Biochemistry - Unified material Flashcards
Define the orientation of amino acids in humans.
ALL amino acids in humans are of L orientation.
What is sickle cell anemia (HbS)?
Abnormal protein aggregation
Mutation of DNA structure which abnormally impacts the primary structure of Hb turning glutamate into valine.
Hb normally biconcave
Can result in a sickle cell crisis
What is the normal value for hemoglobin (Hb)?
What is the normal value for hematocrit (HCT)?
Hb: 12-16
HCT: 41-53%; also called packed cell volume.
HCT is 3x Hb
Define hemolysis.
Destruction of RBC.
Can lead to hyperbilirubenemia, which in turn can cause the liver to secrete too much bilirubin into the bile. This can lead to gallstones, or cholecystitis.
What is bilirubin?
What is hyperbilirubenemia?
Bilirubin is a main component of bile. It is a pigment derived form the breakdown of heme (RBC).
Hyperbilirubenemia is too much bilirubin in the bile.
What is diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)?
Inadequate uptake of glucose in DM1/2 can lead to liver metabolism of fatty acids to ketone bodies, acetoacetic acid and hydrobutryic acid.
These weak acids dissociate into [H+], which in turn lowers the pH. Bicarbonate will also be low.
Blood glucose will be higher than normal.
Patient will be hypotensive and dehydrated with a rapid pulse.
Acetone odor on breath.
Polyuria – more water in urine because of high osmolar glomeular filtrate with ketone bodies (osmotic dieresis)
Water loss from the blood leads to dehydration and eventually coma.
_________________ is blood from which RBC’s have been removed.
_________________ is the term for blood without clotting factors.
Plasma; serum
What is the treatment for DKA?
- IV saline to counteract osmotic dieresis fluid loss
2. IV insulin q 1 hr
What is the term for too much aspirin intake?
Salicylate toxicity.
Early signs: respiratory stimulation, upper GI distress, nausea/headache.
Normal serum levels: 120 mg/dl a day. 800 can be fatal
A drop in pH elicits an increase/decrease in breathing?
Increase.
___________________: deep labored breathing associated with severe metabolic acidosis.
Kussmaul
Normal paCO2?
35-45 mmHg
Water is _____% of body weight.
60%
Who has a greater percentage of water?
Men vs. Women
Obese vs. non-obese
Old vs. Young
Men
Non-obese
Young
Regarding body water:
What percentage is intracelluar vs. extracellular ?
60% intracelluar
IDDM or DM1 is a result of…
Beta-cells of pancreas inability to synthesize and secrete insulin.
Where is the breathing center in the brain?
Hypothalamus
Describe the fate of carbon dioxide in the body.
- Carbon dioxide dissolved in water
- Enzyme carbonic anhydrase helps convert into carbonic acid
- This breaks down to H+ the bicarbonate anion and trace carbonate
What is the major source of metabolic acid in the body?
Carbon dioxide produced principally from fuel oxidation in the TCA cycle.
What are the 4 major buffer systems in the body?
- Carbonic acid-bicarbonate buffer system in the blood
- Hb buffer in RBC’s
- Phosphate buffer in all cells
- Protein buffer in cells/plasma
In order to isolate plasma, one must administer a/an ____________________.
Anticoagulant
Otherwise, the blood will clot and you will be left with serum (blood without clotting factors).
What is the term for adding a carbohydrate to a molecule?
Glycolsalation
Define: hypoxia
Lack of oxygen
Define: ischemia
Lack of blood flow
Define this state:
pH: 7.31
PaCO2: 29
PaHCO2: 22
Uncompensated espiratory acidosis
What is normal physiological pH?
7.35-7.45
- The immediate precursor of the ammonia (NH3) produced by the kidney is
Glutamine
What is the pKa of an acid?
An indication of the strength of the acid
- The drug acetazolamide which is used to treat glaucoma also inhibits carbonic anhydrase of renal tubular cells. Administration of this drug is likely to cause:
Metabolic acidosis
The main form in which H+ is excreted by the kidney is as ____________________. This ion comes from ______________ & the reaction is catalyzed by _________________________.
Ammonium ion (produced from glutamine & catalyzed by glutaminase)
At a high altitude, there is more/less oxygen?
Less oxygen; someone would present with normal pH & low PCO2
What are the two major urinary buffering ions?
- Ammonia (predom) 2. Phosphate
The Hb-oxygen dissociation curve is what shape?
Sigmoidal
T/F Hb consists of primarily alpha-helix
True
Differentiate between the R & T states of Hb with respect to both oxygen & carbon monoxide.
