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Glucokinase is an "isozyme" of hexokinase - this means that they catalyze the same chemical reaction, the phosphorylation of glucose, depicted below.
The membrane transporters that move glucose across cell membranes cannot transport glucose 6-phosphate. As a result, the phosphorylation of glucose by hexokinase or glucokinase "traps" glucose inside cells. Hexokinase has a high affinity for glucose and is very efficient at catalyzing this reaction at a broad range of glucose concentrations, while glucokinase has a lower affinity for glucose, and is only efficient when glucose levels are relatively high.
Based on what you have learned about their metabolic functions, which of the following cell types do you think is most likely to express glucokinase, as opposed to hexokinase? Recall that phosphorylation of glucose is an essentially irreversible chemical reaction in cells. The dephosphorylation of glucose 6-phosphate to form glucose is catalyzed by glucose 6-phosphatase; ATP is not recovered in this reaction.
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What are the main differences between hexokinase and glucokinase in terms of their affinity for glucose and efficiency at catalyzing the phosphorylation of glucose?
How does the difference in affinity for glucose between hexokinase and glucokinase impact the "trapping" of glucose inside cells?
Why do you think hepatocytes are more likely to express glucokinase, as opposed to hexokinase, based on their metabolic functions and the characteristics of these enzymes?
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