Lipids Flashcards
What are the functions of biomembranes?
- Barrier between cell and its environmement
- Protein constituents allow selective permeability and uptake
- Communication between cell and its environment
What are the characteristics of the phospholipid bi-layer?
- Charged hyrophilic head groups form H bonds with water
- neutral hydrocarbon chains are hydrophobic associate via van der Waals forces (AMPHIPATHIC)
- Energetically favorable arrangement
- Impermeable to macromolecules and small charged ions
What are the two physical states in which the phospholipid bi-layer exists?
- Gel-like state at low temperatures
- Liquid-crystalline state at higher temperatures (membranes MUST exist like this)
What is the temperature at which a membrane changes from the gel-like state to the liquid crystalline state?
Transition temperature
What are the six classes of membrane lipids?
- Fatty acids
- Triacyglycerols
- Glycerophospholipids
- Sphingolipids
- Waxes
- Isoprene-based lipids
What are fatty acids?
Alkyl chains terminated by carboxylic acid groups
What are the characteristics of fatty acids which affect the transition temperature?
- Degree of saturation (double bonds decrease van der waals force)
- Chain length (longer chains mean more interactions)
What are the two main types of phospholipids?
Phosphoglycerides and phosphoceramides
What are the characteristics of phosphoglycerides?
Based on glycerol backbone
- Glycerol substituted for phosphodiester group attached to an alcohol headgroup and two ester linked fatty acids
What is the common precursor of phospholipids?
Phosphatic acid
How are triacylglycerols used for energy?
- Hydrolysed by lipase to fatty acids and glycerol and released from adipose tissue to be released to energy requiring tissues
- Fatty acids broken down step by step to Acetyl CoA which is processed in the citric acid cycle
What are the six most common head groups of phospholipids?
- Phosphatic acid (PA)
- Phosphatiydyserine (PS)
- Phosphatidylenthanolamine (PE)
- Phosphatidylcholine (PC)
- Phosphtidiylinositol (PI)
- Phosphadidylglycerol (PG)
What can phosphoinositol further synthesize?
Can be phsophorylated by photolipase C to form DAG and IP3 which are both important second messengers
What is the structure of cardioplin/PG?
- dimeric structure with four acyl groups and two negative charges
- Found in membranes of bacteria and mitochondria, mainly on the inner layer where it interacts with a large number of mitochondrial proteins especially those related to oxidative phosphorylation
- Cone shape allows curvatures
What are the characteristics of sphingolipids?
- Sphingosine with acyl chain and head chain that is either ethanolaminephosphoceramide (EPC), shingomyelin (SM) or inositolphosphoceramide (IPC)
- More stable and less prone to hydrolysis, hence found on outer thicker membranes
What are the a) the simplest and b) most common gylcolipids?
a) glucosyceramide
b) GM2 ganglioside
What are waxes?
- esters of long chain alcohols with long chain fatty acids
- Insoluble in water and so are used to keep moisture in/out
What are terpenes and what is included in this classs?
Lipids formed by isoprene units
- steroids are terpene derived
- odors are often monoterpenes due to their volatility (e.g menthol)
- retinol is a diterpene
What are the functions of cholesterol?
- Stabilise lipid membranes by immobilising first few hydrocarbon groups of phospholipid molecules, acting as a buffer for sudden changes in temperature of the environment by preventing phase shifts/ crystallisation of hydrocarbons
- In cell membranes regulate cell signalling
- Precursor to vitamin D, sex hormones and corticosteroids
What is the structure of the lysosome membrane?
- Single membrane
- Hydrolytic enzymes degrade proteins and lipids
- low pH maintained by membrane enzyme which pumps H+ into the lumen
What is the structure of the mitochondrial membrane?
- Inner membrane is 76% protein
- high proportion of cardioplin
- outer membrane is porous
Describe fatty acid synthesis
- Takes place in the cytoplasm
- Intermediates liked to acyl carrier protein (ACP) and enzymes joined by single polypeptide of fatty acid synthase
- Fatty acid chain grown through seuqential addition of 2xC units from acetyl CoA (donated by malonyl ACP) driven by the release of CO2
How are proteins targeted to the membrane?
Through covalent lipid modifications: fatty acylation, prenylation, addition of GPI anchors (present on all eukaryote outer membranes) or cholesterol groups
What are the 3 types of fatty acylation?
- N-meristoylation
- S-Palmitoylation
- N-Palmitoylation
What are the 2 types of prenylation?
- Farnesylation
- Geranylgeranylation