Binding of hexose bisphosphates to muscle phosphofructokinase

On the basis of kinetic activation assays, the apparent affinity of muscle phosphofructokinase for fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was about 9-fold greater than that for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, which in turn was about 10 times higher than that for glucose 1,6-bisphosphate. Equilibrium binding experiments showed that both fructose bisphosphates bind to phosphofructokinase with negative cooperativity; the affinity for fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was about 1 order of magnitude greater than the affinity for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. Binding of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate to phosphofructokinase was antagonized by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and glucose 1,6-bisphosphate and vice versa. Both fructose bisphosphates promoted aggregation of the enzyme to higher polymers as indicated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Other indicators of phosphofructokinase conformation such as thiol reactivity and maximum activation of in vitro phosphorylation by the catalytic subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase gave identical results in the presence of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, or glucose 1,6-bisphosphate, indicating a common conformation is produced by all three ligands. It is concluded that the sugar bisphosphates bind to a single site on the enzyme.