Glycogen phosphorylase liver

VI Liver glycogen phosphorylase Liver Hepatomegaly, mild hypoglycemia, good prognosis... 

Six compounds have vitamin Bg activity (Figure 45-12) pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine, and their b -phosphates. The active coenzyme is pyridoxal 5 -phos-phate. Approximately 80% of the body s total vitamin Bg is present as pyridoxal phosphate in muscle, mostly associated with glycogen phosphorylase. This is not available in Bg deficiency but is released in starvation, when glycogen reserves become depleted, and is then available, especially in liver and kidney, to meet increased requirement for gluconeogenesis from amino acids. 

Glycogen phosphorylase isoenzymes have been isolated from liver, brain and skeletal muscle. All forms are subject to covalent control with conversion of the inactive forms (GP-b) to the active forms (GP-a) by phosphorylation on specific serine residues. This phosphorylation step, mediated by the enzyme phosphorylase kinase, is initiated by glucagon stimulation of the hepatocyte. Indeed, the same cAMP cascade which inhibits glycogen synthesis simultaneously stimulates glycogenolysis, giving us an excellent example of reciprocal control. 

Glycogen phosphorylase breaks a-1,4 ycosidic bonds, releasing glucose 1-phosphate from the periphery of the granule. Control of the enzyme in liver and muscle is compared in Table 1-14-2. 

Stimulated by glucose in liver Clycogenolysis glycogen phosphorylase... 

Glycogen phosphorylase deficiency in muscle gives rise to muscle weakness, frequent cramp and ease of fatigue (McArdle s syndrome). It also gives rise to hypoglycae-mia if the liver enzyme is deficient (Chapter 6). 

The glucose concentration is the major factor regulating glycogen synthesis in liver. Glucose activates glucokinase directly as a substrate and indirectly via an increase in the concentration of fructose 6-phosphate. It also activates glycogen synthase but it inhibits glycogen phosphorylase (see text). 

Figure 6.31 (a) An increase in the intracellular concentration of glucose in the liver results in an increased activity of glycogen synthase and a decreased activity of glycogen phosphorylase. The mechanisms for these effects are shown in (b). 

The fact that glycogen phosphorylase can be used to polymerize amylose was first demonstrated by Schaffner and Specht [110] in 1938 using yeast phosphorylase. Shortly after, the same behavior was also observed for other phosphorylases from yeast by Kiessling [111, 112], muscles by Cori et al. [113], pea seeds [114] and potatoes by Hanes [115], and preparations from liver by Ostern and Holmes [116], Cori et al. [117] and Ostern et al. [118]. These results opened up the field of enzymatic polymerizations of amylose using glucose-1-phosphate as monomer, and can be considered the first experiments ever to synthesize biological macromolecules in vitro. 

An important example of regulation by phosphorylation is seen in glycogen phosphorylase (Afr 94,500) of muscle and liver (Chapter 15), which catalyzes the reaction... 

The glucose 1-phosphate so formed can be used for ATP synthesis in muscle or converted to free glucose in the liver. Glycogen phosphorylase occurs in two forms the more active phosphorylase a and the less active phosphorylase b (Fig. 6-31). Phosphorylase a has two subunits, each with a specific Ser residue that is phosphorylated at its hydroxyl group. These serine phosphate residues are required for maximal activity of the enzyme. 

The breakdown of glycogen in skeletal muscles and the liver is regulated by variations in the ratio of the two forms of glycogen phosphorylase. The a and b forms differ in their secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures the active site undergoes changes in structure and, consequently, changes in catalytic activity as the two forms are interconverted. 

Different metabolic patterns in different organs. For glycogen phosphorylase, the isozymes in skeletal muscle and liver have different regulatory properties, reflecting the different roles of glycogen breakdown in these two tissues. 

FIGURE 15-26 Glycogen phosphorylase of liver as a glucose sensor. 

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