6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase was purified from rat liver and hepatoma (HTC) cells. The HTC cell enzyme had kinetic properties different from those of the liver enzyme (more sensitive to inhibition by citrate and not inhibited by sn-glycerol3-phosphate) and was not a substrate of the cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase. Unlike the liver enzyme, which is bifunctional and phosphorylated by fructose 2,6-[2-32P]bisphosphate, the HTC cell enzyme contained no detectable fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase activity and phosphorylation by fructose 2,6-[2-32P]-bisphosphate could not be detected. HTC cell fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase could be separated from 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase activity by purification. Antibodies raised against liver 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase did not precipitate HTC cell fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase whose kinetic properties were completely different from those of the liver enzyme.Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, Fru(2,6)P2, is an intracellular regulatory molecule that controls glycolysis in mammalian tissues by integrating hormonal and metabolic signals. These signals act through 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (PFK-2) and fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase-2), which catalyze the synthesis and degradation of Fru(2,6)P2, respectively. Both activities are catalysed by a single protein composed of two identical subunits, each of which bears the two catalytic sites. The liver bifunctional enzyme can be phosphorylated on a serine residue by the cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase which inactivates PFK-2 and activates FBPase-2. Experimental evidence supports the existence of several PFK-2/FBPase-2 isozymes, which differ from each other in kinetic properties, FBPase-2 content and phosphorylation by protein kinases. (For recent reviews, see [I, 21.) Compared to normal cells, many tumour cells display a high glycolytic rate which is maintained even under aerobic conditions. Recent work has shown that Fru(2,6)P2 might be involved in this phenomenon [3 -61. In addition, several agents or conditions such as cyclic AMP, adenosine, ethanol, and anoxia, which are known to decrease Fru(2,6)P2 concentration in hepatocytes [l, 21, are without effect on this regulator in hepatoma (HTC) cells [6]. This might result from abnormal properties of HTC cell PFK-2. The purpose of this work was to compare PFK-2 from liver and HTC cells. Our results show the two enzymes differ in many respects, but, most of all, in their FBPase-2 content. In HTC cells, FBPase-