MEH session 4 Flashcards
Which tissues have an absolute requirement for glucose?
Red blood cells
Neutrophils
Innermost cells of kidney medulla
Lens of eye
Some tissues require a continuous supply of glucose. How do they get this?
Intermittent availability from the diet
Between meals, stored glucose in glycogen
If period between meals is long enough to deplete stored glycogen (8-12 hours), gluconeogenesis
What should normal plasma glucose concentration be?
5mmol/L
Why does blood glucose concentration <0.6mmol/L cause brain damage and eventually death?
GLUT 1 transport proteins allow glucose to cross the blood-brain barrier.
The rate of transport of glucose across this protein is dependent on the concentration of glucose in the blood.
At this value, glucose concentration of the blood is below Km for this transporter so there is very little uptake of glucose into the brain.
Where and how is glycogen stored?
Stored in granules in
- the liver (in hepatocytes)
- skeletal muscle (intramyofibrillar and intermyofibrillar gycogen)
Describe the structure of glycogen.
Highly branched polymer of glucose residues - this provides many sites to which glucose residues can be added/removed allowing rapid synthesis or degradation of glycogen
Linked together by alpha 1-4 and alpha 1-6 glycosidic bonds in ratio 10:1
Alpha 1-6 bonds are branch points
What are the advantages of storing glucose as glycogen?
Highly branched polymer of glucose residues - this provides many sites to which glucose residues can be added/removed allowing rapid synthesis or degradation of glycogen. Alpha 1-6 bonds are branch points
The large size of the glycogen molecule means that many glucose molecules can be stored with minimal osmotic effect in the storage tissue.
What is required for the synthesis of glycogen?
Energy (from ATP and UTP)
Glucose
Water
What is the first step of glycogen synthesis?
STEP 1. Hexokinase/Glucokinase
Glucose + ATP —> glucose 6-P + ADP
Same as first step of glycolysis
What is the second step of glycogenesis?
STEP 2. Phosphoglucomutase
Glucose 6-P glucose 1-P
What is the third step of glycogenesis?
Step 3. G1P uridylylytransferase
Glucose 1-P + UTP + H20 —> UDP-glucose + 2PPi
What is UDP-glucose an intermediate in?
Synthesis of many sugar containing molecules (lactose and glycogen)
Interconversion of glucose and galactose.
What is the fourth step of glycogen synthesis?
Step 4. Glycogen synthase/Branching enzyme. (IRREVERSIBLE)
Glycogen (n residues) + UDP-glucose —> glycogen (n+1 residues) + UTP
Glycogen synthase links glucose residues in series to a glycogen primer by alpha 1-4 glycosidic bonds.
At appropriate points, branching enzyme links a glucose residue by a alpha 1-6 glycosidic bond introducing a branch point
When is glycogen degraded?
Skeletal muscle—> in response to exercise for energy production
Liver —> in response to fasting/part of the stress response released into the blood for use by other tissues
Is glycogen degradation a reversal of the synthetic pathway?
No
Which enzyme is involved in both glycogenesis and glycogenolysis?
Phosphoglucomutase
Glucose 1-P glucose 6-P
Step 2 of both reactions
What happens to glucose 6-phosphate produced in glycogenolysis in muscle?
In muscle, glucose 6-P enters glycolysis and is used to provide energy for the exercising muscle and this can only be used by muscle.
What happens to glucose 6-P produced by glycogenolysis in the liver?
In the liver, the glucose 6-P is converted to glucose by the enzyme glucose 6-phosphatase during fasting or stress (this enzyme is absent from muscle)
Which step is irreversible in glycogenolysis?
Step 1. Glycogen phosphorylase/Debranching enzyme (IRREVERSIBLE)
Glycogen (n residues) + Pi —> glucose 1-P + glycogen (n-1)
Glycogen phosphorylase breaks the alpha 1-4 bonds. Bonds are subjected to phosphorolysis rather than hydrolysis with the result that glucose residues are released as glucose 1-P rather than free glucose.
Debranching enzyme breaks the alpha 1-6 bonds. This produces free glucose.
Which enzymes are involved in regulation of glycogen metabolism?
