to skeletal muscle, this metabolic cooperation was also demonstrated between other extrahepatic tissues and liver. Indeed, like the glucose-alanine cycle, the glucose-lactate cycle is active between the liver and all those tissues that do not completely oxidize glucose to CO2 and H2O, in which case pyruvate for conversion to lactate or, by transamination, to alanine would lack (see below).
In addition to skeletal muscle cells, examples of cells that continually produce lactic acid are red blood cells, immune cells in the lymph nodules, proliferating cells in the bone marrow, and epithelial cells in the skin.
Notice that skeletal muscle produces lactate even at rest, although at low rate.
Fig. 1 – The Cori Cycle
From a biochemical point of view, the Cori cycle links gluconeogenesis with anaerobic glycolysis, using different tissues to compartmentalize opposing metabolic pathways. In fact, in the same cell, regardless of the cell type, these metabolic pathways are not very active simultaneously. Glycolysis is more active when the cell requires ATP; by contrast, when the demand for ATP is low, gluconeogenesis, in those cells where it occurs, is more active.
And it is noteworthy that, although traditionally the metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis, citric acid cycle, or gluconeogenesis, are considered to be confined within individual cells, the Cori cycle, as well as the glucose-alanine cycle, occurs between different cell types.
Finally, it should be underscored that the Cori cycle also involves the renal cortex, particularly the proximal tubules, another site where gluconeogenesis occurs.
The steps of the Cori cycle
The analysis of the steps of the Cori cycle is made considering the lactate produced by red blood cells and skeletal muscle cells. Mature red blood cells are devoid of mitochondria, nucleus and ribosomes, and obtain the necessary energy only by glycolysis. The availability of NAD+ is essential for glycolysis to proceed as well as for its rate: the oxidized form of the coenzyme is required for the oxidation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate in the reaction catalyzed by glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12).
The accumulation of NADH is avoided by the reduction of pyruvate to lactate, in the reaction catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27), where NADH acts as reducing agent.
Pyruvate + NADH + H+ → Lactate + NAD+
The skeletal muscle, particularly fast-twitch fibers which contain a reduced number of mitochondria, under low oxygen condition, such as during intense exercise, produces significant amounts of lactate. In fact, in such conditions:
the rate of pyruvate production by glycolysis exceeds the rate of its oxidation by the citric acid cycle, so that less than 10% of the pyruvate enters the citric acid cycle;
the rate at which oxygen is taken up by the cells is not sufficient to allow aerobic oxidation of all the NADH produced.
And, like in red blood cells, the reaction catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase, regenerating NAD+, allows glycolysis to proceed.
However, lactate is an end product of metabolism that must be converted back into pyruvate to be used.
The plasma membrane of most cells is freely permeable to both pyruvate and lactate that can thus reach the bloodstream. And, regarding for example the skeletal muscle, the amount of lactate that leaves the cell is greater than that of pyruvate due to the high NADH/NAD+ ratio in the cytosol and to the catalytic properties of the skeletal muscle isoenzyme of LDH.
Once into the bloodstream, lactate reaches the liver, which is its major user, where it is oxidized to pyruvate in the reaction catalyzed by the liver isoenzyme of lactate dehydrogenase.
Lactate + NAD+ → Pyruvate + NADH + H+
In the hepatocyte, this oxidation is favored by the low NADH/NAD+ ratio in the cytosol.
Then, pyruvate enters the gluconeogenesis pathway to be converted into glucose.
Glucose leaves the liver, enters into the bloodstream and is delivered to the muscle, as well as to other tissues and cells that require it, such as red blood cells and neurons, thus closing the cycle.
Lactate dehydrogenase
The enzyme is a tetramer composed of two different types of subunits, designed as:
H subunit (heart) or B chain;
M subunit (muscle) or A chain.
The H subunit predominates in the heart, whereas the M subunit predominates in the skeletal muscle and liver. Typically, tissues in which a predominantly or exclusively aerobic metabolism occurs, such as the heart, synthesize H subunits to a greater extent than M subunits, whereas tissues in which anaerobic metabolism is important, such as skeletal muscle, synthesize M subunits to a greater extent than H subunits.
The two subunits associate in 5 different ways to form homopolymers, that is, macromolecules formed by repeated, identical subunits, or heteropolymers, that is, macromolecules formed by different subunits. Different LDH isoenzymes have different catalytic properties, as well as different distribution in various tissues, as indicated below:
H4, also called type 1, LDH1, or A4, a homopolymer of H subunits, is found in cardiac muscle, kidney, and red blood cells;
H3M1, also called type 2, LDH2, or A3B, has a tissue distribution similar to that of LDH1;
H2M2, also called type 3, LDH3, or A2B2, is found in the spleen, brain, white cells, kidney, and lung;
H1M3, also called type 4, LDH4, or AB3, is found in the spleen, lung, skeletal muscle, lung, red blood cells, and kidney;
M4, also called type 5, LDH5, or B4, a homopolymer of M subunits, is found in the liver, skeletal muscle, and spleen.
