Glucokinase and diabetes mellitus

Glucokinase(glucokinase,GK) is a key enzyme in the pathway of glucose metabolism,involved in glycolysis Step 1 reaction and catalyzing glucose phosphorylation.It is mainly present in the pancreatic beta cells and liver cells,promoting insulin secretion and glucose metabolism and controlling blood sugar balance.Studies have shown that glucosekinase activity in ordinary diabetic patients and diabetic animal models was significantly reduced.It might have an important impact on the occurrence and development of diabetes.Increasing the glucokinase activity might become a new approach for the treatment of diabetes.The glucokinase molecular biological characteristics,including structure,tissue distribution,gene mapping and functional,the regulation by glucokinase regulatory protein,the relationship between glucokinase and diabetes and glucokinase with small molecule activators are reviewed in this article.