The mobilization of metabolic energy from adipocytes depends on a tightly regulated balance between hydrolysis and resynthesis of triacylglycerides (TAGs). Hydrolysis is stimulated by b-adrenergic signalling to PKA that mediates phosphorylation of lipolytic enzymes, including hormonesensitive lipase (HSL). TAG resynthesis is associated with high-energy consumption, which when inordinate, leads to increased AMPK activity that acts to restrain hydrolysis of TAGs by inhibiting PKA-mediated activation of HSL. Here, we report that in primary mouse adipocytes, PKA associates with and phosphorylates AMPKa1 at Ser-173 to impede threonine (Thr-172) phosphorylation and thus activation of AMPKa1 by LKB1 in response to lipolytic signals. Activation of AMPKa1 by LKB1 is also blocked by PKA-mediated phosphorylation of AMPKa1 in vitro. Functional analysis of an AMPKa1 species carrying a non-phosphorylatable mutation at Ser-173 revealed a critical function of this phosphorylation for efficient release of free fatty acids and glycerol in response to PKAactivating signals. These results suggest a new mechanism of negative regulation of AMPK activity by PKA that is important for converting a lipolytic signal into an effective lipolytic response.

Type 1 pili from uropathogenic Escherichia coli are a prototype of adhesive surface organelles assembled and secreted by the conserved chaperone/usher pathway. We reconstituted type 1 pilus biogenesis from purified pilus proteins. The usher FimD acted as a catalyst to accelerate the ordered assembly of protein subunits independently of cellular energy. Its activity was highly dependent on the adhesin subunit FimH, which triggered the conversion of FimD into a high-efficiency assembly catalyst. Furthermore, a simple kinetic model adequately rationalized usher-catalyzed pilus assembly in vivo. Our results contribute to a mechanistic understanding of protein-catalyzed biogenesis of supramolecular protein complexes at the bacterial outer cell membrane.

Vitamin B6 is an essential metabolite in all organisms. De novo synthesis of the vitamin can occur through either of two mutually exclusive pathways referred to as deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate-dependent and deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate-independent. The latter pathway has only recently been discovered and is distinguished by the presence of two genes, Pdx1 and Pdx2, encoding the synthase and glutaminase subunit of PLP synthase, respectively. In the presence of ammonia, the synthase alone displays an exceptional polymorphic synthetic ability in carrying out a complex set of reactions, including pentose and triose isomerization, imine formation, ammonia addition, aldol-type condensation, cyclization, and aromatization, that convert C3 and C5 precursors into the cofactor B6 vitamer, pyridoxal 5-phosphate. Here, employing the Bacillus subtilis proteins, we demonstrate key features along the catalytic path. We show that ribose 5-phosphate is the preferred C5 substrate and provide unequivocal evidence that the pent(ul)ose phosphate imine occurs at lysine 81 rather than lysine 149 as previously postulated. While this study was under review, corroborative crystallographic evidence has been provided for imine formation with the corresponding lysine group in the enzyme from Thermotoga maritima (Zein, F., Zhang, Y., Kang, Y.-N., Burns, K., Begley, T. P., and Ealick, S. E. (2006) Biochemistry 45, 14609 -14620). We have detected an unanticipated covalent reaction intermediate that occurs subsequent to imine formation and is dependent on the presence of Pdx2 and glutamine. This step most likely primes the enzyme for acceptance of the triose sugar, ultimately leading to formation of the pyridine ring. Two alternative structures are proposed for the chromophoric intermediate, both of which require substantial modifications of the proposed mechanism.Pyridoxal 5Ј-phosphate (PLP) 2 is an essential cofactor of many enzymes in all living systems. It is involved in amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism and has recently been implicated as an antioxidant with a potent ability to quench singlet oxygen and the superoxide anion (2-4). Two distinct pathways for its de novo biosynthesis have been identified (5-13). One, referred to as the DXP-dependent pathway, is found in a relatively small number of eubacteria and has been extensively studied in Escherichia coli. In this pathway, pyridoxine 5Ј-phosphate is derived from DXP and 4-phosphohydroxy-L-threonine (9, 10). The second pathway, referred to as DXP-independent, has only been identified recently and appears to be far more prevalent, i.e. in archaea, fungi, plants, and the majority of bacteria (2, 13). It is characterized by the presence of two genes, Pdx1 and Pdx2. The corresponding proteins function together as the glutamine amidotransferase, PLP synthase with Pdx2 as the glutaminase domain and Pdx1 as the acceptor domain. As a result of extensive labeling studies in yeast and biochemical analysis with the recombinant enzymes, the substrates of Pdx1 have recently been identified (11,12, 1...

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a heterotrimeric serine/threonine kinase that is involved in the maintenance of energy homeostasis and recovery from metabolic stresses both at the cellular and whole body level. AMPK is found in all tissues examined so far, and a number of downstream targets have been identified. Recent work suggests that AMPK has specialized functions in the brain, such as involvement in appetite control. Nevertheless, brain-specific substrates of AMPK are unknown. Here, we performed a proteomic in vitro screen to identify new putative AMPK targets in brain. Prefractionation of murine brain lysates by liquid chromatography, utilizing four different, serially connected columns with different chemistries was found to be superior to a single column method. A pilot screen involving incubation of small volumes of individual fractions with radiolabeled ATP in the presence or absence of active AMPK, followed by one-dimensional SDS-PAGE and autoradiography, revealed the presence of potential AMPK substrates in a number of different fractions. On the basis of these results, several kinase assays were repeated with selected fractions on a preparative scale. Following separation of the radiolabeled proteins by two-dimensional electrophoresis and comparison of samples with or without added AMPK by differential autoradiography, 53 AMPK-specific phospho-spots were detected and excised. Thereof, 26 unique proteins were identified by mass spectrometry and were considered as new potential downstream targets of AMPK. Kinase assays with 14 highly purified candidate substrate proteins confirmed that at least 12 were direct targets of AMPK in vitro. Although the physiological consequences of these phosphorylation events remain to be established, hypotheses concerning the most intriguing potential targets of AMPK that have been identified by this search are discussed herein. Our data suggests that signaling by AMPK in brain is likely to be involved in the regulation of pathways that have not yet been linked to this kinase.