Glucose-1-phosphate

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Glucose 1-phosphate is a glucose molecule with a phosphate group on the 1'-carbon.

It is the direct product of the reaction in which glycogen phosphorylase cleaves off a molecule of glucose from a greater glycogen structure. To be utilized in cellular catabolism it must first be converted to glucose 6-phosphate by the enzyme phosphoglucomutase. One reason that cells form glucose-1-phosphate instead of glucose during glycogen breakdown is that the very polar phosphorylated glucose cannot leave the cell mebrane and so is marked for intracellular catabolism.

Free glucose 1-phosphate can also react with UTP to form UDP-glucose. It can then return to the greater glycogen structure via glycogen synthase.