Chemical modification of the most reactive thiol group of rabbit skeletal muscle phosphofructokinase, to reduce its affinity toward substrate ATP and activating monovalent cations.

The most reactive single thiol group of rabbit skeletal muscle phosphofructokinase per protomer was modified with the following thiol reagents: iodoacetamide, iodoacetate, 2-hydroxyethyl disulfide, 3,3'-dithiodipropionate, and glutathione disulfide. As a result of the modification, there was increase in not only the apparent activation constants of activating monovalent cations, NH4+ (about 3-, 9-, 12-, 20-, and 30-fold, respectively) and K+ (about 3-, 10-, 15-, 17-, and 20-fold, respectively), but also the apparent Km for ATP (about 3-, 10-, 15-, 100-, and 20-fold, respectively) without any significant change in maximum velocity or apparent Km for fructose 6-phosphate in the presence of high concentrations of NH4+. These results suggest that modification of the thiol group destabilizes the enzyme-monovalent cation-MgATP complex proposed by Suelter [Science (1970) 168, 789-795], causing an apparent loss in catalytic activity.