Controlling the activities of enzymes catalysing irreversible reactions in the biosynthetic and degradative pathways. These enzymes are regulated reciprocally:
Glycogen synthase (STEP 4 of glycogenesis)
Glycogen phosphorylase (STEP 1 of glycogenolysis)
They are regulated by:
Allosteric control
Covalent modification - reversible phosphorylation in response to hormone levels
Which hormones are involved in regulation of glycogen metabolism?
1) Glucagon and adrenaline
Inhibit glycogen synthase (via phosphorylation)
Stimulate glycogen phosphorylase (via phosphorylation)
2) Insulin
Stimulates glycogen synthase (via de-phosphorylation)
Inhibits glycogen phosphorylase (via de-phosphorylation)
Glucagon has no effect on glycogen in…
Muscle
They do not have glucagon receptors
AMP is an allosteric activator of glycogen phosphorylase in…
Muscle but not liver
In Von Glerke’s disease, there is a glucose 6-phosphatase deficiency. How does this present?
Hepatomegaly
Enlargement of liver as glucose-6P accumulates
When is glucose produced from non-carbohydrate sources? (Gluconeogenesis)
After approximately 8-10 hours of fasting, glycogen sources are depleted. Glucose-dependent tissues require glucose absolutely all the time. Therefore, gluconeogenesis occurs.
Where is the major site of gluconeogenesis?
Liver although the kidney cortex can produce glucose during starvation.
What are the possible substrates for gluconeogenesis?
1) Pyruvate
2) lactate from anaerobic glycolysis in exercising muscle and red blood cells (Cori cycle)
3) glycerol from adipose tissue and triglycerides
4) Essential and non-essential amino acids whose metabolism involved pyruvate or intermediates of the TCA cycle, mainly alanine
REMEMBER, Acetyl coA cannot be converted to glucose because the reaction catalysed by pyruvate dehydrogenase is irreversible
Which steps of glycolysis are by-passed in gluconeogenesis and how?
The irreversible steps of glycolysis:
Step 1 - glucose 6-phoshatase
Step 3 - fructose 1,6 bisphosphate
Step 10 - phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK)
Which reaction provides a link between the TCA cycle and gluconeogenesis?
By-passing step 10.
It enables the products of amino acid catabolism that are intermediates of the TCA cycle to be used for the synthesis of glucose by being converted directly to oxaloacetate or being converted to pyruvate and then oxaloacetate.
How is gluconeogonesis regulated?
Largely under hormonal control as it occurs in response to stress. Importantly the insulin/glucagon ratio. Major control enzymes are:
PEPCK - hormones change the amount of enzyme
Stimulation - glucagon, cortisol
Inhibition - insulin
Fructose 1,6- biphosphatase - hormones change the amount and activity of enzyme
Stimulation - glucagon
Inhibition - insulin
What type of superfamily do insulin receptors belong to?
Tyrosine kinase
What type of super family do glucagon receptors belong to?
GPCRs
What type of superfamily of receptors do cortisol receptors belong to?
Nuclear receptors
How is gluconeogenesis affected in type 1 diabetics?
Decreased insulin
Less inhibition of PEPCK and fructose 1,6 biphosphatase
Increased rate of gluconeogenesis
Hyperglycaemia
Why are triacylglycerols an efficient method of storing energy?
They can be stored in bulk in an anhydrous form in adipose tissue so do not have an osmotic effect
They are highly calorific
More reduced than carbohydrates so release more energy when oxidised
Where does dietary fat enter the bloodstream?
From thoracic duct to left subclavian vein (chylomicrons)
What are the substrates for fatty acid synthesis?
- Acetyl coA (derived from the catabolism of carbohydrate and amino acids- this comes from the mitochondria in combination with oxaloacetate as citrate, the citrate is cleaved in the cytoplasm to release acetyl coA and oxaloacetate)
- ATP
- NADPH (from pentose phosphate pathway)
Where and when are fatty acids synthesised?
Mainly in the liver- when there is excess glucose. Glucose is the major source of carbon
Which enzymes are involved in fatty acid synthesis?
Acetyl coA carboxylase - produces malonyl coA from acetyl coA
Fatty acid synthase complex - builds fatty acids by sequential addition of 2 carbon units provided by malonyl-
CoA.
Is fatty acid synthesis the opposite of beta oxidation of fatty acids?
No
How are synthesised triacylglycerols transported in the blood?
VLDL