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Enzymes Work Either Inside the Cell or Outside It
- Enzymes catalyse the reactions of metabolism, the sum of all chemical reactions in a living organism.
- Intracellular enzymes act inside the same cell that made them.
- Extracellular enzymes are secreted by the cell and act outside it.
Intracellular Enzymes: Reactions That Stay Inside the Cell
- Most metabolic reactions happen inside the cell, catalysed by enzymes the cell keeps for its own use.
- Different reactions are located in different parts of the cell, which keeps pathways organised.
- Glycolysis in the cytoplasm
- A series of enzymes in the cytoplasm break glucose down into pyruvate.
- For example, hexokinase catalyses the first step, and all its enzymes stay inside the cell.
