Final Flashcards
What are the functions of a membrane?
- compartmentalization
- transport
- communication
- intercellular interactions
- energy transduction
Describe lipids
Non polar, hydrophobic compounds, soluble inorganic solvents
Most at amphipathic with a nonpolar and a polar end
What is a fatty acid?
Lipid consisting of a hydrocarbon chain with a carboxylic acid at one end
Generally have cis configurations around double bonds and even number of carbons
What are the three membrane lipids?
Phospholipids
Glycolipids
Sterols
What are glycerophospholipids?
Common constitutes of cellular membranes
Have glycerol backbone
Hydroxyls at C1 and C2 are estérified to fatty acids
Include polar region (glycerol, carbonyl, Pi, and polar head group (x)), and 2 non-polar hydrocarbon tails of fatty acids (R1,R2)
What are sphingolipids?
Derivatives of lipid sphingosine, which has a long hydrocarbon tail, and a polar domain that includes and amino group
What creates a ceramide?
Amino group of sphingosine can form an amide bond with a fatty acid carboxyl to yield a ceramide
Usually include a polar head group, esterified to the terminal OH of the sphingosine
Describe cholesterol
Largely hydrophobic but has one polar group, A hydroxyl, making it amphipathic
How are membranes dynamic?
- They can move
- Components are continuously synthesized and degraded
- The primary event in cell death may be damaged to the cell membrane
What is the chemical composition of the membrane?
Lipid assemblies held together by non-covalent bonds with proteins of specific functions
Also contains carbohydrates such as glycolipids
What are the different phases lipids can exist in?
Crystal, gel, and fluid
What prevents phase changes of membrane lipids?
Cholesterol is abundant in many membrane
Double bonds in the lipid lower melting point to below physiological temperature
What is membrane fluidity influenced by?
Fatty acid: chain length and saturation
Presence of sterols
Less fluid if longer carbon chain and fewer double bonds
What are integral proteins?
Span membrane
Cannot be removed with salt, must be solubilises with detergent
Integral proteins typically have alpha helices spanning membrane
What are the three different types of membrane proteins?
Peripheral: on membrane surface
Integral
Having a lipid anchor
Why are transporters important?
About 10% of all protein function is transport
2/3 of cellular energy at rest is used to transport ions
200 families of transporters are recognized
What are the two major modes of membrane transport?
- Simple (passive) diffusion: no carriers are involved, includes organic molecules and small uncharged molecules
- Mediated diffusion: carried out by proteins, peptides, and small molecular weight carriers, includes ions, uncharged organic compounds, peptides, and proteins. Two types: passive and active
What are he three types of integral membrane proteins that provide transport function?
- Channels and pores: can be regulated
- Passive transporters: move down gradient, no energy required
- Active transporters: move against gradient
What are the three types of passive transport?
Diffusion, osmosis, and facilitated diffusion
Define diffusion
The tendency for molecules to spread out into available space
Describe pores and channels
Transmember proteins with a central passage for ions and small molecules
Solutes of appropriate size, charge, and molecular structure can diffuse down a concentration gradient
Describe passive transport
Does not require an energy source
Protein binds solutes and transports them down a concentration gradient
What are the different types of passive transport systems?
Uniport: carry only a single type of solute
Symport: two solutes, same direction
Antiport: two solutes, opposite directions
Describe the kinetics of passive transport
Initial rate of transport increases until a maximum is reached (site is saturated)
What is aquaporin?
Hole with specific properties
Molecule that moves water using transmembrane proteins
What is active transport?
Pumping of solutes against their gradient
Non-spontaneous
Requires energy
What are the types of active transport?
- Primary: powered by a direct source of energy as ATP, light, or electron transport
- Secondary: driven by an ion concentration gradient
How does the secondary active transport function?
Coupled to the primary transporters
Utilizes gradient generated by primary transporter
Either symporters, uniporters, or antiporters
What is gradient energy?
Composed of two components: concentration and electrical
Both must be considered but may be opposing forces
What are the functions of Na+, K+ -ATPase functions?
Maintenance of osmotic stability and cell volume
Maintenance of high intracellular K+
Maintenance of membrane potential
In excitable cells, restoration of potentials
Energy for transport
Generation of heat
Describe Na+, K+ -ATPase
Results in 1 ATP, per influx of 2 K+ and 3 Na+
Pump activity is electrogenic
Not physiologically reversible
Describe the mechanism of Na+, K+ -ATPase
- 3 Na+ bind
- ATP phosphorylates active site
- conformational change releases Na+
- 2 K+ bind
- Mg2+ catalyzes dephosphorylation of enzyme
- conformational change releases K+
What are the 3 types of large molecule transport?
