Pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 1, mitochondrial is an

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''PDK1''

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

. It codes for an

isozyme In biochemistry, isozymes (also known as isoenzymes or more generally as multiple forms of enzymes) are enzymes that differ in amino acid sequence but catalyze the same chemical reaction. Isozymes usually have different kinetic parameters (e.g. dif ...

pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (also pyruvate dehydrogenase complex kinase, PDC kinase, or PDK; ) is a kinase enzyme which acts to inactivate the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase by phosphorylating it using ATP. PDK thus participates in the regula ...

(PDK).

Pyruvate dehydrogenase Pyruvate dehydrogenase is an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction of pyruvate and a lipoamide to give the acetylated dihydrolipoamide and carbon dioxide. The conversion requires the coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate. Pyruvate dehydrogenase is u ...

(PDH) is a part of a

mitochondria A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used ...

l multienzyme complex that catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate and is one of the major enzymes responsible for the regulation of

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis ( British also homoeostasis) (/hɒmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/) is the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and ...

of carbohydrate fuels in mammals. The enzymatic activity is regulated by a

phosphorylation In chemistry, phosphorylation is the attachment of a phosphate group to a molecule or an ion. This process and its inverse, dephosphorylation, are common in biology and could be driven by natural selection. Text was copied from this source, wh ...

/dephosphorylation cycle. Phosphorylation of PDH by a specific pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) results in inactivation.

Structure

The mature protein encoded by the PDK4 gene contains 407

amino acids Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

in its sequence. To form the active protein, two of the polypeptide chains come together to form an open conformation. The

catalytic domain In biology and biochemistry, the active site is the region of an enzyme where substrate molecules bind and undergo a chemical reaction. The active site consists of amino acid residues that form temporary bonds with the substrate (binding site) ...

of PDK1 might exist separately in cells and important for the regulation of the PDK1 substrate. The crystal structural studies suggest that the PIF-pocket is located at the catalytic domain as well.

Function

The Pyruvate Dehydrogenase (PDH) complex must be tightly regulated due to its central role in general metabolism. Within the complex, there are three serine residues on the E1 component that are sites for phosphorylation; this phosphorylation inactivates the complex. In humans, there have been four isozymes of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase that have been shown to phosphorylate these three sites: PDK1, PDK2, PDK3, and PDK4. PDK1 is the only enzyme capable of phosphorylating the 3rd serine site. When the

thiamine pyrophosphatase In enzymology, a nucleoside-diphosphatase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction :a nucleoside diphosphate + H2O \rightleftharpoons a nucleotide + phosphate Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are nucleoside diphosphate and H ...

(TPP) coenzyme is bound, the rates of phosphorylation by all four isozymes are drastically affected; specifically, the incorporation of phosphate groups by PDK1 into sites 2 and 3 is significantly reduced.

Regulation

As the primary regulators of a crucial step in the central metabolic pathway, the pyruvate dehydrogenase family is tightly regulated itself by a myriad of factors. PDK activity has been shown to decrease in individuals consuming a diet that is high in n-3 fatty acids; however, PDH activity remained unaffected. Additionally, PDK1 is inhibited by AZD7545 and

dichloroacetic acid Dichloroacetic acid (DCA), sometimes called bichloroacetic acid (BCA), is the chemical compound with formula . It is an acid, an analogue of acetic acid, in which 2 of the 3 hydrogen atoms of the methyl group have been replaced by chlorine atoms. ...

(DCA); the mechanism was discovered to be the trifluoromethylpropanamide end of AZD7545 projecting into the lipoyl-binding pocket of PDK1. Dichloroacetic acid was found near the helix bundle in the

N-terminal The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the ami ...

domain of PDK1. Bound DCA promotes local conformational changes that are communicated to both nucleotide-binding and lipoyl-binding pockets of PDK1, leading to the inactivation of kinase activity.

Clinical Significance

PDK1 is relevant in a variety of clinical conditions throughout the body. As PDK1 regulates the PDH complex, it has been proven to be an important regulator in certain cells, including the beta cells within the islets of the pancreas. In order to optimize glucose-stimulated

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism ...

secretion (GSIS), a primary function of the pancreas, a low PDK1 activity must be maintained to keep PDH in a dephosphorylated and active state. Maintaining low PDK1 levels has also proven to be beneficial in certain regions of the brain, as it confers a high tolerance to

amyloid beta Amyloid beta (Aβ or Abeta) denotes peptides of 36–43 amino acids that are the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. The peptides derive from the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which is ...

, a metabolite that is directly correlated with the development of

Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

Cancer

The ubiquitous role of this gene lends itself to being involved in a variety of disease pathologies, including cancer. PDK1

mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the ...

expression is significantly associated with tumor progression; in fact, the presence of PDK1 can serve as a prognostic marker, indicating the level of success a patient can achieve. Specifically, this may serve as a biomarker in patients with

gastric cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lym ...

. In coordination, the inhibitor dichloroacetic acid may be used in the future as a treatment option for patients with this type of cancer. PDK1, as it regulates hypoxia and

lactate Lactate may refer to: * Lactation, the secretion of milk from the mammary glands * Lactate, the conjugate base of lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with w ...

production, is associated with a poor outcome in patients with head and neck squamous cancer. The buildup of glycolytic metabolites may promote Hypoxia-Inducing Factor (HIF) activation, which creates a feed-forward loop for malignancy progression. As such, using HIF-1 as a metabolite to regulate PDK1 is seen as another potential therapy, either on its own or in tandem with other therapies, for this type of cancer. In a further developed study, combined PDK1 and

CHK1 Checkpoint kinase 1, commonly referred to as Chk1, is a serine/threonine-specific protein kinase that, in humans, is encoded by the ''CHEK1'' gene. Chk1 coordinates the DNA damage response (DDR) and cell cycle checkpoint response. Activation of Chk ...

inhibition was shown to be required to kill

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ...

stem-like cells

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology a ...

and

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and p ...

Structure

Function

Regulation

Clinical Significance

Cancer

References

Further reading