Fatty Acid Metabolism Flashcards
DO saturated fatty acids contain double bonds?
No
Are unsaturated FAs usually in the cis or trains formation?
Cis
What are the two essential. Amino acids? Are they saturated or unsaturated?
Linoleic acid
Linolenic acid
- they are unsaturated
How do you name the two essential fatty acids?
Rather than count from the head you count from the tail. The last carbon is called omega so if we have a double bond at the third to last carbon, we call it omega-3.
WHat are some sources of essential fatty acids?
SMASH
- salmon, mackerel, albacore, sardines, halibut
What is the first step in fatty acid synthesis?
Citrate shuttle - acetyl CoA can’t get from the mitochondrial matrix into the cytosol, so it comes together with oxaloacetate to form citrate through the work of citrate synthase. Citrate the can traverse the membrane. Once in the cytosol, citrate is cleaved back into Acetyl CoA and oxaloacetate.
What is the structure of a fatty acid?
Hydrocarbon chain with a terminal carboxyl group
What is the second step in fatty acid synthesis? Once Acetyl CoA is in in the cytosol.
An enzyme called Acetyl-CoA carboxylase converts Acetyl CoA into Malonyl-CoA through a carboxylation rxn.
- This requires 1 ATP
- This step is highly regulated
- ABC - Requires ATP, requires Biotin as a cofactor, and it is a Carboxylase
What is Acetyl-CoA carboxylase? What are its allosteric regulators? What are its hormonal regulators? How do the hormonal regulators work?
Allosteric
Citrate –> +
Log chain fatty acyl-CoA –> -
Hormonal
Glucagon –> -, via AMPK, which phosphorylates and inactivates Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase
Insulin –> + activated via protein phosphatase dephosphorrylating Acetyl-CoA carboxylate and thus activating it.
What is the third step in fatty acid synthesis? Once we have malonyl CoA
We form palmitate through the enzyme Fatty Acid Synthase. FAS.
- We consume 2 NADPH in this rxn.
- palmitate is 16 carbons long
So what, now we have palmitate?? What happens now?
Palmitate can be lengthened or desaturated in order to make fatty acids necessary for the human body.
WHat would happen in a Diabetic patient It’s regards to FA synthesis?
Basically in diabetes we have too few insulin or the insulin receptors are not working properly. Therefore, we don’t have proper feedback from insulin. Normally insulin will cause there to be more FA synthesis as per earlier in the lecture. When this doesn’t happen, the Acetyl CoA gets shunted into ketone bodies instead.
Where. Does fatty acid synthesis. Occur?
Liver and adipose tissue
How do we store FAs?
In Triacylglycerol
What is the structure of Triacylglycerol?
3 fatty acids esterified to a glycerol molecule.
Where do we get the glycerol for Triacylglycerol? 2 ways
1) It can be recycled from VLDLs as they go from the liver to the adipose tissue. Once in the liver it is phosphorylated by glycerol kinase into Gllycerol-3-phosphate.
- Remember that in adipose tissue they don’t need the glycerol so it just goes back to the liver. Adipose tissue doesn’t have glycerol kinase.
2) Glucose is converted into DHAP and then into Glycerol-3-phosphate
Explain the process of Triacylglycerol synthesis?
We can get glycerol-3–phosphate in two ways as was mentioned earlier. Then from there, we convert glycerol-3-phosphate into TAG by the addition of FAs. In adipose tissue you are done because it can store TAGs. The liver can’t store TAGs so it ships them out to the adipose tissue by way of VLDL. Once in circulation, Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) chops all of the TAGs into FAs. Then once in the adipose tissue it gets built back up into TAGs and the glycerol floats back to the liver.
How is synthesis of TAGs regulated?
By insulin. In a fed state, insulin stimulates both glycolysis and LPL. This will cause increased storage of FAs in the adipose tissue.
What are the triggers to release our stored TAGs from the adipose tissue? How do they work?
Stress hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine, and glycogen are responsible for this.
- There are hormone-dependent lipase so found in the adipose tissue that cleave TAG into FAs and then they circulate around the body bound to albumin where they can be broken down for ATP.
- In the liver, the stress hormones cause gluconeogenesis and fatty acid degradation to occur.
- – as we mentioned earlier, if we have a buildup of Acetyl CoA then it will be converted to Ketone bodies, which can be used by the brain or muscle.
WHat is the role of perilipin???
We mentioned previously that when a Stress response occurs, TAGs are broken down into fatty acids. Well, in basal conditions it coats the TAGs so that the lipase can’t get to them and break them down So that they are stored. In times of energy deficit, perilipin phosphorylated, which allows lipase st of break down the TAGs into FAs.