Glycogen Metabolism Flashcards
Biochemistry Glycogen Metabolism – Dr Stephen C Land
What is glycogenesis?
synthesis of glycogen from glucose
What is glycogenolysis?
breakdown of glycogen to form glucose
What is gluconeogenesis?
de novo synthesis of glucose from metabolic precursors (lactate, amino acids, glycerol)
What is glycogen?
Main storage form of glucose in liver and muscle cells
What is the use of liver glycogen?
broken down between meals and released to maintain blood glucose levels for red blood cells and brain
What is the use of muscle glycogen?
it is not able to be used for the maintenance of blood glucose levels
it provides energy via glycolysis and the TCA (kreb’s cycle) during bursts of physical activity
When is gluconeogenesis the main source of blood glucose?
overnight when the hepatic glycogen is depleted
What is the structure of glycogen?
it is a polymer of glucose molecules
the molecules are joined by alpha 1-4 glycosidic links
the branches are joined to the chain by alpha 1-6 glycosidic links
How are glucose molecules added to the glycogen chain?
glucose residues can only be added to an existing chain
there needs to be a glycogen primer with at least 4 glucose residues
the primer is covalently attached to a protein called glycogenin
What enzyme converts glucose to glucose-6-phosphate?
hexokinase
What enzyme converts glucose-6-phosphate to glucose-1-phosphate?
phosphoglucomutase
What enzyme converts glucose-1-phosphate to UDP-glucose?
UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase
What enzyme converts UDP-glucose to [glucose]n+1 + UDP?
glycogen synthase
What molecule within the glycogen synthesis process can enter into glycolysis?
glucose-6-phosphate
What is considered to be an active form of glucose?
UDP-glucose
What is released upon the hydrolysis of the phosphate ester linkage in a nucleotide sugar?
energy