Glycogen phosphorylase In the liver, glucagon activates another G-protein-linked receptor that triggers a different cascade, resulting in the activation of Phospholipase C (PLC). PLC indirectly causes the release of calcium from the hepatocytes' endoplasmic reticulum into the cytosol. The increased calcium availability binds to the calmodulin subunit and activates glycogen phosphorylase kinase. Glycogen phosphorylase kinase activates glycogen phosphorylase in the same manner mentioned previously. Glycogen phosphorylase b is not always inactive in muscle, as it can be activated allosterically by AMP. An increase in AMP concentration, which occurs during strenuous exercise, signals energy demand. AMP activates glycogen phosphorylase b by changing its
Glycogen synthase asymmetric form, glycogen synthase is found as a dimer, whose monomers are composed of two Rossmann-fold domains. This structural property, among others, is shared with related enzymes, such as glycogen phosphorylase and other glycosyltransferases of the GT-B superfamily. Nonetheless, a more recent characterization of the "Saccharomyces cerevisiae" (yeast) glycogen synthase crystal structure reveals that the dimers may actually interact to form a tetramer. Specifically, The inter-subunit interactions are mediated by the α15/16 helix pairs, forming allosteric sites between subunits in one combination of dimers and active sites between subunits in the other combination of dimers. Since the structure of eukaryotic