Human pancreatic glucokinase (GlkB) complements the glucose signalling defect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae hxk2 mutants

Human pancreatic glucokinase (GlkB, hexokinase IV) has been expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The recombinant protein showed similar enzyme kinetics to those described for the original enzyme. When expressed in hxk2 yeast mutants, GlkB complemented both the glucose induction and the glucose repression defects present in the mutant. It was also functional in regulating the activity of the Snf1 kinase complex in response to glucose, participating in the regulation of the Reg1/Glc7 phosphatase complex, as its yeast counterpart.     

Lead–yeast hexokinase interaction: modifications to protein structure caused by the metal

The interaction between lead and yeast hexokinase has been studied. Lead provokes a large variation in the aggregation state of the protein, forming bigger structures of high molecular mass. This phenomenon is characterized by a small modification in the tridimensional structure and a great variation in the secondary structure. There is a loss in α‐helix which is compensated by an enhancement in β‐sheet. The polypeptide chain is more stable in the β‐sheet structure corresponding to the aggregate forms. During this change the enzyme maintains a high level of activity in the monomer and also in the aggregate form. This implies that the enzyme function is not greatly affected by the change, and active sites are retained without important modifications. According to kinetic measurements the ATP site is more affected than the glucose site. There is a mixed type inhibition with a main competitive component when glucose acts as a variable substrate. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hexokinase 2 in Cancer: A Prima Donna Playing Multiple Characters

Hexokinases are a family of ubiquitous exose-phosphorylating enzymes that prime glucose for intracellular utilization. Hexokinase 2 (HK2) is the most active isozyme of the family, mainly expressed in insulin-sensitive tissues. HK2 induction in most neoplastic cells contributes to their metabolic rewiring towards aerobic glycolysis, and its genetic ablation inhibits malignant growth in mouse models. HK2 can dock to mitochondria, where it performs additional functions in autophagy regulation and cell death inhibition that are independent of its enzymatic activity. The recent definition of HK2 localization to contact points between mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum called Mitochondria Associated Membranes (MAMs) has unveiled a novel HK2 role in regulating intracellular Ca²⁺ fluxes. Here, we propose that HK2 localization in MAMs of tumor cells is key in sustaining neoplastic progression, as it acts as an intersection node between metabolic and survival pathways. Disrupting these functions by targeting HK2 subcellular localization can constitute a promising anti-tumor strategy.     

Hexokinase PII: structural analysis and glucose signalling in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Hexokinase PII (Hxk2) is a yeast glucose phosphorylating enzyme that, besides its role in glycolysis, seems to have an additional role in glucose signalling. To study the domains in Hxk2 that may participate in this latter process, we have constructed 11 mutant alleles using site-directed mutagenesis. Six of them were clustered charged-to-alanine mutants in which clusters of charged residues were changed to alanine residues. Two of them contained substitutions in Ser15 to either alanine or glutamic acid and three of them had deletions at either the N-terminus or the C-terminus of the protein. In most of them, the catalytic activity correlated directly with their functionality in glucose signalling. However, we found two mutants (Delta1-15 and Delta476-486) that, having low catalytic activity, were still fully functional in glucose signalling. This may indicate that other factors and not just the catalytic activity of the enzyme may be important for the functionality of the protein in glucose signalling.     

Inhibition of glycolysis by 2-deoxygalactose in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The enzymatic steps involved in the inhibition of glycolysis by 2-deoxygalactose in Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been investigated. Yeast, incubated with 2-deoxygalactose, accumulates up to 8 mM-2-deoxygalactose, 30 mM-2-deoxygalactose-1-phosphate and 0.25 mM-UDP-2-deoxygalactose and UDP-2-deoxyglucose. An inverse correlation between 2-deoxygalactose-1-phosphate content and rate of glycolysis has been observed. The intracellular concentration of glycolytic intermediates and related metabolites point to the hexokinase and phosphofructokinase steps as the targets for the inhibition of glycolysis by 2-deoxygalactose and rule out all other mechanisms that have been proposed to explain this inhibition.     

