Integration of Metabolism Flashcards
What does the brain require for metabolism?
requires a continuous supply of glucose
- ketone bodies (e.g. β-hydroxybutyrate) can partially substitute for glucose
- cannot metabolise fatty acids
What is hypoglycemia?
- too little glucose in the brain
- causes faintness and coma
What is hyperglycaemia?
- can cause irreversible damage
- too much glucose
What is required for light contraction of skeletal muscle?
requirements met by OxPhos
What is required for vigorous contraction of skeletal muscle?
O2 becomes a limiting factor
- glygogen breakdown (muscles)
- lactate formation
What is needed for the heart to contract?
- completely aerobic metabolism
- utilises TCA cycle substrates, e.g. free fatty acids, ketone bodies
- Loss of O2supply Leads to cell death and myocardial infarction (energy demand»_space;> energy supply)
Role of the liver?
- Can interconvert nutrient types
- highly metabolically active
- plays a central role in maintaining blood [glucose] at 4.0-5.5 mM
- is a glucose storage organ (glycogen)
- plays a key role in lipoprotein metabolism
- (transport of triglycerides & cholesterol)
What do muscles rely on for metabolism?
carbohydrate and fatty acid oxidation
What does the brain rely on for metabolism?
uses 20 % of resting metabolic rate as it has a continuous high ATP requirement; cannot utilise fatty acids as a fuel source
What is adipose tissue?
long term storage site for fatty acids in the form of triglycerides
What does the heart rely on for metabolism?
can oxidise fatty acids and carbohydrate
-10 % of resting metabolic rate
What does the liver rely on for metabolism?
20 % of resting metabolic rate
the body’s main carbohydrate store (glycogen) and a source of blood glucose
What can excess glucose-6-phosphate be used for?
generate glycogen in liver and muscle
What can excess Acetyl CoA be used for?
generate fatty acids
which are stored as triglycerides in adipose tissue
What happens during fasting?
rather than enter the TCA, much of the acetyl CoA produced results in ketone body production
What can be a source of aa?
Pyruvate and other TCA cycle intermediates
The backbone of these molecules can be used to used to make nucleotides.
What else can glucose-6-phosphate be used for?
via the pentose phosphate pathway
can also be used as a source for nucleotide production in a pathway that generates the bulk of the NADPH needed for anabolic pathways e.g. cholesterol synthesis
What can the body do to avoid hypoglycemia?
short term
- breakdown of liver glycogen stores occurs to maintain plasma glucose levels.
- releases free fatty acids from adipose tissue.
- convert Acetyl CoA into ketone bodies via the liver.
How is more glucose available for the brain?
Both fatty acids and ketone bodies can be used by muscle
What is gluconeogenesis?
another pathway to generate glucose
What is the pathway of gluconeogenesis?
(lactate, some aa) pyruvate (3C) --> (some aa) oxaloacetate (4C) --> phosphoenol pyruvate (C3) --> (glycerol) --> (DHAP (3C) G3P (3C) --> fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (6C) --> fructose-6-phosphate (6C) --> glucose-6-phosphate (6C) --> glucose (6C) OR glycogen
What are the non-carbohydrate precursors that enter the gluconeogenesis pathway ?
lactate, amino acids and glycerol
How is lactate generated?
by skeletal muscle during strenuous exercise, when the rate of glycolysis exceeds the rate of the TCA cycle and the electron transport chain
How is lactate utilised?
taken up by the liver and utilised to regenerate pyruvate by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), also known as the Cori cycle
How can aa be derived?
from the diet or during times of starvation, e.g. from the breakdown of skeletal muscle
What is the glycerol backbone used for?
to generate dihydroxyyacetone phosphate (DHAP)
What enzymes catalysed the 3 irriversible reactions in glycolysis?
kinases hexokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase