Can someone define this for me? I am studying glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and PFK
ID: 11770 • Letter: C
Question
Can someone define this for me? I am studying glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and PFK/FBP. I require a simple defintion of what this term 'glycolytic flux' means and its context in glycolysis."In resting muscle, both enzymes in the F6P/FBP substrate cylce are active and the glycolytic flux is low. In active muscle PFK activity increases while FBPase activity descreases. This dramatically increases the flux through PFK and therefore results in high glycolytic flux"
- 2nd Edition Voet & Voet Fundementals of Biochemistry
Explanation / Answer
"In resting muscle, both enzymes in the F6P/FBP substrate cylce are active and the glycolytic flux is low. In active muscle PFK activity increases while FBPase activity descreases. This dramatically increases the flux through PFK and therefore results in high glycolytic flux"
- 2nd Edition Voet & Voet Fundementals of Biochemistry
"Glycolytic" = related to glycolisis, which is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose to pyruvate for the use of energy, esp. in muscles.
"Glycolytic flux" therefore refers to the fluctuation, unpredictable nature of glycolysis in active muscles: "In active muscle PFK activity increases while FBPase activity descreases. This dramatically increases the flux"
This is in contrast to non-active muscles: "In resting muscle, both enzymes in the F6P/FBP substrate cylce are active and the glycolytic flux is low"
Think about it - active muscles take up glucose at an unpredictable rate; resting muscles, however, are predictable because they expend about the same ammount of glucose to remain in function. Active muscles take up glucose at an unpredictable - fluctuating - rate based on the level of activity.