Phosphorylation of lactate dehydrogenase by protein kinases

The influence of phosphorylation on the properties of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) has been studied. Data obtained using the immobilization approach support the assumption that the autophosphorylation of LDH discovered previously in the presence of ATP has no relation to protein kinase activity of the enzyme. Phosphorylation of native LDH by tyrosine kinases was shown to be inefficient. However, the efficiency of the phosphorylation considerably increased after the dissociation of LDH into non-native forms of the enzyme. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase catalyzes incorporation of 0.8-0.9 mole phosphate per mole of LDH tetramer. The phosphorylation results in an increase in activity by 25-30% and increases markedly the stability of the enzyme during cold inactivation. Phosphorylation of LDH by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, unlike the phosphorylation on tyrosine residues, is supposed to be of importance for the control of cell metabolism.