Pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 1, mitochondrial is an

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

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

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

. 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. di ...

of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (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 ...

(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 us ...

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 English, British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physics, physical and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning fo ...

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

phosphorylation In biochemistry, phosphorylation is described as the "transfer of a phosphate group" from a donor to an acceptor. A common phosphorylating agent (phosphate donor) is ATP and a common family of acceptor are alcohols: : This equation can be writ ...

/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 over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the Proteinogenic amino acid, 22 α-amino acids incorporated into p ...

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, the ''binding si ...

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 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. di ...

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 (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 (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 amin ...

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 insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

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, Abeta or beta-amyloid) 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-beta precursor prot ...

, a metabolite that is directly correlated with the development of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

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 Protein biosynthesis, synthesizing a protein. mRNA is ...

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 malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes ...

. 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 production, is associated with a poor outcome in patients with

head and neck cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips (oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophary ...

. 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 inhibition was shown to be required to kill

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain, and has a very poor prognosis for survival. Initial signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nons ...

stem-like cells

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

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, an ...

Structure

Function

Regulation

Clinical Significance

Cancer

References

Further reading