Open AccessExperimental Evidence and Theoretical Discussion for Long‐Term Oscillations of Phosphofructokinase in a Compartmentalized System
Author(s) -
HERVAGAULT JeanFrançois,
THOMAS Daniel
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
european journal of biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1432-1033
pISSN - 0014-2956
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1983.tb07247.x
Subject(s) - phosphofructokinase , diffusion , enzyme , coupling (piping) , chemistry , enzyme assay , biophysics , biochemistry , thermodynamics , glycolysis , physics , biology , materials science , metallurgy
The activity of rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11) has been followed as a function of time under conditions where the enzyme is separated from the bulk solution by an inert membrane. An enzymatic coupling assay allows continuous measurement of the variations in NADH concentration, which is directly related to the enzyme catalytic activity. For given concentrations of substrates (ATP and Fru6 P ) in the outside reservoir and a given ratio between diffusion coefficients of both substrates, the activity of phosphofructo‐kinase exhibits an oscillatory behavior during a period of about 5 h. The phenomenon is explained in terms of coupling between diffusion of metabolites and non‐linear enzyme reaction.