Subcellular enzyme binding and the regulation of glycolysis in anoxic turtle brain

The association of glycolytic enzymes with the particulate fraction of the cell was assessed in the brain of the freshwater turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans, using three different methodologies. Each method showed that a large percentage of each of eight enzymes was bound in brain. The effect of environmental anoxia (5 or 20 h submergence in N2-bubbled water at 7 degrees C) on the distribution of enzymes between free and bound states was analyzed. All three techniques showed a significant increase in the percentages of brain aldolase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase bound during anoxia and no change in lactate dehydrogenase or creatine kinase binding. Two methodologies also showed an increase in the percent bound during anoxia for hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, and phosphoglycerate kinase. An increased association of glycolytic enzymes with structural elements of the cell during anoxia may physically position the glycolytic pathway to facilitate coupling between this ATP-generating pathway and ATP-utilizing processes, such as membrane ion pumps.