The H4 isoenzyme has a higher substrate affinity than the M4 isoenzyme.
The H4 isoenzyme is allosterically inhibited by high levels of pyruvate (its product), whereas the M4 isoenzyme is not.
The other LDH isoenzymes have intermediate properties, depending on the ratio between the two types of subunits.
It is thought that the H4 isoenzyme is the most suitable for catalyzing the oxidation of lactate to pyruvate that, in the heart, due to its exclusively aerobic metabolism, is then completely oxidized to CO2 and H2O. Instead, the M4 isoenzyme is the main isoenzyme found in skeletal muscle, most suitable for catalyzing the reduction of pyruvate to lactate, thus allowing glycolysis to proceed in anaerobic conditions.
Other metabolic fates of lactate
From the above, it is clear that lactate is not a metabolic dead end, a waste product of glucose metabolism.
And it may have a different fate from that entering the Cori cycle.
For example, in skeletal muscle during recovery following an exhaustive exercise, that is, when oxygen is again available, or if the exercise is of low intensity, lactate is re-oxidized to pyruvate, due to NAD+ availability, and then completely oxidized to CO2 and H20, with a greater production of ATP than in anaerobic condition. In such conditions, the energy stored in NADH will be released, yielding on average 2.5 ATP per molecule of NADH.
In addition, lactate can be taken up by exclusively aerobic tissues, such as heart, to be oxidized to CO2 and H20.
Energy cost of the glucose-lactate cycle
The Cori cycle results in a net consumption of 4 ATP.
The gluconeogenic leg of the cycle consumes 2 GTP and 4 ATP per molecule of glucose synthesized, that is, 6 ATP.
The ATP-consuming reactions are catalyzed by:
Since two molecules of lactate are required for the synthesis of one molecule of glucose, the net cost is 2 x 3 = 6 high energy bonds per molecule of glucose.
Conversely, the glycolytic leg of the cycle produces only 2 ATP per molecule of glucose.
Therefore, more energy is required to produce glucose from lactate than that obtained by anaerobic glycolysis in extrahepatic tissues. This explains why the Cori cycle cannot be sustained indefinitely.
Is the Cori cycle a futile cycle?
The continuous breakdown and resynthesis of glucose, feature of the Cori cycle, might seem like a waste of energy. Indeed, this cycle allows the effective functioning of many extrahepatic cells at the expense of the liver and partly of the renal cortex. Below, two examples.
Red blood cells
These cells, lacking a nucleus, ribosomes, and mitochondria, are smaller than most other cells. Their small size allows them to pass through tiny capillaries. However, the lack of mitochondria makes them completely dependent on anaerobic glycolysis for ATP production. Then, the lactate is partly disposed of by the liver and renal cortex.
Skeletal muscle
Its cells, and particularly fast-twitch fibers contracting under low oxygen conditions, such as during intense exercise, produce much lactate.
In such conditions, anaerobic glycolysis leads to the production of 2 ATP per molecule of glucose, 3 if the glucose comes from muscle glycogen, therefore, much lower than the 29-30 ATP produced by the complete oxidation of the monosaccharide. However, the rate of ATP production by anaerobic glycolysis is greater than that produced by the complete oxidation of glucose. Therefore, to meet the energy requirements of contracting muscle, anaerobic glycolysis is an effective means of ATP production. But this could lead to an intracellular accumulation of lactate, and a consequent reduction in intracellular pH. Obviously, such accumulation does not occur, due also to the Cori cycle, in which the liver pays the cost of the disposal of a large part of the muscle lactate, thereby allowing the muscle to use ATP for the contraction.
And the oxygen debt, which always occurs after a strenuous exercise, is largely due to the increased oxygen demand of the hepatocytes, in which the oxidation of fatty acids, their main fuel, provides the ATP required for gluconeogenesis from lactate.
During trauma, sepsis, burns, or after major surgery, an intense cell proliferation occurs in the wound, that is a hypoxic tissue, and in bone marrow. This in turn results in greater production of lactate, an increase in the flux through the Cori cycle and an increase in ATP consumption in the liver, which, as previously said, is supported by an increase in fatty acid oxidation. Hence, the nutrition plan provided to these patients must be taken into account this increase in energy consumption.
