Phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase and glycolytic metabolism in three human glioma cell lines.

Three cell lines established from human gliomas were found to differ in the capacity to phosphorylate the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase in vitro. Phosphorylation in the glioblastoma cell line U-138 was more pronounced than in the glioma cell line Hs 683 and in the glioblastoma cell line A-172. All 3 cell lines showed similar pyruvate kinase isozyme patterns and expressed about 90% K-type and 10% M-type subunits. So, differences in pyruvate kinase phosphorylation could not be explained by differences in the availability of the appropriate substrate, being pyruvate kinase type K. As in gliomas, phosphorylation could specifically and almost completely be inhibited by fructose-1,6-bisphosphate. In order to investigate a potential physiological significance of the phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase, we have characterized these cell lines for several glycolytic parameters. In U-138 cells, the production of lactate appeared to be 2 times higher as compared with A-172 and Hs 683 cells under normal growth conditions and even 4 times higher under low glucose culture regime. The efflux of lactate correlated with the pyruvate kinase phosphorylation pattern in the cell lines. In none of the cell lines could the lactate production be stimulated by glutamine as additional energy source under low glucose culture conditions. The higher glycolytic flux in U-138 cells was not accompanied by higher glycolytic enzyme activities. The isozyme patterns of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, aldolase, enolase and lactate dehydrogenase in the cell lines were nearly identical and resembled the patterns previously described for solid gliomas. However, the isozyme composition of phosphofructokinase in the cell lines differed from the situation in gliomas. While in gliomas the expression of L-type phosphofructokinase is favored, in the glioma cell lines, we found an increase in the expression of C-type subunits.