Changes in activity and molecular properties of fructose 1, 6-bisphosphatase during fasting and refeeding

During prolonged starvation, fructose 1,6bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) activity in rabbit liver and kidney shows a transient decrease during the first 36 hr, before rising at 96 hr to levels severalfold higher than those found in the livers of fed animals. Proteolytic activity appears in the 105,000 x g supernatant fraction within several hours of starvation, and continues to increase during the entire 96-hr period. On refeeding, the activities return to nearly the control levels within 24 hr. The catalytic properties of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase isolated from the livers of fasted rabbits are similar to those of the enzyme from fed animals, but its structure is modified, since it no longer contains the single tryptophan residue located near the NH(2)-terminus in the native enzyme. Thus this tryptophan residue is not required for the neutral pH optimum. The structural changes and the transient decrease in activity may be related to the observed increase in "free" proteolytic activity.