Allosterism pyruvate dehydrogenase

Acetyl-CoA is a potent allosteric effector of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. It allosterically inhibits pyruvate kinase (as noted in Chapter 19) and activates pyruvate carboxylase. Because it also allosterically inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase (the enzymatic link between glycolysis and the TCA cycle), the cellular fate of pyruvate is strongly dependent on acetyl-CoA levels. A rise in... 

Figure 17-6. Regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). Arrows with wavy shafts indicate allosteric effects. A Regulation by end-product inhibition. B Regulation by interconversion of active and inactive forms.

Fig. 9. A schematic drawing of a possible mechanism for the reaction catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. The three enzymes Elf E2, and E3 are located so that lipoic acid covalently linked to E2 can rotate between the active sites containing thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) and pyruvate (Pyr) on Elt CoA on E2, and FAD on E3. Acetyl-CoA and GTP are allosteric effectors of E, and NAD+ is an inhibitor of the overall reaction.

Production of Acetyl-CoA by the Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Is Regulated by Allosteric and Covalent Mechanisms... 

Acetyl-CoA is a critical regulator of the fate of pyruvate it allosterically inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase and stimulates pyruvate carboxylase (see Fig. 15-20). In these ways acetyl-CoA prevents it own further production from pyruvate while stimulating the conversion of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, the first step in gluconeo-genesis. 

Allosteric activation of hepatic pyruvate carboxylase by acetyl CoA occurs during fasting. As a result of excessive lipolysis in adipose tis sue, the liver is flooded with fatty acids (see p. 328). The rate of for mation of acetyl CoA by p-oxidation of these fatty acids exceeds the capacity of the liver to oxidize it to C02 and H20. As a result, acetyl CoA accumulates and leads to activation of pyruvate carboxylase. [Note Acetyl CoA inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase (see p. 108). Thus, this single compound can divert pyruvate toward gluconeogenesis and away from the TCA cycle.]... 

Answer Oxygen is the terminal electron acceptor in oxidative phosphorylation, and thus is needed to recycle NAD+ from NADH. NADH is produced in greatest quantities by the oxidative reactions of the citric acid cycle. In the absence of 02, the supply of NAD+ is depleted, and the accumulated NADH allosterically inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase and cc-ketoglutarate... 

The product of this reaction, oxaloacetate, can either enter the gluconeogenic pathway (Chap. 11) by way of malate or condense with acetyl-CoA to yield citrate. Pyruvate carboxylase is an allosteric enzyme, and it is activated by the heterotropic effector, acetyl-CoA. Thus, pyruvate in the mitochondria is the substrate for either pyruvate dehydrogenase or pyruvate carboxylase, the activities of which, in turn, are controlled by reactants associated with the citric acid cycle. The interplay among pyruvate dehydrogenase, pyruvate carboxylase, pyruvate, and the citric acid cycle is shown in Fig. 12-9. 

We start our analysis of the TCA cycle kinetics by examining the predicted steady state production of NADH as a function of the NAD and ADP concentrations. From Equation (6.31) we see that there can be no net flux through the TCA cycle when concentration of either NAD or ADP, which serve as substrates for reactions in the cycle, is zero. Thus when the ratios [ATP]/[ADP] and [NADH]/[NAD] are high, we expect the TCA cycle reaction fluxes to be inhibited by simple mass action. In addition, the allosteric inhibition of several enzymes (for example inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase by NADH and ACCOA) has important effects. 

The Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Is Regulated Allosterically and by Reversible Phosphorylation... 

A fourth fate of pyruvate is its oxidative decarboxylation to acetyl CoA. This irreversible reaction inside mitochondria is a decisive reaction in metabolism it commits the carbon atoms of carbohydrates and amino acids to oxidation by the citric acid cycle or to the synthesis of lipids. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, which catalyzes this irreversible funneling, is stringently regulated by multiple allosteric interactions and covalent modifications. Pyruvate is rapidly converted into acetyl CoA only if ATP is needed or if two-carbon fragments are required for the synthesis of lipids. 

Pyruvate dehydrogenase is allosterically inhibited by high levels of ... 

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex catalyzes an irreversible reaction that is the entry point of pyruvate into the TCA cycle (see below) and is under complex regulation by allosteric and covalent modification of the pyruvate dehydrogenase component of the complex. The end products of the overall reaction (NADH and acetyl-CoA) are potent allosteric inhibitors of the pyruvate dehydrogenase... 

The activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase is regulated by two mechanisms product inhibition and covalent modification (Section 6.5). The enzyme complex is allosterically activated by NAD+, CoASH, and AMP. It is inhibited by high concentrations of ATP and the reaction products acetyl-CoA and NADH. In vertebrates these molecules also activate a kinase, which converts the active pyruvate dehydrogenase complex to an inactive phosphorylated form. High concentrations of the substrates pyruvate, CoASH, and NAD+ inhibit the activity of the kinase. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is reactivated by a dephosphorylation reaction catalyzed by a phosphoprotein phosphatase. The phosphoprotein phosphatase is activated when the mitochondrial ATP concentration is low. 

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