Lecture 2 Flashcards
5 methods of signaling?
hormone: brought to distant tissues (long distance)
paracrine: short distance communication between cells (signals diffuse through extracellular environment)
autocrine: message produced by a cell which acts on the cell itself
juxtacrine: signalling to neighbor cells (don’t travel). Helps cell understand its environment ( ie gap junctions)
pheromone: chemical signals that go from one organism to another of the same species
structure of glycerophospholipid?
2 FA attached to 1st and 2nd C of glycerol (ester link)
polar or charged group attached to 3rd C (phosphodiester link)
Can form different signals depending on where the molecule is cleaved
structure of sphingolipid
3 C spingosine backbone + FA chain (2nd C) + PO4 and X (3rd C)
what is ceramide
most simple sphingolipid
stabilizes lipid rafts = v important for signaling
glycosphingolipid structure? function?
formed when hydrophilic group contains a carb/sugar
function: determines blood groups by type of sugar added
- forms antigens for cells to recognize each other
- type of sugar is determined by glycosyltransferase
3 classes of eicosanoids?
- prostaglandins are synthesized from arachidonate precursor = causes smooth muscle contraction, regulates blood flow, body temp (ie fevers), etc…
- thromboxane: forms platelets important for blood clotting
- Leukotrienes: airway smooth muscle contractions (ie air system)
what are NSAIDs?
non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs
inhibits cycloxigenase = inhibits production of prostaglandin and thromboxane
precursor of steroids?
cholesterol
role of eicosanoids?
paracrine hormones
acts only on cells near the point of hormone synthesis (short distance)
structure of steroids?
4 ring structure
how do steroids travel?
carried in blood by carrier proteins
role of 1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol?
what does it regulate?
aka calcitrol or vit D3
important for Ca metabolism
cleaves in photoreaction (UV light)
inactive in skin –> transferred to liver –> transferred to kidney where it becomes active
regulates:
- Ca absorption (intestine)
- Ca excretion (kidney)
- Ca storage (bone)
symptoms of vit D3 deficiency?
rickets = bow shaped legs
what are eicosanoids derived from?
arachidonic acid
prenol lipids acts as what?
hormones and pigments
ex: beta carotene –> retinol –> retinal –> neural signals to brain when retinal is hit
examples of tocopherols
vit E
Vit K (blood clotting)
warfarin: blood anticoagulant
ubiquinone: mitochondrial electron carrier
plastoquinone: electron carrier in chloroplast
describe 2 states of the lipid bilayer
- ordered state: gel (paracrystalline)
- disordered state: fluid
membrane can never be fully ordered or disordered state (always somewhere in between)
what causes the transition between ordered and disordered state of the membrane?
heat produces thermal motion of side chains
how does temp affect membrane fluidity?
increases thermal motion of side chains (higher temp = more fluid = more disordered)
-approx 20 to 40deg for mammals = fluid state
how does saturation of FA affect fluidity of membrane?
saturation of FA increases order
- unsat FA = kinks = more disordered
- sat FA = no kink = more ordered state
how does length of FA chains increase order?
uniform length = increases order
how does sterol content affect membrane fluidity?
sterols produces gaps = more disorder
how do cells regulate FA content of membrane?
by increasing saturated FA levels at higher temp
5 factors that affect fluidity of membrane?
- temp
- saturation of FA
- length of FA chains
- Sterol content
- cell regulation of FA content