A similar condition seems to occur also in cancer patients with progressive weight loss.
The Cori cycle is also important during overnight fasting and starvation.
The Cori cycle and glucose-alanine cycle
These cycles are metabolic pathways that contribute to ensure a continuous delivery of glucose to tissues for which the monosaccharide is the primary source of energy.
The main difference between the two cycles consists in the three carbon intermediate which is recycled: in the Cori cycle, carbon returns to the liver in the form of pyruvate, whereas in the glucose-alanine cycle in the form of alanine.
For more information, see: glucose-alanine cycle.
References
Bender D.A. Introduction to nutrition and metabolism. 3rd Edition. Taylor & Francis, 2004
Berg J.M., Tymoczko J.L., and Stryer L. Biochemistry. 5th Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, 2002
Nelson D.L., M. M. Cox M.M. Lehninger. Principles of biochemistry. 6th Edition. W.H. Freeman and Company, 2012
Newsholme E.A., Leech T.R. Functional biochemistry in health and disease. John Wiley J. & Sons, Inc., Publication, 2010 [Google eBook]
Rawn J.D. Biochimica. Mc Graw-Hill, Neil Patterson Publishers, 1990
Rosenthal M.D., Glew R.H. Medical biochemistry – Human metabolism in health and disease. John Wiley J. & Sons, Inc., Publication, 2009
Shils M.E., Olson J.A., Shike M., Ross A.C. Modern nutrition in health and disease. 9th Ed., by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 1999
Stipanuk M.H., Caudill M.A. Biochemical, physiological, and molecular aspects of human nutrition. 3rd Edition. Elsevier health sciences, 2013 [Google eBooks]
Amylose and amylopectin, the two families of homopolysaccharides constituting starch, during their biosynthesis within vegetable cells, are deposited in highly organized particles called granules.
Granules have a partially crystalline structure and diameter ranging from 3 to 300 µm.
The access of the alpha-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1), the enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of amylose and amylopectin into maltose, maltotriose, and alpha-dextrins or alpha-limit dextrins, to carbohydrates making up granules varies as a function of:
amylose-amylopectin ratio;
temperature and packaging of amylose and amylopectin;
granules-associated proteins;
presence of fibers.
Amylose-amylopectin ratio
Starch for foodstuff use is obtained from various sources, the most important of which are corn (normal, waxy or high amylose content), potatoes, rice, tapioca and wheat.
Depending on botanical origin, molecular weight, degree of branching, and amylose-amylopectin ratio will vary.
Generally, there is 20-30% amylose and 70-80% amylopectin, even if there are starches with high amylose or amylopectin content (e.g. waxy corn). These differences justify the existence of starches with different chemical-physical characteristics and, to a certain extent, different digestibility.
corn: 24% amylose, 76% amylopectin;
waxy corn: 0,8% amylose, 99.2% amylopectin;
Hylon VII corn: 70% amylose, 30% amylopectin;
potatoes: 20% amylose, 80% amylopectin;
rice: 18.5 amylose, 81.5% amylopectin;
tapioca: 16.7% amylose, 83.3% amylopectin;
wheat: 25% amylose, 75% amylopectin.
Temperature and packaging of amylose and amylopectin
The chains of amylose, and to a lesser extent ramifications of amylopectin, thanks to the formation of hydrogen bonds with neighboring molecules and within the same molecules, have the tendency to aggregate. For this reason, pure amylose and amylopectin are poorly soluble in water at below 55 °C (131°F), and are more resistant to alpha-amylase action (resistant starch).
However, in aqueous solution, these granules hydrate increasing in volume of about 10%.
Above 55°C (131°F), the partially crystalline structure is lost, granules absorb further water, swell and pass to a disorganized structure, that is, starchgelatinization occurs, by which starch assumes an amorphous structure more easily attachable by alpha-amylase.
Granules-associated proteins
In granules, starch is present in association with proteins, many of which are hydrophobic, that means with low affinity for water. This association have the effect to hinder the interaction, in the intestinal lumen, between alpha-amylase, a polar protein, and the polysaccharides making up starch granules.
The physical processes to which cereals undergo before being eaten, such as milling or heating for several minutes, change the relationship between starch and the associated proteins, making it more available to α-amylase action.
Fibers
Alpha-amylase activity may also be hindered by the presence of nondigestible polysaccharides, the fibers: cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin.
Conclusions
The presence of inhibitors, of both chemical and physical type, hinders starch digestion, even when pancreatic α-amylase secretion is normal. This means that a part of starch, ranging from 1% to 10%, may escape the action of the enzyme, being then metabolized by colonic bacteria.
