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Hexokinase

Enzyme that starts glycolysis by phosphorylating glucose.

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Hexokinase

Enzyme that starts glycolysis by phosphorylating glucose.

It is a transferase enzyme that catalyzes glucose + ATP → glucose 6-phosphate + ADP, usually with Mg²⁺ as a cofactor. This phosphorylation retains glucose within the cell and activates it for subsequent metabolism.

Hexokinase catalyzes one of the three irreversible steps of glycolysis and initiates intracellular glucose use. Its isoenzymes differ in substrate affinity and metabolic control mechanisms.

The video describes this reaction as the first step of the pathway and notes that glucose 6-phosphate inhibits the enzyme. That inhibition prevents the cell from continuing to take up and phosphorylate glucose when it already has enough.

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Sources · original ES transcript

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