Kinetics of the modulation of chloroplastic fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase activity by thioredoxin fb

The inactivation of reduced chloroplast fructose-bisphosphatase by oxidized thioredoxin fb has been studied during the enzyme reaction along the principle of Tian and Tsou [Biochemistry (1982) 21, 1028-1032]. A minimum model for this process is presented and its kinetic and equilibrium parameters have been determined. Thioredoxin fb binding to the enzyme is fast relative to catalysis and product desorption. Under quasi-equilibrium conditions oxidized thioredoxin is a non-competitive inhibitor of the enzyme reaction and must bind to a regulatory 'thioredoxin site'. The slow deactivation is thermodynamically favoured, and as expected from binding data, slowed down by the presence of substrate, fructose bisphosphate. The desorption of thioredoxin fb from the enzyme is extremely slow and this small protein may be regarded as a 'regulatory' subunit of fructose-bisphosphatase.