The animal glycogen molecule has to be designed in accordance with its metabolic function as a very effective fuel store which allows the quick release of large amounts of glucose, and also should account for a high capacity of glucose storage occupying the least possible space. We have studied the optimization of these variables by means of a mathematical model of the glycogen molecule. Our results demonstrate that the structure of the glycogen molecule has an optimized design for (a) maximizing the total stored glucose in the smallest possible volume of the molecule, (b) maximizing the proportion of it which can be directly released by phosphorylase before any debranching occurs, and (c) maximizing the number of non reducing ends (points of attack for phosphorylase), which maximizes the quickness of fuel release. This has been achieved with appropriate values of two key parameters in glycogen design: the branching degree and the length of the chains.
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Meléndez‐Hevia et al. (1995) studied this question.