Liver glycolysis

This is true of skeletal muscle, particularly the white fibers, where the rate of work output—and therefore the need for ATP formation—may exceed the rate at which oxygen can be taken up and utilized. Glycolysis in erythrocytes, even under aerobic conditions, always terminates in lactate, because the subsequent reactions of pymvate are mitochondrial, and erythrocytes lack mitochondria. Other tissues that normally derive much of their energy from glycolysis and produce lactate include brain, gastrointestinal tract, renal medulla, retina, and skin. The liver, kidneys, and heart usually take up... 

Fructose 2,6-Bisphosphate Plays a Unique Role in the Regulation of Glycolysis Gluconeogenesis in Liver... 

Figure 19-3. Control of glycolysis and gluconeoge-nesis in the liver by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and the bifunctional enzyme PFK-2/F-2,6-Pase (6-phospho-fructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase). (PFK-1, phosphofructokinase-1 [6-phosphofructo-1 -kinase] ...

The pathway of gluconeogenesis in the liver and kidney utilizes those reactions in glycolysis which are reversible plus four additional reactions that circumvent the irreversible nonequilibrium reactions. 

Gluconeogenesis Formation of glucose from precursors other than carbohydrates (especially by the liver and kidney) using amino acids from proteins, glycerol from fats, or lactate produced by muscle during anaerobic glycolysis. 

Phosphofructokinase (PFK) is a key regulatory enzyme of glycolysis that catalyzes the conversion of fructose-6-phosphate to fructose-1,6-diphosphate. The active PFK enzyme is a homo- or heterotetrameric enzyme with a molecular weight of 340,000. Three types of subunits, muscle type (M), liver type (L), and fibroblast (F) or platelet (P) type, exist in human tissues. Human muscle and liver PFKs consist of homotetramers (M4 and L4), whereas red blood cell PFK consists of five tetramers (M4, M3L, M2L2, ML3, and L4). Each isoform is unique with respect to affinity for the substrate fructose-6-phosphate and ATP and modulation by effectors such as citrate, ATP, cAMP, and fructose-2,6-diphosphate. M-type PFK has greater affinity for fructose-6-phosphate than the other isozymes. AMP and fructose-2,6-diphosphate facilitate fructose-6-phosphate binding mainly of L-type PFK, whereas P-type PFK has intermediate properties. 

Pyruvate kinase (PK) is one of the three postulated rate-controlling enzymes of glycolysis. The high-energy phosphate of phosphoenolpyruvate is transferred to ADP by this enzyme, which requires for its activity both monovalent and divalent cations. Enolpyruvate formed in this reaction is converted spontaneously to the keto form of pyruvate with the synthesis of one ATP molecule. PK has four isozymes in mammals M, M2, L, and R. The M2 type, which is considered to be the prototype, is the only form detected in early fetal tissues and is expressed in many adult tissues. This form is progressively replaced by the M( type in the skeletal muscle, heart, and brain by the L type in the liver and by the R type in red blood cells during development or differentiation (M26). The M, and M2 isozymes display Michaelis-Menten kinetics with respect to phosphoenolpyruvate. The Mj isozyme is not affected by fructose-1,6-diphosphate (F-1,6-DP) and the M2 is al-losterically activated by this compound. Type L and R exhibit cooperatively in... 

During the recovery period from exercise, ATP (newly produced by way of oxidative phosphorylation) is needed to replace the creatine phosphate reserves — a process that may be completed within a few minutes. Next, the lactic acid produced during glycolysis must be metabolized. In the muscle, lactic acid is converted into pyruvic acid, some of which is then used as a substrate in the oxidative phosphorylation pathway to produce ATP. The remainder of the pyruvic acid is converted into glucose in the liver that is then stored in the form of glycogen in the liver and skeletal muscles. These later metabolic processes require several hours for completion. 

In liver, cAMP activates gluconeogenesis, but in muscle, it activates glycolysis. Let s do liver first, and the muscle answer will just be the opposite. So, we want to activate gluconeogenesis in liver in response to increased phosphorylation (increased levels of cAMP). Phosphorylation of our enzyme (PFK-2) must have an effect that is consistent with the activation of gluconeogenesis. If gluconeogenesis is on and glycolysis is off, the level of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (an activator of glycolysis) must fall. If fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is to fall, the PFK-2 that synthesizes it must be made inactive. So, in liver, phosphorylation of PFK-2 must inactivate the enzyme. 

Many tissues (muscle, liver, renal cortex) prefer fat for an energy supply, at least in the resting state. The exception is red blood cells and brain. These tissues depend heavily on glycolysis for energy. Red cells cannot survive without glucose (no mitochondria), but during prolonged starvation, brain can adapt to utilize fat metabolites produced by the liver (ketone bodies). 

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