PubMed · 8278806
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D E Cane. 1994-01-21. Polyketide biosynthesis: molecular recognition or genetic programming?. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.8278806
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Anabolic metabolism of carbon in mammals is mediated via the one- and two-carbon carriers S-adenosyl methionine and acetyl-coenzyme A. In contrast, anabolic metabolism of three-carbon units via propionate has not been shown to extensively occur. Mammals are primarily thought to oxidize the three-carbon short chain fatty acid propionate by shunting propionyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA for entry into the TCA cycle. Here, we found that this may not be absolute as, in mammals, one nonoxidative fate of propionyl-CoA is to condense to two three-carbon units into a six-carbon trans-2-methyl-2-pentenoyl-CoA (2M2PE-CoA). We confirmed this reaction pathway using purified protein extracts provided limited substrates and verified the product via LC-MS using a synthetic standard. In whole-body in vivo stable isotope tracing following infusion of 13C-labeled valine at steady state, 2M2PE-CoA was found to form via propionyl-CoA in multiple murine tissues, including heart, kidney, and to a lesser degree, in brown adipose tissue, liver, and tibialis anterior muscle. Using ex vivo isotope tracing, we found that 2M2PE-CoA also formed in human myocardial tissue incubated with propionate to a limited extent. While the complete enzymology of this pathway remains to be elucidated, these results confirm the in vivo existence of at least one anabolic three- to six-carbon reaction conserved in humans and mice that utilizes propionate.
Although SAT (serine acetyltransferase) of Escherichia coli, which catalyses the first step in cysteine synthesis, proceeds via a random-order ternary complex reaction mechanism [Hindson and Shaw (2003) Biochemistry 42, 3113-3119], it has been suggested that the nearly identical enzyme from Salmonella typhimurium might involve an acetyl-enzyme intermediate [Leu and Cook (1994) Protein Peptide Lett. 1, 157-162]. In this study the alternative acetyl acceptor threonine and the alternative acyl donor, propionyl-CoA were used to further investigate the reaction mechanism of SAT from E. coli. Steady-state kinetic data and dead-end inhibition studies were again diagnostic of a random-order ternary complex reaction mechanism for alternative substrates. Since earlier kinetic studies with SAT from S. typhimurium suggested that cysteine competes with acetyl-CoA for binding, rather than serine with which it is isostructural, the specificity of the serine-binding pocket was assessed with three substrate mimics; beta-hydroxypropionic acid, glycine and ethanolamine. The data show that SAT interacts productively with the amino and hydroxymethyl moieties of serine, whereas the carboxyl group provides an essential contribution to binding strongly, supporting a view that cysteine will interact productively at the serine-binding site. Furthermore, since the hydroxymethyl contact region of the serine-binding site appears able to accommodate the methylene and acetyl moeties of threonine and O -acetyl-serine respectively, the site is unlikely to provide obligatory short-range contacts with the hydroxyl group of serine, a prerequisite for exclusion of cysteine. Such a proposal is supported by the results of micro-calorimetric studies which show that cysteine competes with serine for binding to SAT rather than with CoA. It follows that tight binding of cysteine at the serine-binding site near the catalytic centre may be the effector of a substantial reduction in the affinity of SAT for CoA, yielding the observed pattern of steady-state inhibition and the mechanism by which cysteine mediates effective end-product control of its synthesis.
The gluconeogenic phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase is active in Escherichia coli during its growth on glucose. The present study investigated the influence of growth rates and PEP carboxykinase knockout on the anaplerotic fluxes in E. coli. The intracellular fluxes were determined using the complementary methods of flux ratio analysis and metabolic flux analysis based on [U-(13)C(6)]glucose labeling experiments and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of cellular amino acids and glycerol. Significant activity of PEP carboxykinase was identified in wild-type E. coli, and the ATP dissipation for the futile cycling via this reaction accounted for up to 8.2% of the total energy flux. Flux analysis of pck deletion mutant revealed that abolishment of PEP carboxykinase activity resulted in a remarkably reduced flux through the anaplerotic PEP carboxylase and the activation of the glyoxylate shunt, with 23% of isocitrate found being channeled in the glyoxylate shunt. The changes in intracellular metabolite concentrations and specific enzyme activities associated with different growth rates and pck deletion, were also determined. Combining the measurement data of in vivo fluxes, metabolite concentrations and enzyme activities, the in vivo regulations of PEP carboxykinase flux, PEP carboxylation, and glyoxylate shunt in E. coli are discussed.