Background information
Glycolysis is an evolutionarily conserved series of ten chemical reactions that utilizes eleven enzymes to concomitantly generate pyruvate and ATP from glucose. fructose kinase-2/fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase (PFK-2) stimulates the synthesis and degradation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Glycogen phosphorylase (also known as GP) is an allosteric enzyme important in carbohydrate metabolism. Its activity is regulated through either noncovalent binding of metabolites or by covalent modification. Glycogen phosphorylase catalyzes the phosphorylation of glycogen to Glc-1-P. There are three genes which encode the brain, liver and muscle forms of glycogen phosphorylase, PYGB, PYGL and PYGM. Because of its fundamental role in the metabolism of glycogen, glycogen phosphorylase has been a target for the design of inhibitory compounds, which could be valuable in the therapeutic treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
