Effect of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate on the activity of liver pyruvate kinase after limited proteolysis with cathepsin B.

Treatment of rat liver-type pyruvate kinase with rabbit liver cathepsin B at pH 7.0 caused loss of activity in the standard assay with 0.6 mM of phosphoenolpyruvate. The modified enzyme exhibited about 10% of the original activity when assayed with 2.0 mM of the substrate. No detectable change in the subunit molecular weight of the enzyme occurred during inactivation. On addition of 4 microM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate the activity of the treated enzyme was restored to that of the original enzyme. Limited proteolysis of the enzyme by cathepsin B appears to enhance the requirement for the positive effector, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate.