Creatine Kinases

About Creatine Kinase / CK:

Creatine Kinase, also abbreviated to CK, is an enzyme that is expressed in certain tissues and cells. The creatine kinase reaction was first identified in 1934 by K Lohman in muscle tissue, and since this time, it has been the topic of much medical investigation over the past eighty years. When a muscle uses a lot of ATP which is necessary for all kinds of processes within cells, PCR needs to serve as an energy reserve for the regeneration of ATP which is why CK is going to be important in these cells.

CK Structure
There has been extensive research conducted surrounding CK and its structure among other aspects. It was found that both of the mitochondrial CK isoforms are highly symmetrical octameric structures with 4-fold symmetry. Whereas Cytosolic BB-CK, and muscle-type MM-CK both form banana-shaped symmetric dimers, with one active site in each subunit. The atomic structure of brain type BB-CK was solved at 1.4 angstroms by Eder in 1999.

Creatine Kinase Interactions
One of the main interactions of CK is that it catalyzes the reversible phosphotransfer between the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)/ adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and Creatine/Phosphocreatine systems in the body. It converts creatine and adenosine triphosphate to phosphocreatine and adenosine diphosphate. It is worth pointing out that his reaction is reversible, meaning that you can produce ATP from PCR and ADP. ATP is important as it is a chemical which provides the energy to get certain processes going throughout the body such as muscle contraction which is one of the reasons that the CK interaction between ADP and PCR is important.

CK Function
CK is known to catalyze the conversion of creatine and use adenosine triphosphate to phosphocreatine and adenosine diphosphate. Apart from the two mitochondrial CK isoenzyme forms, there are three cytosolic CK isoforms present in the cytosol, depending on the tissue that the CK has been found in. MM-CK is expressed in sarcomeric muscle which are skeletal and cardiac muscle, MB-CK is expressed in cardiac muscle, and BB-CK is expressed in smooth muscle and in most non-muscle tissues making them all have very different functions. As we looked at above, PCR is generated from CK and is an energy buffer as well as a form of cellular energy transport between the sites of ATP production and energy utilization. CK is very effective when it comes to enhancing the contractility of skeletal and cardiac muscles but is also important in generating blood pressure in humans.
There have been more studies conducted on this and the impact that it can have on humans, it was discovered that CK in the blood may be high if there is a health issue or disease. Exercise increases the outflow of CK to the bloodstream for up to a week, and this is the most common cause of high CK in blood in humans. It could also be that there has been damage to any tissue that is CK heavy, which has meant more has entered the bloodstream and caused health problems.