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Identification Of Novel Allosteric Regulators Of Human Erythrocyte Pyruvate Kinase, Shilpa S. Kharalkar

Theses and Dissertations

Erythrocyte pyruvate kinase (R-PK) is a key glycolytic enzyme catalyzing the transphosphorylation of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and ADP to pyruvate and ATP respectively3,4. The substrate PEP and product pyruvate of this reaction are involved in a number of energetic and biosynthetic pathways; hence a tight regulation of R-PK activity is crucial not only for glycolysis, but also for the entire cellular metabolism. Deficiency of R-PK is one of the most common enzymatic defects of RBC, and may be caused by mutations of the PK-LR (pyruvate kinase liver red blood cell) gene31, 32. Clinically, R-PK deficiency manifests itself as a chronic life-long …