Biochemistry Flashcards
Amino Acids
molecule with 4 groups attached to the central carbon (alpha carbon).
1) amino group
2) carboxylic acid group
3) hydrogen atom
4) R group
the r group determines the function of the amino acid.
Amino group
a functional group composed of NH3+
Carboxylic acid
a functional group composed of COOH
Zwitterions
molecules that contain both positive and negative charges on the same molecule
Alpha carbon
central carbon atom of an amino acid, bonded to the amino group, carboxyl group, and R group
Peptide bond
bond between each amino acid in a protein; catalyzed by the ribosome; forms primary structure of a protein
Amide bond
another term for peptide bond; has partial double bond character which limits rotation of the constituent groups
Primary structure
the string of amino acids connected by peptide bonds, and is defined solely by the identity of amino acids within it
secondary structure
formed through the hydrogen bonding interactions between atoms forming the backbone of the protein chain; includes alpha helices and beta sheets
tertiary structure
structure that arises from interactions between the side chains of different amino acids
quaternary structure
interactions between different protein subunits that make up a protein with more than one subunit
hydrophobic affect
a consequence of nonpolar and polar interactions; in an aqueous environment, hydrophobic residues will be attracted to each other, while they will also be repelled by the polar aqueous environment
protein folding
the process through which a protein is organized (or folded) into its proper secondary and tertiary structures
denaturing
the process through which a protein is unfolded or loses its proper 3D structure
chaperones
helper proteins that assist in folding denatured proteins back into their native state
Cytoskeleton
composition of proteins and macromolecules that provides structure for the cell; primarily composed of actin and tubulin
Extracellular matrix
composition of proteins and macromolecules that provide structure for tissue; primarily composed of collagen, elastin, and keratin
Actin
the most abundant protein in eukaryotic cells; actin monomers assemble into long polymers known as microfilaments that possess positive and negative polarity
Myosin
a motor protein that works with actin in a crossbridge cycle to contract muscle cells
Tubulin
structural monomer that assembles into heterodimers of alpha-tubulin and beta-tubulin to form microtubules
Collagen
helical fiber made of three interwoven strands and composes a large portion of the extracellular matrix in connective tissue
Elastin
provides structure to the rest of our body; when stretched, elastin fibers become more linear in shape while still preserving the cross-linked structure of the extracellular matrix
Keratin
not directly localized in the extracellular matrix, but provides cells with needed structure and stability to protect our bodies, and acts as a hard barrier from the outside world
Kinesin
a motor protein that travels towards the positive end of microtubules (towards the periphery of the cell)
Dynein
a motor protein that travels towards the negative end of microtubules (towards the nucleus of the cell)
GPCR
G-protein coupled receptor; a transmembrane signal-transducing protein system
G-protein
a trimeric protein, consisting of an alpha, beta, and gamma subunit. The alpha subunit is responsible for hydrolyzing GTP in the G-protein, while the beta and gamma subunits can have other functions in the cell
Pores
transmembrane structures embedded within the cell membrane that allows small, polar molecules to move down their respective gradients; one such example is aquaporin, which facilitates the diffusion of water
Ion channels
allows charged ions to diffuse through the cell membrane; some ion channels can be gated with ligand- or voltage-dependent sensors
Active transporters
proteins that can move ions and large molecule against their concentration gradient; rely on ATP hydrolysis for energy to move cargo
Peptide hormones
hormones that are peptides or proteins (shown below); transduce signals between organ systems and circulate in the bloodstream
HPG axis
hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis; describes the sequential stimulation of hormones from the hypothalamus to the reproductive gonads
Innate immune system
nonspecific defenses against pathogens and foreign material our bodies encounter
Adaptive immune system
provides us more specific defenses against particular antigens; antibodies are key to this adaptive response
Variable region
includes paratopes on an antibody; sequences of polypeptide that provide the ability to recognize foreign substances and flag them as invasive
Constant region
region on an antibody important for recruiting other antibodies or immune system cells to help destroy the antigens
Catalyst
a substance that speeds up the rate of a reaction without being consumed itself
Biological catalyst
a molecule (can be protein or nucleic acid) that speeds up the rate of a biochemical reaction without being consumed itself
Activation energy
the input energy required to initiate a chemical reaction
Kinetics
how quickly a reaction converts reactants to products
Reaction rate
the rate at which reactants are consumed OR the rate at which products are formed
