Native Mass Spectrometry Gives Insight into the Allosteric Binding Mechanism of M2 Pyruvate Kinase to Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphate

The various oligomeric states of the M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) were distinguished using native mass spectrometry. The effect of PKM2 concentration on its dimer-tetramer equilibrium was monitored, and a value for the dissociation constant ( K_d) of the two species was estimated to be 0.95 μM. Results of binding of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) to PKM2 are shown and provide insight into the allosteric mechanism and changes in the oligomerization status of PKM2. The average K_d for binding of FBP to the PKM2 tetramer was estimated to be 7.5 μM. It is concluded that four molecules of FBP bind to the active PKM2 tetramer whereas binding of FBP to the PKM2 dimer was not observed. It is suggested that either FBP potentiates rapid tetramer formation after binding to apo PKM2 dimers or FBP binds to PKM2 apo tetramers, thus driving the dimer-tetramer equilibrium in the direction of fully FBP-bound tetramer. The binding occurs in a highly positively cooperative manner with a Hill coefficient ( n) of 3.