Technically speaking, R & T refer to the conformation of Hb. R: oxy-Hb; T: deoxy-Hb (Except CO can make ‘R’ Hb because of it binds to Hb 200X stronger than oxygen. This technically isn’t oxy-Hb, but it stabilizes the conformation)
What is the composition of HbF (heme, alpha, beta, gamma chains)?
4 heme groups, 2 alpha peptide chains, 2 gamma peptide chains
HbF has greater/reduced affinity for oxygen than HbA
Greater (allows maternal blood to transfer oxygen across the placenta to the developing fetus)
Which binds more tightly to 2,3-BPG: HbA or HbF?
HbA
HbF becomes undetectable when?
6 months
What is HbA1C & why is it useful?
HbA1C is glycosylated Hb. When blood glucose levels are high, i.e. uncontrolled DM, more things (including HbA) will become glycosylated.
Differentiate between left and right shifts of the oxy-Hb dissociation curve.
Right – reduced affinity (metabolism, H+, 2,3,-BPG); Left shift – greater affinity (HbF, myoglobin)
Describe the extra-cellular matrix related to fibrous proteins.
- Fibrous proteins (collagen & elastin); specialized proteins – fibrillin, fibronectin, laminin; 2. Ground substance (GAG’s)
What is the AA composition, structure & function of collagen?
AA: Glycine (every 3rd AA – allows tight winding), proline (leads to kinks for tight winding— like a rope), lysine
Collagen: insoluble extracellular protein of ECM – forms fibrils (mesh like network)
- Triple helical structure with three tightly-wound alpha-chains
Describe the fibril-associated collagens.
Type I: skin, bone, tendon, cornea
Type 2: cartilage (inter-vertebral disk & virteous body)
Type 3: (reticular) blood vessels, fetal skin
- 3-D mesh, components of basement membrane, below stratified squamous epithelia
How many genes do humans contain for pro-alpha chains of pro-collagen?
2 genes
How many pro-alpha chains are used to form procollagen?
3 pro-alpha chains
What is the function of propeptides in procollagen?
- Lock three pro-alpha chains via disulfide bonds (allows fast winding)
- Lock N-terminals to prevent unwinding
- Necessary for intracellular solubility
What is procollagen?
Soluble form of collagen inside fibroblasts
What is tropocollagen?
Formed extracellular by enzymes from procollagen; it is insoluble after the cleavages of propeptides – several tropocollagens are cleaved to form collagen
How is tropocollagen formed from procollagen?
Procollagen is cleaved to tropocollagen by cleavage of the N-terminal & C-terminal propeptides catalyzed by extracellular enzymes, procollagen peptidases.
Vitamin C deficiency is also known as _____________
Scurvy
Vitamin C is a conenzyme for which 2 enzymes involved in collagen synthesis in the fibroblast?
Prolyl hydroxylase & Lysyl hydroxylase
What is hydroxy-proline & what enzyme is important for its formation?
Needed for stabalization of pro-collagen triple helix; allow many H-bonds (Vit C is coenzyme for prolyl hydroxlase)
What is hydroxy-lysine? What enzyme is important for its formation?
Residues reach out of the triple helix; not used for stabalization
- Used for eventual extracellular cross-linking
- (Vit C is coenzyme for lysyl hydroxlase)
Which enzyme is involved in extra-cellular cross linking in collagen synthesis? What is its co-factor?
Lysyl oxidase (extracellular & needs copper)
The cofactor for hydroxylysine formation is…
Vitamin C
- Is the enzyme lysyl hydroxylase or is the enzyme lysyl oxidase needed for the eventual syntheses of both, collagen and elastin?
Lysyl oxidase is needed for the eventual synthesis of both, collagen and elastin. A deficiency of lysyl oxidase or also of copper leads to defective cross-linking in both, collagen and in elastin.
Lysyl hydroxylase is mainly needed for eventual collagen synthesis and nearly not used for elastin synthesis.
Differentiate between vitamin C & copper deficiencies.
Deficiency in vitamin C leads to defective collagen synthesis but to mostly normal elastin synthesis. (prolyl & lysyl hydroxylase)
Deficiency in copper leads to defective cross-linking in both collagen & elastin (lysyl oxidase)
Collagen deficiency manifests as…
Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. Can result from mutation in pro-alpha chain (lethal vascular problems); EDS can result from deficient enzymes (prolyl/lysyl hydroxylase, lysyl oxidase, procollagen peptides)
What is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?
Type III collagen deficiency
Classic presentation - fragility of skin/vascular vessel walls; hypermobility/hyperextensibility of joints/skin
What is osteogenesis imperfecta and what are classic signs?