Regeneration
the ability of enzymes to reform and engage in multiple catalytic cycles
Lock-and-key model
an enzyme-substrate binding theory that poses the substrate as a “key” that fits perfectly into the enzymatic “lock” without changing conformations
Induced fit model
an enzyme-substrate binding theory that poses the substrate and enzyme undergo slight conformational changes upon binding to one another
One-letter amino acid code
a one-letter code that defines an amino acid (e.g., K is lysine)
Three-letter amino acid code
a three-letter code that defines an amino acid (e.g., Lys is lysine)
Michaelis-Menten
a plot that measures reaction velocity versus an increasing concentration of substrate while holding the enzyme concentration constant
Reaction velocity
the speed at which a certain concentration of enzymes convert substrate to product
Vmax
the maximum speed at which a certain concentration of enzymes can convert substrate to product
Km
the substrate concentration at ½ vmax and also corresponds to affinity between the enzyme and substrate
Saturation
the point at which additional substrate does not produce an increase in reaction velocity because the enzymes are already working as fast as they can
Catalytic efficiency
describes the efficiency of an enzyme by incorporating how fast the enzyme is working (kcat) and how well the enzyme can bind substrate (Km) using the following expression: kcat / Km
Lineweaver-Burk
a double reciprocal of the Michaelis-Menten plot in which (1/reaction velocity) is plotted against 1/[S]
Competitive inhibition
an inhibitor competes with substrate binding to the active site, resulting in an unchanged vmax and an increased Km
Uncompetitive inhibition
an inhibitor binds to the enzyme-substrate complex, resulting in a decreased vmax and a decreased Km
Mixed inhibition
an inhibitor binds to both the enzyme alone and the enzyme-substrate complex, resulting in a decreased vmax and an increased or decreased Km
Noncompetitive inhibition
a subclass of mixed inhibition in which an inhibitor binds to the enzyme alone 50% of the time and the enzyme-substrate complex 50% of the time, resulting in a decreased vmax and an unchanged Km
Cofactor/coenzyme
binds to the enzyme’s active site and assists in catalyzing the reaction
Prosthetic group
a cofactor or coenzyme that binds extremely tightly to the enzyme
Holoenzyme
an enzyme with its cofactors and/or coenzymes
Apoenzyme
an enzyme without its cofactors and/or coenzymes
Post-translational modification
the covalent addition of a functional group or atom to an enzyme
Allosteric sites
a site distant from the active site that can be used as a point of regulation
Allosteric activators
binds to an enzyme’s allosteric site and activates the enzyme
Allosteric inhibitors
binds to an enzyme’s allosteric site and inhibits the enzyme
Zymogens
inactive enzyme forms that must be cleaved in order to be activated
Feedback regulation
the control of flux through biological pathways by using positive and negative regulation
Negative regulation
the enzyme’s product or a product further down the pathway can inhibit the enzyme and decrease flux through the pathway
Feed-forward (positive) regulation
an enzyme’s substrate or a product upstream in the enzyme’s pathway can activate the enzyme to increase flux through the pathway
Cooperativity
the binding of substrate to a multi-subunit protein affects the binding of subsequent substrates
Hill’s coefficient
a term that describes whether a multi-subunit protein is not cooperative (=1), positively cooperative (>1), or negatively cooperative (<1)
Sigmoidal
an S-shaped curve that is characteristic of cooperative behavior
Double helix
structure of DNA; two strands of DNA wrap around each other and form a twisted ladder pattern
Nucleotides
bonded DNA pairs that include adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine
Purines
aromatic nitrogenous bases with two rings; include adenine and guanine
Pyrimidines
aromatic nitrogenous bases with one ring; include cytosine and thymine
Watson-Crick base pairing
bonding rules under which adenine exclusively bonds with thymine and cytosine exclusively bonds with guanine
Sugar phosphate backbone
a repeating pattern of pentose sugar and phosphate groups bonded together; in DNA, the sugar is deoxyribose
G-C content
a measure of the percentage of nucleotide bases that contain guanine or cytosine in a fragment of DNA; high G-C content indicates higher melting point
Melting point
the temperature at which hydrogen bonds between base pairs are disrupted and the two strands of DNA are dissociated
Chargaff’s rules
state that the ratio of purine nucleotides to pyrimidine nucleotides in DNA is 1 to 1. In fact, the ratio of guanine nucleotides to cytosine nucleotides and the ratio of adenine nucleotides to thymine nucleotides are also each 1 to 1
Antiparallel
describes the two strands of DNA that run in opposite directions (5’ to 3’ and 3’ to 5’)
Origin of replication
a sequence rich in adenine-thymine bonds at which the replisome is initially formed
Helicase
an enzyme that unzips DNA strands during replication
DNA topoisomerase
an enzyme that relaxes the coiling in DNA by making selective cuts in the phosphate backbone and repairing them
DNA primase
an enzyme that creates a short strand of RNA that is complementary to DNA