Phagocytosis: extension of cytoplasm to encompassing food creating vacuole
Pinocytosis: infolding of plasma membrane, creating vesicle
Receptor mediated endocytosis
Describe receptor mediated endocytosis
Receptors bind to molecules and plasma membrane folds in forming a coated pit then pinches of creating vesicle
Describe exocytosis
Vesicles fuse to the plasma membrane and release contents
Define anabolic and catabolic reactions
Catabolic: degrade large molecules to liberate smaller molecules and energy
Anabolic: responsible for the synthesis of all compounds
What is metabolism?
Concerned with the management of material and energy resources within the cell
Almost all enzyme catalyzed
Define aerobes, obligate aerobes, anaerobes, facultative anaerobes, and obligate anaerobes
Aerobes: use O2 as electron acceptor in energy producing pathways
Obligate aerobes: have to use O2
Anaerobes: don’t use O2
Facultative anaerobes: can do either
Obligate anaerobes: cannot use O2 or may even be poisoned by it
What are the five rules of metabolism?
- Living systems are able to conserve energy
- Heat is wasted energy, energy that cannot be conserved
- Living system will do their utmost to prevent loss of free energy as heat
- In biochemical transformations a large part of the energy is channeled into chemical bonds of the product
- Catabolic reactions drive anabolic reactions
Describe catabolism
The phase of intermediary metabolism that encompasses the degradation and energy yielding reactions
Generally oxidative and produce reducing potential
Cellular respiration
Describe anabolism
The phase of intermediary metabolism that encompasses the biosynthetic and energy requiring reactions
Reductive and consume reducing potential
Photosynthesis
What are amphibolic intermediates?
Central pathway that have dual purposes: serve in both catabolism and anabolism
May differ for anabolism and catabolism, although some steps may be the same
What is ATP?
Energy molecule used to couple exergonic reactions to endergonic
Currency of the cell
Nucleotide with three phosphate groups attached to the ribose sugar
High 🔺G
Energy is released though loss of phosphate group
How does ATP work?
Hydrolysis of ATP produces inorganic phosphate that is attached to a molecule involved in an endergonic process
Phosphorylation is the process of ATP transferring phosphate to a molecule
Results in a phosphorylated intermediate
Why is ATP a good source?
It can participate in many different kinds of reactions within the cell
Usually is directly involved in reactions
Little wasted energy during phosphorylation of an intermediate
What is the overall free energy change of a coupled reaction?
Negative
Endergonic reaction is driven by exergonic reaction
Occur simultaneously and share common intermediate which cancels out in the final sum
What is nicotine adenine dinucleotide?
NAD
NAD: collects electrons in catabolism
NADH: powers some anabolic reactions + ETC in mitochondria
NADPH: used in reductive biosynthetic reactions
In general participates in reactions where alcohols are converted to jetons/aldéhydes and organic acids
What is flavin adenine dinucleotide?
FAD
Generally participates in reactions where double bonds are involved
Describe the hydrolysis of acetyl CoA
Results in acetate, CoA and protons
Thermodynamically favourable
Acetyl CoA has a high acetyl group transfer potential
Carries and activated acetyl group
What are the different types of chemical reactions seen in metabolism?
Oxidation reduction: electron transfer
Ligation requiring ATP cleavage: formation of covalent bonds
Isomerization: rrearragement of atoms to form isomers
Group transfer: transfer of functional group
Hydrolytic: cleavage of bonds by water
Addition or removal of functional groups
What are the different types of metabolism control?
Allosteric regulation
Feedback inhibition
Cooperativity
What is allosteric regulation?
Enzyme function may be stimulated or inhibited by attachement of molecules to allosteric site
What is feedback inhibition?
End product of metabolic pathway may serve as allosteric inhibitor
What is cooperativity?
Single substrate molecule primes multiple active sites increasing activity
What is intrinsic regulation?
Molecules such as NAD, NADH, ATP, ADP, AMP, etc are intrinsic regulators
Concentration of these molecules mirror energy charge of the cell and act as allosteric regulators of cell metabolism
What is extrinsic regulation?
Hormones
Some Interact with cell surface and set of cascade of molecular events which
- stimulate or repress activity of key enzymes
- stimulate or repress the transcription of specific genes
What is feedback and feed-forward inhibition?
Feedback: product of a pathway controls the rate of its own synthesis by inhibiting an early step
Feed-forward: metabolite early in pathway activates an enzyme further down the pathway
What are the general functions of glycolysis?
Provide ATP energy
Generate intermediates for other pathways
What is the preparatory phase of glycolysis?
First 5 steps
Converts glucose to 2 molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-P
Requires investment of 2 ATP
No oxidations take place so no energy has been extracted from the original molecule
What is the payoff phase of glycolysis?
Final five steps
Each molecule of glyceraldehyde-3-P is oxidized to pyruvate
Yields 4 ATP and 2 NADH
What occurs during stage 1 of glycolysis?
