Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 May 2;289(18):12189-94.
doi: 10.1074/jbc.R114.557314. Epub 2014 Mar 17.

A fresh view of glycolysis and glucokinase regulation: history and current status

Sigurd Lenzen  1
Affiliations
Review

A fresh view of glycolysis and glucokinase regulation: history and current status

Sigurd Lenzen. J Biol Chem. .

Abstract

This minireview looks back at a century of glycolysis research with a focus on the mechanisms of flux regulation. Traditionally, glycolysis is regarded as a feeder pathway that prepares glucose for further catabolism and energy production. However, glycolysis is much more than that, in particular in those tissues that express the low affinity glucose-phosphorylating enzyme glucokinase. This enzyme equips the glycolytic pathway with a special steering function for the regulation of intermediary metabolism. In beta cells, glycolysis acts as a transducer for triggering and amplifying physiological glucose-induced insulin secretion. On the basis of these considerations, I have defined a glycolytic flux regulatory unit composed of the two fructose ester steps of this pathway with various enzymes and metabolites that regulate glycolysis.

Keywords: Beta Cell; Glucokinase; Glycolysis; Liver; Metabolic Regulation; Phosphofructokinase.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
The regulatory unit of the glycolytic pathway composed of the fructose steps at the interface between the initial step of glucose trapping in the cell through phosphorylation and the conditioning of the glucose molecule for catabolism. Several molecules in these fructose steps are regulatory in nature and determine the glycolytic flux rate. Regulatory proteins that inhibit glucokinase (GK) in pancreatic beta cells and the liver are encircled in green (midnolin and parkin) and blue (GRP), respectively. FBPase-2, which activates glucokinase in pancreatic beta cells and the liver, is encircled in red. Regulatory small molecules that are expressed only in the liver but not in pancreatic beta cells are printed in blue. +, activation; −, inhibition; −−, strong inhibition of target structures. HK, hexokinase; PP, pentose phosphate.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Barnett J. A. (2003) A history of research on yeasts 6: the main respiratory pathway. Yeast 20, 1015–1044 - PubMed
    1. Cori C. F. (1983) Embden and the glycolytic pathway. Trends Biochem. Sci. 8, 257–259
    1. Embden G., Deuticke H. J., Kraft G. (1933) Über die intermediären Vorgänge bei der Glykolyse in der Muskulatur. Klin. Wschr. 12, 213–215
    1. Lenzen S., Panten U. (1988) Signal recognition by pancreatic B-cells. Biochem. Pharmacol. 37, 371–378 - PubMed
    1. Nachmansohn D., Schmidt R. (1988) Die groβe Ära der Wissenschaft in Deutschland 1900 bis 1933. Jüdische und nichtjüdische Pioniere in der Atomphysik, Chemie und Biochemie, Wissenschaftliche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart, Germany

Publication types