A Comparison of the Renal and Hepatic Microsomal Glucose-6-phosphatase Enzymes

The liver glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme has been extensively characterized and relatively little is known about the renal microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme. The reason for lack of study of the renal glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme is that it has been assumed to be the same as the liver enzyme. Immunoblotting with antibodies raised against the liver enzyme revealed differences in apparent molecular weight and antigenicity between the liver and kidney glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme proteins. Characterization of the activity of the renal glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme also showed that it is regulated differently to the liver enzyme in some metabolic states. This implies that the renal and liver glucose-6-phosphatase enzymes may have different roles.