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Biochemical And Kinetic Analysis Of Phosphofructokinase In The Eukaryotic Human Pathogen Entamoeba Histolytica, Jin Cho

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Entamoeba histolytica is a water- and food-borne intestinal parasite that causes amoebiasis and liver abscess in ~100 million people each year leading to ~100,000 deaths. This amitochondriate parasite lacks many metabolic pathways including the tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, and cannot synthesize purines, pyrimidines, or most amino acids. As a result, E. histolytica is presumed to rely on its modified pyrophosphate (PP_i)-dependent glycolytic pathway for ATP production during growth on glucose. This pathway relies on a PP_i-dependent rather than ATP-dependent phosphofructokinase (PFK) and thus has a net production of three ATP per glucose. However, in …