Comparative structural analyses of purified glycogen particles from rat liver, human skeletal muscle and commercial preparations.

Glycogen is a cellular energy store that is crucial for whole body energy metabolism, metabolic regulation and exercise performance. To understand glycogen structure we have purified glycogen particles from rat liver and human skeletal muscle tissues and compared their biophysical properties with those found in commercial glycogen preparations. Ultrastructural analysis of commercial liver glycogens fails to reveal the classical alpha-rosette structure but small irregularly shaped particles. In contrast, commercial slipper limpet glycogen consists of beta-particles with similar branching and chain lengths to purified rat liver glycogen together with a tendency to form small alpha-particles, and suggest it should be used as a source of glycogen for all future studies requiring a substitute for mammalian liver glycogen.