赤霞珠葡萄果实糖积累与糖代谢相关酶的关系

以赤霞珠葡萄果实为试材,在花后20～110d（每隔10d取样一次）,测定和分析果实生长发育过程中糖分（葡萄糖、果糖、蔗糖）积累的动态变化,以及不同时期果实己糖激酶（HXK）、细胞壁酸性转化酶（CWINV）和蔗糖合酶（SuSy）活性变化趋势。结果表明,赤霞珠葡萄果实整个发育过程中主要以积累葡萄糖和果糖为主,蔗糖含量极微;HXK活性与葡萄糖、果糖呈相反的变化趋势;葡萄糖和果糖含量低时,CWINV和SuSy的活性开始上升;反之,CWINV和SuSy的活性降低。相关性分析表明,蔗糖含量与葡萄糖、果糖含量显著相关,葡萄糖和果糖含量与CWINV和SuSy活性负相关。     

Modifications induced by zinc,cadmium and mercury acetates on hexokinase in aqueous solutions

Preferential interactions of hexokinase with solvent were studied in aqueous solutions of Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Hg²⁺ acetates. In addition, these preferential interactions were correlated with protein solubility in the solvent media and the influence of salts on the tertiary structure of hexokinase using viscometric studies. The viscometric results show that hexokinase can undergo a conformational change at 2·5mM of Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺ salts, whereas the effect of Hg²⁺ acetate on hexokinase is evident at ten times smaller concentrations. The interaction parameter is always positive for all the salts studied, indicating that interaction of the salt and protein is thermodynamically unfavourable, although this effect is lower for the Zn²⁺ salt. The transfer free energy parameter and solubility data show that for hexokinase zinc acetate is a salting-in agent, mercury acetate is a salting-out agent and cadmium acetate cannot be clearly classified. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry.     

鲨肝刺激物质降血糖作用机制的研究

目的:研究鲨肝刺激物质的降血糖作用机制。方法:采用四氧嘧啶糖尿病小鼠模型, 观察鲨肝刺激物质对糖尿病小鼠空腹血糖、果糖胺、胰岛素、肝糖原、己糖激酶、过氧化脂质等生化指标的影响。采用离体培养原代小鼠肝细胞, 研究鲨肝刺激物质对四氯化碳、对乙酰氨基酚所致肝细胞损伤的作用。结果:鲨肝刺激物质显著降低糖尿病小鼠空腹血糖和果糖胺水平, 增加血清胰岛素、肝糖原含量, 提高己糖激酶活性, 减轻四氯化碳、对乙酰氨基酚对原代小鼠肝细胞的损伤。结论:鲨肝刺激物质降血糖作用机制与保护胰岛和肝细胞功能、提高己糖激酶活性、促进肝糖原合成和抗氧化损伤作用密切相关。     

The Role of Hexokinase and Hexose Transporters in Preferential Use of Glucose over Fructose and Downstream Metabolic Pathways in the Yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

The development of efficient bioprocesses requires inexpensive and renewable substrates. Molasses, a by-product of the sugar industry, contains mostly sucrose, a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose, both easily absorbed by microorganisms. Yarrowia lipolytica, a platform for the production of various chemicals, can be engineered for sucrose utilization by heterologous invertase expression, yet the problem of preferential use of glucose over fructose remains, as fructose consumption begins only after glucose depletion what significantly extends the bioprocesses. We investigated the role of hexose transporters and hexokinase (native and fructophilic) in this preference. Analysis of growth profiles and kinetics of monosaccharide utilization has proven that the glucose preference in Y. lipolytica depends primarily on the affinity of native hexokinase for glucose. Interestingly, combined overexpression of either hexokinase with hexose transporters significantly accelerated citric acid biosynthesis and enhanced pentose phosphate pathway leading to secretion of polyols (31.5 g/L vs. no polyols in the control strain). So far, polyol biosynthesis was efficient in glycerol-containing media. Moreover, overexpression of fructophilic hexokinase in combination with hexose transporters not only shortened this process to 48 h (84 h for the medium with glycerol) but also allowed to obtain 23% more polyols (40 g/L) compared to the glycerol medium (32.5 g/L).