Glucose goes to glucose 6 phosphate using hexokinase and ATP
G6P goes to fructose 6 phosphate using phosphoglucose isomerase
F6P goes to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate using phosphofructokinase and ATP
What occurs on stage 2 of glycolysis?
F-1,6-B goes to G3P and DHAP
One 6-carbon sugar makes 2 3-carbon compounds
What occurs in stage 3 of glycolysis?
G3P goes to 1,3-bisphosphoglucerate using G3P dehydrogenase creating NADH
Goes to 3-phosphoglycerate creating ATP
Goes to 2-phosphoglucerate
Goes to phosphoenolpyruvate creating water
Goes to pyruvate using pyruvate kinase creating ATP
What happens when oxygen is not present during glycolysis?
Pyruvate become lactate or acetaldehyde than ethanol both using NADH
What are some feature of glycolysis?
- All enzymes are soluble
- All there is in anaerobes, red blood cells, tissues like muscles in absence of O2, facultative organisms in abcense of O2
- End product depends on organism
- No NET change in oxidation state
- Many side reactions
- Energy yield: 2 lactate + 2ATP
What does hexokinase do?
Transfer of a phosphoryl group from ATP to glucose
Low affinity
Ensures a supply of glucose even under low blood glucose concentrations
Found in all cells
Irreversible under physiological conditions
🔺G = -27.2
What is glucokinase?
Special hexokinase
Low affinity, high Km
Functions to remove glucose from blood
Found in liver and pancreas
How does hexokinase work?
Glucose Induces a large conformational change in hexokinase
Brings catalytic groups close to the substrate and positions the ATP in close proximity to the -C6H2OH of glucose (and excludes water from active site)
Allow reaction to occur
What does phosphofructokinase do?
Transfers a second phosphoryl group from ATP to fructose 6-phosphate
First commited step in glycolysis: rate limiting step
Allosteric and inducible
Considered functionally irreversible under physiological conditions
🔺G = -25.9
What does pyruvate kinase do?
Transfers a high energy phosphoryl group to ADP, yielding ATP
Second site of ATP production
Phosphorylation at substrate level
Regarded as physiologically irreversible
🔺G = 13.9
What is the total pathway of glycolysis?
Glucose + 2NAD+ + 2ADP + 2Pi –> 2 pyruvate + 2NADH + 2 ATP
What is the total yield of fermentation?
Glucose + 2ADP + 2Pi –> 2 lactate + 2 ATP
What are the mechanisms that can alter the flux through rate-determining steps?
- Allosteric control
- Covalent modifications
- Substrate cycles - futile cycles
- Genetic control - enzyme concentrations
What is local control?
Involves dépendance of enzyme catalyzed reactions on concentrations of pathway substrates or intermediates within a cell
What is global control?
Involves hormone activated production of second messengers that regulate cellular reactions for the benefit of the organism as a whole
What are regulatory enzymes?
Some enzymes are regulated by the activity of the enzyme (reaction is enzyme limited)
Enzyme limited steps are generally the rate limiting steps in a pathway and tend to catalyse very exergonic reactions that are essentially irreversible
Often located at branch points, where the substrate could enter multiple pathways
What are the sites for controlling glycolysis?
Hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate kinase
How is hexokinase inhibited?
Allosterically inhibited by its product, G6P
Binds to the enzyme at high concentrations and causes inhibition
Ensures that cells will not accumulate glucose from the blood if G6P within cell is ample
How is glucokinase inhibited?
Requires insulin as an inducer
Not allosterically inhibited by G6P
Opposed by enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase
Inhibited by regulatory protein which binds to GK in present of high F6P
Reversed by F1P in a competitive manner
Subject to inhibition by glucokinase regulatory protein
What regulates phosphofructokinase-1?
Complex combination of factors regulate the activity of PFK-1
ATP inhibits by binding to an allosteric site and decreasing its affinity for F6P
ADP and AMP relieve inhibition by ATP though allosteric activation
High citrate levels accentuate inhibitory effect of ATP
Fructose 26-bisphosphate strings activated the enzyme
What inhibits pyruvate kinase?
High concentrations of ATP allosterically inhibit pyruvate kinase by decreasing its affinity for phosphoenolpyruvate using feedback inhibition
What is gluconeogenesis?
Occurs mainly in liver
To a lesser extent in kidney and small intestine under some conditions
Hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate kinase steps must be bypassed in gluconeogenesis
How is hexokinase bypassed in gluconeogenesis?
Hydrolysis catalyzed by glucose 6 phosphatase to yield glucose
How is phosphofructokinase bypassed in gluconeogenesis?
Hydrolysis by fructose 1,6 bisphosphatase to yield fructose 6 phosphate