Energy Metabolism Flashcards
How do cells obtain energy?
Cells can get energy from nutrients or fuels such as carbohydrates, Proteins and lipids
Cells conserve some of the energy to generate a metabolic currency Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
ATP is the currency of metabolic energy
What is ATP composed of?
adenine (purine base)
ribose
three phosphate groups
Glucose metabolism is a series of linked pathways
Glycolysis
Krebs’ cycle
Oxidative phosphorylation
Glycolysis
anaerobic break down of glucose to pyruvate. Small amount of ATP generated by substrate level phosphorylation
Krebs’ cycle
oxidation of Acetyl CoA to CO2.
generates coenzymes: NADH and FADH2
Oxidative phosphorylation
transduction of energy derived from fuel oxidation to high energy phosphate.
Generates large amounts of ATP.
Where does glycolysis occur?
Occurs in cytosol under anaerobic conditions
Cytosol is the intra cellular fluid
Can occur with or without oxygen
Why does glycolysis occur?
Emergency energy producing pathway when oxygen is limiting
• RBCs and exercising skeletal muscle
Generates precursors for biosynthesis
• G-6-P (glucose 6 phosphate) converted to
• ribose-5-P (nucleotides) via pentose phosphate pathway
• G-1-P for glycogen synthesis
Pyruvate
• transaminated to alanine- the transfer of an amino group from another molecule to pyruvate to produce alanine
• substrate for fatty acid synthesis
Glycerol-3-P is backbone of triglycerides
In glycolysis what is one molecule of glucose broken down into?
2 molecules of 3C pyruvate (C3H4O3)
2 NADH and 2H+
2ATP
ATP yield in glycolysis relative to ATP yield in aerobic respiration
Glycolysis produces ATP much faster that aerobic respiration, but its incomplete oxidation, so the ATP yield is much less
Red blood cells way to produce ATP
Only metabolic pathway within RBC
RBC lack mitochondria so glycolysis is their only way of producing energy
How and why is glycolysis used in exercising skeletal muscle
Used by Exercising skeletal muscle when oxidative metabolism can’t keep up with increased energy demand
Leads to a build up of acid
Normally the liver handles this in the cori cycle, where lactate from the blood is converted back to pyruvate and used to make new glucose molecules
The majority of cells do not have sufficient amounts of glycolytic enzymes or enough glucose to provide for glycolysis to meet the energy requirement of the cell using glycolysis alone
How is pyruvate converted into lactate?
Pyruvate is converted to lactate in a reaction catalysed by enzyme lactate dehydrogenase
Glycolysis step 1 (preperative phase)
Glucose enters cell via GLUT-1 transporters and phosphorylated to Glucose 6 phosphate, a reaction catalysed by hexokinase.
This is a one-way process that essentially traps glucose inside the cell and commits it to glycolysis.
This step is energetically unfavourable and so its is couples with ATP hydrolysis in order to use a phosphate from ATP, producing ADP and glucose-6-phosphate
Step 2
Conversion of glucose 6 phosphate to fructose 6 phosphate by phosphoglucoisomerase, reversible reaction
Step 3
A second molecule of ATP is invested to produce fructose- 1,6-bisphosphate catalysed by phosphofructokinase 1( PFK1).
This is an irreversible reaction and the stop commits glucose to glycolysis
Step 4: the splitting stage
Fructose 1,6, bisphosphate is cleaved into 3 phosphorylated 3 carbon compounds : dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate catalysed by fructose bisphosphate aldolase
Only glyceraldehydes continues on through the glycolytic pathway but triosphosphate isomerase catalyses the interconversion of dihydroxyacetone phosphate to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
Step 5: the ATP generating phase
The aldehyde group of G3P is oxidised to a carboxyl group catalysed by glyceraldehyde 3 phosphate dehydrogenase (triose phosphate dehydrogenase).
A phosphate is also added to the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to produce 1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate
The coenzyme NAD is reduced to NADH producing NADH and H+
Step 6
Phosphoglycerokinase catalyses the transfer of a phosphate group from the high energy acyl phosphate of 1,3 BPG to ADP forming ATP.
The other phosphate group in 3 PG does not have enough energy to phosphorylate another ADP, so a series or isomerisation and dehydration reactions are required to convert this compound to a high energy enol phosphate
Step 7
Phosphoglyceromutase shifts the phosphate from the C3 to the C2 position creating 2 phosphoglycerate.
Step 8
Dehydration reaction catalysed by enolase to generate high energy compound phosphoenolpyruvate
This therefore releases 2 molecules of water
Step 9
Phosphoenolpyruvate is used by pyruvate kinase to phosphorylate ADP yielding the 2nd ATP molecule resulting in the product of glycolysis , the three carbon pyruvate
Regulation of glycolysis
Glycolysis is regulated allosterically at three kinase reactions.
PFK1 is the primary regulatory site of glycolysis
Phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK1) is pH dependant and is inhibited by acidic conditions- explaining why glycolysis is inhibited in acidosis
Allosteric regulation
Whatever molecule, example ATP, is going to bind to enzyme to regulate it will Bind to a non-catalytic site
Conformational change
↑s or ↓ enzymes affinity for the substrate
Hexose kinase, phosphofrictise kinase and pyruvate kinase are under allosteric control