Brittle bone disease – TYPE 1 COLLAGEN deficiency; long bone fractures in infancy, retarded wound healing, rotated spine, BLUE SCLERAE, short stature, hearing loss, dentiogenesis imperfecta
Differentiate between Type I, II, IV OI.
Type 1 - mildest [mutation in collagen I pro-alpha chain; glycine substituted for a more bulky AA which prevents tight winding; if cystein is there, disulfide bonds may form]
Type 2 - most severe
Type 4 - common, NORMAL SCLERAE
What are 2 common signs of OI?
Fractures (type I defective – bone, cornea) & blue sclerae (thin collagen layer of cornea so the pigmented layer shines through)
What is the inheritance of OI?
Autosomal dominant
What is the inheritance of EDS?
Autosomal dominant
What is the inheritance of Marfan’s snydrome?
Autosomal dominant
What is elastin?
Insoluble extracellular protein that has rubber-like properties which forms a network that can bend and stretch in any direction.
Thick yellow fiber (fibrillin + amorphous elastin)
T/F Marfan’s is a result of defective tropoelastin gene.
FALSE - Marfan’s is a genetic defect related to fibrillin-1 protein, a glycoprotein which functions as scaffold for tropoelastin.
What is Marfan’s syndrome?
Type IV connective tissue disorder (elastin) which results from defect in fibrillin.
Leads to long limbs, eye dislocation, aortic root dilation
What are desmosine & isodesmosine?
Special cross-linkages in elastin; allow rubber-like properties.
[Desmosine – yellow color]
-Formation catalyzed by lysyl oxidase, needs copper as co-factor
Describe the formation of elastin.
Tropoelastin –> fibrillin (scaffold) –> elastin cross-linked (with lysyl oxidase enzyme)
700 AA’s – alternating hydrophillic/hydrophillic
- Rich in glycine, alanine, lysine, proline
What is the clinical manifestation of a lack of copper?
Defective cross-linking can lead to aneurysms; large amount of elastic fibers found in walls of large arteries.
What is the key equation tying together delta G, delta H & delta S?
G = H - TS
How can you force a reaction forward?
Continuously remove products
T/F Endergonic reactions push exergonic reactions forward
False – exergonic reactions push endergonic reactions forward; this is necessary for coupled thermodynamic reactions
If a reaction is close to equilibrium, what ratio will be 1?
Keq = 1
What is log(1)?
0
T/F A negative delta g results in an exergonic reaction.
True
In alpha-amino acids, does the alpha-carbon represent Carbon #1?
No – carbon #1 belongs to the most oxidized group, which is carboxyl group (COOH). The alpha-carbon is actually C-2.
Describe an amino acid.
Alpha-C bound to COOH (acid), NH3 (amino), R group & H
Which amino acid has an alpha-carboxyl group & a gamma-carboxyl group?
Glutamate
At physiologic pH, what does an AA look like?
Carboxyl group (pKa 2) negatively charged; amino group positively charged (pKa 9-10)
Which of the 20 standard AA’s can contain 3 pK’s?
The acidic (Glu, Asp) and basic AA’s (His, Lys, Arg)
Which AA serves as a buffer in RBC’s?
Histidine (pKa 6)
What are the 20 AA’s and what are their categories?
NP (B - LIV /UB - GAP), P (UC) - TAGS, S - CM, Aromatic - PTT, Acid - GA, Base - HLA
What is the overall charge at the isoelectric point?
Net charge of 0
What enzyme is found in RBC’s?
Carbonic anhydrase
Which are the 3 AA’s with an OH on the side chain?
Serine, threonine, tyrosine (S & Threonine used for phosphoyrylation or glycosylation)
In patients with phenylketonuria, the hydroxylation of phenylalanine is defective. Which AA cannot be formed?
Tyrosine
In Maple Syrup Urine disease, the eventual degradation of the branched-chain amino acids is defective. Into which group do branched-chain amino acids belong, amino acids with nonpolar, polar uncharged, or charged side chains? Name the three branched-chain amino acids.
Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine
- Alanine and methionine both contain a methyl group. What is special in the methionine structure that allows methionine in its activated form to serve as the major methyl donor in metabolism?
Sulfur
How many disulfide bonds are found in the insulin molecule?
3 disulfide bonds
- Which amino acid side chain contains a sulfhydryl group that can form a disulfide bond with another amino acid of the same kind? Is the disulfide bond a covalent or a noncovalent bond?
Cysteine; yes covalent
How are biologically active amines formed?
Decarboxylation of alpha-carboxyl group (requires PLP from vitamin B6)
What is GABA & how is it formed?
