biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

, phosphorylases are

enzymes Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...

that

catalyze Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

the addition of a

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

group from an

inorganic In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemist ...

phosphate (phosphate+

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

) to an acceptor. :A-B + P A + P-B They include allosteric enzymes that catalyze the production of

glucose-1-phosphate Glucose 1-phosphate (also called cori ester) is a glucose molecule with a phosphate group on the 1'-carbon. It can exist in either the α- or β- anomeric form. Reactions of α-glucose 1-phosphate Catabolic In glycogenolysis, it is the direct p ...

from a glucan such as

glycogen Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body. Glycogen functions as one o ...

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide that is used as a food ingredient. It is produced from vegetable starch by partial hydrolysis and is usually found as a white hygroscopic spray-dried powder. Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as r ...

. Phosphorylase is also a common name used for

glycogen phosphorylase Glycogen phosphorylase is one of the phosphorylase enzymes (). Glycogen phosphorylase catalyzes the rate-limiting step in glycogenolysis in animals by releasing glucose-1-phosphate from the terminal alpha-1,4-glycosidic bond. Glycogen phosphor ...

in honor of

Earl W. Sutherland Jr. Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. (November 19, 1915 – March 9, 1974) was an American pharmacologist and biochemist born in Burlingame, Kansas. Sutherland won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1971 "for his discoveries concerning the mechani ...

, who in the late 1930s discovered it as the first phosphorylase.

Function

Phosphorylases should not be confused with

phosphatases In biochemistry, a phosphatase is an enzyme that uses water to cleave a phosphoric acid monoester into a phosphate ion and an alcohol. Because a phosphatase enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of its substrate, it is a subcategory of hydrolases. ...

, which remove phosphate groups. In more general terms, phosphorylases are enzymes that catalyze the addition of a phosphate group from an

inorganic phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

(phosphate + hydrogen) to an acceptor, not to be confused with a

phosphatase In biochemistry, a phosphatase is an enzyme that uses water to cleave a phosphoric acid Ester, monoester into a phosphate ion and an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol. Because a phosphatase enzyme catalysis, catalyzes the hydrolysis of its Substrate ...

hydrolase Hydrolase is a class of enzyme that commonly perform as biochemical catalysts that use water to break a chemical bond, which typically results in dividing a larger molecule into smaller molecules. Some common examples of hydrolase enzymes are este ...

) or a

kinase In biochemistry, a kinase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups from high-energy, phosphate-donating molecules to specific substrates. This process is known as phosphorylation, where the high-energy ATP molecule don ...

(a phosphotransferase). A phosphatase removes a phosphate group from a donor using water, whereas a kinase transfers a phosphate group from a donor (usually ATP) to an acceptor.

Types

The phosphorylases fall into the following categories: *Glycosyltransferases (EC 2.4) **Enzymes that break down glucans by removing a glucose residue (break ''O''-glycosidic bond) ***

*** starch phosphorylase ***

maltodextrin phosphorylase Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide that is used as a food ingredient. It is produced from vegetable starch by partial hydrolysis and is usually found as a white hygroscopic spray-dried powder. Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as r ...

**Enzymes that break down

nucleoside Nucleosides are glycosylamines that can be thought of as nucleotides without a phosphate group. A nucleoside consists simply of a nucleobase (also termed a nitrogenous base) and a five-carbon sugar (ribose or 2'-deoxyribose) whereas a nucleotide ...

s into their constituent bases and sugars (break ''N''-glycosidic bond) ***

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase Purine nucleoside phosphorylase, PNP, PNPase or inosine phosphorylase () is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''NP'' gene. It catalyzes the chemical reaction :purine nucleoside + phosphate \rightleftharpoons purine + alpha-D-ribose 1- ...

(PNPase) *Nucleotidyltransferases (EC 2.7.7) **Enzymes that have phosphorolytic 3' to 5' exoribonuclease activity (break phosphodiester bond) *** RNase PH ***

Polynucleotide Phosphorylase Polynucleotide Phosphorylase (PNPase) is a bifunctional enzyme with a phosphorolytic 3' to 5' exoribonuclease activity and a 3'-terminal oligonucleotide polymerase activity. That is, it dismantles the RNA chain starting at the 3' end and working ...

(PNPase) All known phosphorylases share catalytic and structural properties.

Activation

Phosphorylase a is the more active R form of glycogen phosphorylase that is derived from the phosphorylation of the less active R form, phosphorylase b with associated AMP. The inactive T form is either phosphorylated by phosphoylase kinase and inhibited by glucose, or dephosphorylated by phosphoprotein phosphatase with inhibition by ATP and/or glucose 6-phosphate. Phosphorylation requires ATP but dephosphorylation releases free inorganic phosphate ions.

Pathology

Some disorders are related to phosphorylases: *

Glycogen storage disease type V Glycogen storage disease type V (GSD5, GSD-V), also known as McArdle's disease, is a metabolic disorder, one of the metabolic myopathies, more specifically a muscle glycogen storage disease, caused by a deficiency of myophosphorylase. Its inci ...

- muscle glycogen *

Glycogen storage disease type VI Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body. Glycogen functions as one o ...

- liver glycogen

References

External links