Case 12- absorption Flashcards
Essential amino acids
(His, Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Thr, Trp and Val) are those we cant synthesise or make enough of from non-protein sources.
Semi-essential amino acids
Cys, Tyr, Arg- have to be consumed in the diet under certain circumstances, for example during childhood
Digestion of protein in the stomach
Through HCL (hydrochloric acid) and pepsin. In the stomach proteins undergo limited proteolysis forming smaller peptides and amino acids. Pepsin cleaves preferentially at the C-terminal side of aromatic amino acids like phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine. Only 20% of peptide bonds are cleaved
Protein digestion- HCL
- Produced by parietal cells, in response to gastrin.
- The pH of the stomach (pH 2) is not enough to hydrolyse proteins directly but functions to denature (deform) the proteins.
- This denaturing exposes more of the protein to the action of proteases.
- Other roles for HCl include protection from pathogens, such as bacteria, killing them before they enter the intestines.
Protein digestion- Pepsin
- Pepsin is produced by chief cells as an inactive precursor (or zymogen) called pepsinogen.
- In the presence of HCl, pepsinogen undergoes autoproteolysis (self-cleavage) to release the active pepsin plus a tag.
- Residual pepsin that had been formed in an earlier digestive event will also act on pepsinogen to increase the efficiency of the activation step.
Small intestine bicarbonate release
Bicarbonate is secreted from acinar cells through a sodium and bicarbonate cotransporter that opens because of membrane depolarisation caused by the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CTFR.
Role of bicarbonate in the SI
Stomach acid is neutralised by bicarbonate from the Pancreas. The pH is raised to 7.5-8 which is the optimum pH for pancreatic enzymes
Key Pancreatic protease’s
- Trypsin (secreted as trypsinogen)
- Chymotrypsin (secreted as chymotrypsinogen)
- Carboxypeptidase A (secreted as pro-carboxypeptidase A)
- Carboxypeptidase B (secreted as pro-carboxypeptidase B)
- Elastase (secreted as pro-elastase)
Activating the Pancreatic enzymes
The membrane bound Enterpeptidase cleaves Trypsinogen to Trypsin. Trypsin then cleaves the remaining Zymogens to their active forms.
Trypsin’s cleavage pattern
Trypsin cleaves peptide chains mainly at the carboxyl side of amino acids with basic side chains (lysine or arginine).
Chymotrypsin cleavage pattern
Chymotrypsin cleaves peptide chains mainly at the carboxyl side of amino acids with large hydrophobic side chains (e.g. tyrosine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine).
How does the SI ensure the proteins are absorbed
There is multiple digestion products giving a mix of small peptides and amino acids. These approach the brush border of the intestine where aminopeptidases trim larger oligopeptides into smaller peptides or free amino acids which can be absorbed.
Amino acid transporters
Several on enterocytes
Exist on apical and basolateral membrane
Often cotransporter with ions
PepT1
Small peptides that are absorbed by PepT1 enter the cell and are processed to amino acids by cell resident proteases (i.e. the proteasome) before export to the portal system.
Examples of monosaccharides
Glucose, fructose and galactose which are all isomers. As they have the same chemical formula they can be interconverted by isomerases (cf. phosphoglucose isomerase in glycolysis).
Examples of Disaccharides
- Lactose (galactose + glucose)
- Sucrose (glucose + fructose)
- Maltose (glucose + glucose)
Oligosaccharides definition
Two to ten sugar molecules
Different forms of glucose
Glucose switches between being in a chain (open-chain form) and being in a hexagon (Pyranose form), the majority of glucose is in the pyranose form.
Enantiomers
Mirrored images of other compounds, I.e. D-glucose and L-glucose.
Anomers
Special forms of D or L glucose, where the OH and H+ are switched to different positions on the first carbon.
Starch
Formed from amylose which is a linear chain α-D-glucose molecules covalently attached via an α-1,4 glycosidic linkage. It is also formed from Amylopectin which is highly branches, It is made from α-1,4 glycosidic linkages and also α-1,6 glycosidic linkages.
Glycogen
A polysaccharide of α-D-glucose, similar in structure to amylopectin, highly branched with α-1,4 glycosidic linkages and α-1,6 glycosidic linkages. It is more branched then starch.
Cellulose
Made from β-D-glucose and contains β-1,4 linkages only (no branching). It is a linear structure stacked in layers.