Hexokinase and glucokinase are two enzymes that play a crucial role in glucose metabolism. However, there are differences between glucokinase and hexokinase that make these enzymes special and unique. This post will discuss hexokinase vs glucokinase regarding different features, such as location.
| Property | Glucokinase | Hexokinase |
|---|---|---|
| Location in body | Liver and pancreatic beta cells | All tissues |
| Location in cell | cytosol | nucleus |
| Substrate specificity | High for glucose, low for other hexoses | Low for glucose, high for other hexoses |
| Affinity for Glucose | Low | High |
| Km | High Km | Low Km |
| Activity | Active only when more glucose is present | Active all the time |
| Km Value | High | Low |
| Inhibition by glucose-6-phosphate | No | Yes |
| Regulation | Induced by insulin, inhibited by glucagon | Constitutive expression |
| Role | Controls blood glucose level, initiates glycogen synthesis | Provides glucose-6-phosphate for glycolysis and other pathways |
| Enzyme stability | Low | High |
