Purification and characterization of a novel xylulose 5-phosphate-activated protein phosphatase catalyzing dephosphorylation of fructose-6-phosphate,2-kinase:fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase.

We have shown previously (Nishimura, M., Fedorov, S., and Uyeda, K. (1994) (J. Biol. Chem. 269, 26100-26106) that the administration of high concentrations of glucose stimulates dephosphorylation of Fru-6-P,2-kinase: Fru-2,6-bisphosphatase in perfused liver, and xylulose (Xu) 5-P activates the dephosphorylation reaction. To characterize the protein phosphatase, we have purified the Xu 5-P-activated protein phosphatase to homogeneity from livers of rats injected with high glucose. Several protein phosphatases in the livers were separated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, but only one peak of the enzyme was activated by Xu 5-P. The protein phosphatase was inhibited by okadaic acid (IC50 = 1-3 nM) and did not require Mg2+ or Ca2+, suggesting that the enzyme was type 2A. The enzyme was a heterotrimer (M(r) = 150,000) and consisted of structural (A, 65 kDa) catalytic (C, 36 kDa), and regulatory (B, 52 kDa) subunits. Amino acid sequences of five tryptic peptides derived from the B subunit showed similarity with those of the B alpha isoform of rat protein phosphatase 2A, but five out of 73 residues were different. The protein phosphatase catalyzed dephosphorylation of Fru-6-P,2-kinase:Fru-2,6-Pase, phosphorylase alpha, and pyruvate kinase, and the Km values were 0.8 microM, 3.7 microM, and 2.2 microM, respectively. Among these substrates dephosphorylation of only the bifunctional enzyme was activated by Xu 5-P, and the K alpha value for Xu 5-P was 20 microM. Xu 5-P was the only sugar phosphate which activated the PP2A among all the sugar phosphates examined. These results demonstrated the existence and isolation of a unique heterotrimeric protein phosphatase 2A in rat liver which catalyzed the dephosphorylation of Fru-6-P,2-kinase:Fru-2,6-Pase and was activated specifically by Xu 5-P. The Xu 5-P-activated protein phosphatase 2A explains the increased Fru 2,6-P2 level in liver after high glucose administration.