Overview:

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) catalyzes the oxidation of glucose 6-phosphate to 6-phosphogluconolactone, utilizing either NADP+ or NAD+. It functions as a housekeeping enzyme that plays a vital role in the prevention of cellular damage from reactive oxygen species by providing substrates to prevent oxidative damage (1). G6PD deficiency is the most common human enzyme deficiency, affecting upward of 400 million people worldwide and causes premature breakdown of red blood cells (2). Applications of this enzyme include enzymatic determination of NAD+(NADP+) and G-6-P, and activities of phosphoglucose isomerase, phosphoglucomutase and hexokinase. The enzyme is also used for enzymatic determination of glucose and creatine phosphokinase activity when coupled with hexokinase.

References:

1. Richardson SR, O'Malley GF. Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency. [Updated 2022 Sep 26]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470315/

2. Frank JE. Diagnosis and management of G6PD deficiency. Am Fam Physician. 2005 Oct 1;72(7):1277-82. PMID: 16225031.