GABA - inhibitory neurotransmitter; formed by decarboxylating the alpha-carboxyl group; the R-group carboxyl group becomes the new alpha-carboxyl group
How is histamine formed? Which responses or functions are mediated by histamine?
Histamine formed by decarboxylation of histidine; leads to gastric acid secretion & mediates allergic/inflammatory responses - a strong vasodilator
Tryptophan is hydroxylated and then decarboxylated to the physiological active amine serotonin. Which of the two reactions needs PLP? What is the biomedical importance of serotonin?
The decarboxylation of hydroxytryptophan to serotonin needs PLP.
Serotonin is needed for the regulation of sleep, temperature and blood pressure.
It is involved in pain perception and causes a feeling of well-being. Serotonin blood levels are related to mood disorders.
Give three examples of catecholamines. What does their synthesis require?
Dopamine, NE, Epi; Tyrosine
Dopamine is formed from DOPA. Sometimes the drug Levo-DOPA is given to patients. Why is it given as L-DOPA, meaning in its optical active form as L-amino acid?
DOPA is formed by hydroxylation of L-tyrosine. Tyrosine is a hydroxylated phenylalanine, and instead of hydroxy-tyrosine, the name refers to phenylalanine.
The L-form of the amino acid dihydroxy-phenylalanine (DOPA) needs to be given, as in humans the amino acids found are in the L-configuration which is recognized by human enzymes.
- Which catecholamine acts mainly as hormone and is released from the adrenal medulla into the blood?
Epinepherine; synthesis starts with tyrosine & forms dopamine & NE as intermediates.
- Fight/flight hormone; leads to increase of glucose & HR; degradation of triacylglycerols in fat cells
Which parts of amino acids are involved in a peptide bond?
COO of first AA & NH3 of second AA (dehydration synthesis, so the bond is CO-NH)
Describe the peptide bond.
40% double bond character; rotation, but no bending (rigid & planar)
How is a peptide bond formed?
Dehydration synthesis
Name 3 fibrous structural proteins.
Collagen, elastin, keratin
Is albumin a fibrous or a globular protein? What is its function in addition to regulate osmolality? Would you expect disulfide bonds in its structure?
Globular; transport protein in blood; Yes- di-sulfide bonds (extra-cellular proteins usually stabalized by disulfide bonds)
Describe primary, secondary, tertiary, quarternary structure of proteins.
Primary – sequence; Secondary – alpha/beta (H bonding); Tertiary – 3D folding; Hb formed by multimeric proteins
Arrange in order of strength (strongest to weakest): Covalent bonds, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic forces, VDW forces
As noted on front of card
In a globular protein, hydrophobic forces are ____________ & hydrophillic forces are _______________.
Phobic - inside
How are the insulin chains linked?
The insulin A- and B-chains are linked to each other via two disulfide bonds.
The A-chain has also an intra-chain disulfide bond which leads to a specific configuration needed for the insulin receptor.
In an alpha-helix, where are the side chains?
Directed outside helix
Which AA side chains would interrupy the alpha-helix when they would be 3-4 residues apart of glutamate residues?
Asp, Glu, Lys, Arg, His
How can proline residues in the primary structure affect the respective secondary structure of the alpha-helix?
Peptide bond formed with proline leads to kink in the polypeptide chain; disrupts secondary structure of helix
Describe the alpha-helix.
Alpha-helix: one polypeptide chain wound around an imaginary axis, hydrogen bonds formed from peptide bonds in the direction of the axis, amino acid side chains oriented to the outside of the spiral
Describe the beta-sheet.
At least two polypeptide chains linked to each other via hydrogen bonds formed with peptide bonds of the other chain, side chains are alternately above and below the plane
Name two diseases where an abnormal protein is not degraded, but accumulates and damages the brain.
Prion disease & Alzheimer’s disease
Describe what happens to the secondary structure of proteins in Prion disease.
Prion disease shows an abnormal change from the alpha-helix to the beta-pleated sheet. The amino acid sequence is the same, only the secondary structure is changed and leads to the disease. Prion is a normal protein found on neurons with abundant alpha-helices.
Arrange in order of strength (strongest to weakest): Covalent bonds, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic forces, VDW forces
As noted on front of card
Arrange in order of strength (strongest to weakest): Covalent bonds, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic forces, VDW forces
As noted on front of card
In a globular protein, hydrophobic forces are ____________ & hydrophillic forces are _______________.
Phobic - inside
In a globular protein, hydrophobic forces are ____________ & hydrophillic forces are _______________.
Phobic - inside