Role of the phosphocreatine system on energetic homeostasis in skeletal and cardiac muscles

Adenosine triphosphate is the present energy currency in the body, and is used in various cellular and indispensable processes for the maintenance of cell homeostasis. The regeneration mechanisms of adenosine triphosphate, from the product of its hydrolysis – adenosine diphosphate – are therefore necessary. Phosphocreatine is known as its quickest form of regeneration, by means of the enzyme creatine kinase. Thus, the primary function of this system is to act as a temporal energy buffer. Nevertheless, over the years, several other functions were attributed to phosphocreatine. This occurs as various isoforms of creatine kinase isoforms have been identified with a distinct subcellular location and functionally coupled with the sites that generate and use energy, in the mitochondria and cytosol, respectively. The present study discussed the central and complex role that the phosphocreatine system performs in energy homeostasis in muscle cells, as well as its alterations in pathological conditions.