Refined starch is instead hydrolyzed efficiently, even when there is an exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), condition in which alpha-amylase concentration in gut lumen may be reduced to 10% of the normal.
References
Arienti G. “Le basi molecolari della nutrizione”. Seconda edizione. Piccin, 2003
Belitz .H.-D., Grosch W., Schieberle P. “Food Chemistry” 4th ed. Springer, 2009
Bender D.A. “Benders’ Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology”. 8th Edition. Woodhead Publishing. Oxford, 2006
Cozzani I. and Dainese E. “Biochimica degli alimenti e della nutrizione”. Piccin Editore, 2006
Giampietro M. “L’alimentazione per l’esercizio fisico e lo sport”. Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore, 2005
Mariani Costantini A., Cannella C., Tomassi G. “Fondamenti di nutrizione umana”. 1th ed. Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore, 1999
Osorio-Dıaz P., Bello-Perez L.A., Agama-Acevedo E., Vargas-Torres A., Tovar J., Paredes-Lopez O. In vitro digestibility and resistant starch content of some industrialized commercial beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Food Chem 2002;78:333-7 doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(02)00117-6
Shils M.E., Olson J.A., Shike M., Ross A.C. “Modern nutrition in health and disease” 9th ed., by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 1999
Stipanuk M.H.. “Biochemical and physiological aspects of human nutrition” W.B. Saunders Company-An imprint of Elsevier Science, 2000
When a mixture of glucose and fructose is ingested (in the analyzed literature, respectively 1.2 and 0.6 g/min, ratio 2:1, for total carbohydrate intake rate to 1.8 g/min), there is less competition for intestinal absorption compared with the ingestion of an iso-energetic amount of glucose or fructose, two different intestinal transporters being involved. Furthermore, fructose absorption is stimulated by the presence of glucose.
increase the availability of exogenous carbohydrates in the bloodstream;
cause the higher exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates in fructose plus glucose combination compared to high glucose intake alone.
The combined ingestion of glucose and fructose allows to obtain exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rate around 1,26 g/min, therefore, higher than the rate reported with glucose alone (1g/min), also in high concentration.
The observed difference (+0,26 g/min) can be fully attributed to the oxidation of ingested fructose.
Sucrose and glucose
The ingestion of sucrose and glucose, in the same conditions of the ingestion of glucose and fructose (therefore, respectively 1.2 and 0.6 g/min, ratio 2:1, for total carbohydrate intake rate to 1.8 g/min), gives similar results.
Glucose, sucrose and fructose
Very high oxidation rates are found with a mixture of glucose, sucrose, and fructose (in the analyzed literature, respectively 1.2, 0.6 and 0.6 g/min, ratio 2:1:1, for total carbohydrate intake rate to 2.4 g/min; however, note the higher amounts of ingested carbohydrates).
Maltodextrin and fructose
High oxidation rates are also observed with combinations of maltodextrin and fructose, in the same conditions of the ingestion of glucose plus fructose (therefore, respectively 1.2 and 0.6 g/min, ratio 2:1, for total carbohydrate intake rate to 1.8 g/min).
Such high oxidation rates can be achieved with carbohydrates ingested in a beverage, in a gel or in a low-fat, low protein, low-fiber energy bar.
The best combination of carbohydrates ingested during exercise seems to be the mixture of maltodextrin and fructose in a 2:1 ratio, in a 5% solution, and in a dose around 80-90 g/h.
Fig. 1 – Oxidation of Ingested Carbohydrates
Why?
This mixture has the best ratio between amount of ingested carbohydrates and their oxidation rate and it means that smaller amounts of carbohydrates remain in the stomach or gut reducing the risk of gastrointestinal complication/discomfort during prolonged exercise (see brackets grafa in the figure).
A solution containing a combination of multiple transportable carbohydrates and a carbohydrate content not exceeding 5% optimizes gastric emptying rate and improves fluid delivery.
Example of a 5% carbohydrate solution containing around 80-90 g of maltodextrin and fructose in a 2:1 rate; ingestion time around 1 h.
1.5 L solution: 80 g of carbohydrates, including around 55 g of maltodextrin and around 25 of fructose.
1.8 L solution: 90 g of carbohydrates, including 60 g of maltodextrin and 30 of fructose.
Conclusion
During prolonged exercise, when high exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates are needed, the ingestion of multiple transportable carbohydrates is preferred above that of large amounts of a single carbohydrate.
The best mixture seems to be maltodextrin and , in a 2:1 ratio, in a 5% concentration solution, and at ingestion rate of around 80-90 g/h.
