J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 263, Issue 36, 19475-19479, 12, 1988
The isocitrate dehydrogenase phosphorylation cycle. Identification of the primary rate-limiting step
CS Stueland, K Gorden and DC LaPorte
Department of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455.
In Escherichia coli, the branch point between the Krebs cycle and the
glyoxylate bypass is regulated by the phosphorylation of isocitrate
dehydrogenase (IDH). Phosphorylation inactivates IDH, forcing isocitrate
through the bypass. This bypass is essential for growth on acetate but does
not serve a useful function when alternative carbon sources, such as
glucose or pyruvate, are also present. When pyruvate or glucose is added to
a culture growing on acetate, the cells responded by dephosphorylating IDH
and thus inhibiting the flow of isocitrate through the glyoxylate bypass.
In an effort to identify the primary rate-limiting step in the response of
IDH phosphorylation to alternative carbon sources, we have examined the
response rates of congenic strains of E. coli which express different
levels of IDH kinase/phosphatase, the bifunctional protein which catalyzes
this phosphorylation cycle. The rate of the pyruvate-induced
dephosphorylation of IDH was proportional to the level of IDH
kinase/phosphatase, indicating that IDH kinase/phosphatase was primarily
rate-limiting for dephosphorylation. However, the identity of the primary
rate-limiting step appears to depend on the stimulus, since the rate of
dephosphorylation of IDH in response to glucose was independent of the
level of IDH kinase/phosphatase.