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Glycogen (black granules) in spermatozoa of a flatworm; transmission electron microscopy, scale: 0.3 μm. Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, [2] fungi, and bacteria. [3] It is the main storage form of glucose in the human body.
Glycogen is analogous to starch, a glucose polymer in plants, and is sometimes referred to as animal starch, [16] having a similar structure to amylopectin but more extensively branched and compact than starch. Glycogen is a polymer of α(1→4) glycosidic bonds linked with α(1→6)-linked branches.
Glucose-containing compounds are digested and taken up by the body in the intestines, including starch, glycogen, disaccharides and as monosaccharide. Glucose is stored in mainly the liver and muscles as glycogen. It is distributed and utilized in tissues as free glucose. To discuss image, please see Template talk:Human body diagrams
Liver cell glycogen can be converted to glucose and returned to the blood when insulin is low or absent; muscle cell glycogen is not returned to the blood because of a lack of enzymes. In fat cells, glucose is used to power reactions that synthesize some fat types and have other purposes. Glycogen is the body's "glucose energy storage ...
Glycogen is a highly branched structure, consisting of the core protein Glycogenin, surrounded by branches of glucose units, linked together. [ 2 ] [ 12 ] The branching of glycogen increases its solubility, and allows for a higher number of glucose molecules to be accessible for breakdown at the same time. [ 2 ]
For example, in the first regulated step, hexokinase converts glucose into glucose-6-phosphate. Instead of continuing through the glycolysis pathway, this intermediate can be converted into glucose storage molecules, such as glycogen or starch. The reverse reaction, breaking down, e.g., glycogen, produces mainly glucose-6-phosphate; very little ...
Floridean starch is a type of a storage glucan found in glaucophytes and in red algae (or rhodophytes), in which it is usually the primary sink for fixed carbon from photosynthesis. It is found in grains or granules in the cell's cytoplasm and is composed of an α-linked glucose polymer with a degree of branching intermediate between ...
Glycogen and starch are notable glucans responsible for storing energy for the cell. Receptor molecules of the immune system, such as the Complement receptor 3, or CR3, and CD5 receptor, recognize and bind to beta-glucans on invading cell surfaces.