References
Burke L.M., Hawley J.A., Wong S.H.S., & Jeukendrup A. Carbohydrates for training and competition. J Sport Sci 2011;29:Sup1,S17-S27. doi:10.1080/02640414.2011.585473
Jentjens R.L.P.G., Moseley L., Waring R.H., Harding L.K., and Jeukendrup A.E. Oxidation of combined ingestion of glucose and fructose during exercise. J Appl Physiol 2004:96;1277-1284. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00974.2003
Jentjens R.L.P.G., Venables M.C., and Jeukendrup A.E. Oxidation of exogenous glucose, sucrose, and maltose during prolonged cycling exercise. J Appl Physiol 2004:96;1285-1291. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01023.2003
Jeukendrup A.E. Carbohydrate feeding during exercise. Eur J Sport Sci 2008:2;77-86. doi:10.1080/17461390801918971
Jeukendrup A.E. Nutrition for endurance sports: marathon, triathlon, and road cycling. J Sport Sci 2011:29;sup1, S91-S99. doi:10.1080/02640414.2011.610348
The importance of carbohydrates as an energy source for exercise is well known: one of the first study to hypothesize and recognize their importance was the study of Krogh and Lindhardt at the beginning of the 20th century (1920); later, in the mid ‘60’s, Bergstrom and Hultman discovered the crucial role of muscle glycogen on endurance capacity.
Nowdays, the ergogenic effects of carbohydrate supplementation on endurance performance are well known; they are mediated by mechanisms such as:
the maintenance of glycemia and rates of carbohydrate oxidation;
the stimulation of glycogen synthesis during low-intensity exercise ;
a possible stimulatory effect on the central nervous system.
However, their supplementation, immediately before and during exercise, has an improving effect also during exercise (running or cycling) of a shorter and more intense nature: >75% VO2max (maximal oxygen consumption) and ≤1 hour, during which euglycaemia is rarely challenged and adequate muscle glycogen store remains at the cessation of the exercise.
Hypothesis for carbohydrate mouth rinse
In the absence of a clear metabolic explanation it was speculated that ingesting carbohydrate solutions may have a ‘non-metabolic’ or ‘central effect’ on endurance performance. To explore this hypothesis many studies have investigated the performance responses of subjects when carbohydrate solutions (about 6% carbohydrate, often maltodextrins) are mouth rinsed during exercise, expectorating the solution before ingestion.
By functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial stimulation it was shown that carbohydrates in the mouth stimulate reward centers in the brain and increases corticomotor excitability, through oropharyngeal receptors which signal their presence to the brain.
Probably salivary amylase releases very few glucose units from maltodextrins which is probably what is needed in order to activate the purported carbohydrate receptors in the oropharynx (no glucose transporters in the oropharynx are known).
However, the performance response appears to be dependent upon the pre-exercise nutritional status of the subject: most part of the studies showing an improving effect on performance was conducted in a fasted states (3- to 15-h fasting).
Only one study has shown improvements of endurance capacity; in both fed and fasted states by carbohydrate mouth rinse, but in non-athletic subjects.
References
Beelen M., Berghuis J., Bonaparte B., Ballak S.B., Jeukendrup A.E., van Loon J. Carbohydrate mouth rinsing in the fed state: lack of enhancement of time-trial performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2009;19(4):400-9. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.19.4.400
Bergstrom J., Hultman E. A study of glycogen metabolism during exercise in man. Scand J Clin Invest 1967;19:218-28. doi:10.3109/00365516709090629
Bergstrom J., Hultman E. Muscle glycogen synthesis after exercise: an enhancing factor localized in muscle cells in man. Nature 1966;210:309-10. doi:10.1038/210309a0
de Salles Painelli V.S., Nicastro H., Lancha A. H.. Carbohydrate mouth rinse: does it improve endurance exercise performance? Nutrition Journal 2010;9:33. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-9-33
Fares E.J., Kayser B. Carbohydrate mouth rinse effects on exercise capacity in pre- and postprandial States. J Nutr Metab 2011, Article ID 385962. doi:10.1155/2011/385962
Krogh A., Lindhard J. The relative value of fat and carbohydrate as sources of muscular energy. Biochem J 1920;14:290-363. doi:10.1042/bj0140290
Rollo I. Williams C. Effect of mouth-rinsing carbohydrate solutions on endurance performance. Sports Med. 2011;41(6):449-61. doi:10.2165/11588730-000000000-00000
Biochemistry, Metabolism, and Nutrition
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Then, under aerobic conditions, there is an energy yield of 96%, hence, glycogen is a extremely efficient storage form of energy, with a gain of 36% compared to anaerobic conditions.
