Biochemical Aspects of Liver Metabolism Flashcards
Where is the first destination of most nutrients and xenobiotics absorbed from the GI tract?
Liver
What does the liver produce?
Bile
Name a plasma protein excreted from the liver?
Albumin
What two roles does the liver have in regulation of metabolism?
- Carbohydrate and lipid metabolism - fuel storage
2. Amino acid metabolism - urea cycle
What allows seperation of proteins by size?
Electrophoresis
What 4 plasma proteins can be seperated by electrophoresis?
- Albumin
- Alpha globulins
- Beta-globulins
- Gamma globulins
What substances maintan oncotic or colloid osmotic pressure?
Plasma proteins
What transports hydrophobic substances like steroid hormones, free fatty acids, bilirubin and cholesterol?
Plasma proteins
How can plasma proteins be involved with pH buffering?
Amino-acid side chains can carry net charges
What plasma proteins transport lipoproteins, lipids, hormones and bilirubin?
Alpha-globulins such as ceruloplasmin
What alpha-globulin, other than ceruloplasmin, transports vitamin A?
Retinol binding protein
What does deficiency of vitamin A cause?
Visual impairment
What is vitamin A converted to?
Retinaldehyde, part of rhodopsin, a visual pigment
Name two beta-globulins?
Transferrin and fibrinogen
What two things does transferrin do?
Transports Fe3+
Indicator of iron deficiency
What is an inactive form of fibrin and is involved in clotting of blood?
Fibrinogen
What is the most abundant plasma protein?
Albumin
How would you describe albumin?
Small, negatively charged, water-soluble
What is the main determinant of plasma oncotic pressure?
Albumin
What stimulates production of albumin in the liver?
Insulin
What are levels of albumin like in liver disease?
Low
What two factors can lead to low levels of albumin?
Starvation and low protein diets
What does albumin have multiple binding sites for?
Hydrophobic molecules
What is the affinity and capacity like for albumin?
Low affinity, but high capacity because of high concentration
Name three endogenous lipophilic substances that albumin transports?
Fatty acids
Bilirubin
Thyroid hormones
What important exogenous substances does albumin carry?
Aspirin
What special structural feature of albumin allows it to carry hydrophobic molecules?
Hydrophilic clefts in globular domains
What do haemoglobin, myoglobin and cytochromes all haev which is a key component?
Iron
How is iron transported?
As ferric ion Fe3+ bound ti transferrin
How is iron stored?
In cells bound to ferritin