Metabolism, synthesis and enzyme-linked receptors Flashcards
What happens to excess carbohydrates?
Excess is stored either as glycogen in the liver and muscle, or as fat in adipose tissue, for mobilisation when food is scarce or there’s a sudden increase in demand
What is hypoglycaemia and the symptoms?
Deficiency of glucose in the blood stream (below 4mmol/L) (below 70mg/dL)
Symptoms include muscle weakness, loss of coordination, sweating and hypoglycaemic coma and death
What is hyperglycaemia and its symptoms?
An excess of glucose in the blood stream (above 7mmol/L) (above 126mg/dL)
Symptoms are increased thirst, short concentration span, blurred vision, frequent urination, fatigue and weight loss
What does hyperglycaemia involve on a histological level?
The non-enzymatic modification of proteins (cataracts or lipoproteins important in atherosclerosis)
How does glycogen synthesis occur?
Glycogenin reacts with UDP-glucose and catalyses the addition of the first glucose molecule. This then acts as a substrate for glycogen synthase
Why can’t glucose be stored?
It is osmotically active
What makes glycogen a better energy storage source than fat?
Fat cannot be mobilised as readily as glycogen, nor can it be used as an energy source in the absence of oxygen
What are the 2 main activities of the debranching enzymes responsible for glycogen breakdown?
Transferase activity moves the last glucose residues to the non-reducing end of an existing chain and glucosidase removes the 1-6 link, releasing glucose
What 4 enzymes are required for glycogen breakdown?
Phosphorylase breaks the alpha 1-4 links
Transferase
Debranching enzyme alpha-1-6
Phosphoglucomutase converts G1P to G6P
What enzyme is required for conversion of G6P to glucose?
G6-phosphatase
What happens to glucose-6-phosphate formed in the liver?
It’s dephosphorylated and secreted into the blood to maintain the 5mmol/L blood sugar
What allows glycogenolysis to be switched on very rapidly?
Many phosphorylases are bound to each glycogen particle
Phosphorylase is an allosteric enzyme. What does this mean?
It has sites away from its active site that control its activity by inducing shape changes in the protein
What converts inactive glycogen phosphorylase b to active glycogen phosphorylase a?
A special enzyme called phosphorylase b kinase, which transfers a phosphate from an ATP to one serine residue on each phosphorylase subunit
What stimulates glycogenolysis in the liver and muscle?
Glucagon stimulates glycogenoolysis in the liver, while adrenaline stimulates it in muscle
How is glycogen phosphorylase controlled in muscle tissue?
Glycogen phosphorylase b can be activated by 5’-AMP without being phosphorylated. 5’-AMP is a molecule formed when ATP stores are depleted. ATP binds to the same allosteric site as 5’-AMP and blocks activation, hence 5’-AMP only causing activation when ATP stores are depleted. Glucose-6-phosphate also blocks 5’-AMP activation
How is glycogen phosphorylase controlled in the liver?
Glucose inhibits activated glycogen phosphorylase a
What activates glycogen phosphorylase b in muscle tissue?
Ca2+ ions activate it to mediate glycogenolysis during muscle contraction
In the liver, phosphorylase kinase is under dual regulation via what 2 different receptor types?
Its regulated through elevation of cAMP and activation of PKA, and via Ca2+ through the alpha adrenergic/ IP3 pathway
What activates glycogen synthase?
ATP and G6P, as well as dephospho rylation by protein phosphatase-1
What deactivates glycogen synthase?
Phosphorylation by PKA
What activates glycogen phosphorylase?
Phosphorylation by phosphorylase b kinase
What deactivates glycogen phosphorylase?
ATP and G6P, and dephospho rylation by protein phosphatase-1
What’s the bodily daily requirement for glucose?
160g
How does the gluconeogenic pathway work?
The gluconeogenic pathway converts pyruvate to glucose. This takes place mostly in the liver and a little in the kidney. Kidney productions rise to 40% during starvation
What are the 3 most important substrates to gluconeogenesis?
The amino acid (alanine), lactate and glycerol
What process is gluconeogenesis usually accompanied by?
Ketogenesis
What can pyruvate and a number of amino acids be converted to for the first step of gluconeogenesis?
Oxaloacetic acid
What enzyme converts pyruvate to oxaloacetic acid?
Pyruvate carboxylase
What enzyme converts oxaloacetic acid to phosphoenol pyruvate?
Phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase
How does compartmentalisation affect the gluconeogenesis process?
Pyruvate must by uptaken into mitochondria before it’s converted to oxaloacetate. Oxaloacetate must be converted to malate to exit the mitochondria before its resynthesises in the cytosol.
What inhibits pyruvate kinase?
The enzyme responsible for conversion of phosphoenol pyruvate to pyruvate is inhibited by glucagon
Where do fats come from?
Fats are either obtained from the diet or made de novo from carbohydrates
Give 4 roles of fats
Membranes
Uptake of lipid soluble vitamins
Being precursors of steroid hormones
Energy storage
How much energy is there in 1g of fat?
37kJ of energy
Name 3 important molecules to consider when discussing lipid metabolism
Cholesterol
Fatty acids
Triglycerides
What tissue uses fat as its preferred energy source?
Cardiac muscle tissue
What’s the most common source of metabolic building blocks?
Dietary carbohydrates
Where are most fats synthesised?
In the liver
What are fatty acids?
Chains of methyl groups with a terminal carboxyl group. Any double bonds are in cis formation
What molecules does fatty acid synthesis require?
Acetyl CoA
ATP
NADPH
Where does NADPH come from?
A significant proportion of NADPH comes from the pentose phosphate pathway- a pathway active in hepatocytes when there’s excess glucose intake
What does fatty acid synthesis involve as a process?
The sequential addition of 2 carbon units derived from acetyl CoA
How is acetyl CoA transferred to the cytosol from mitochondria?
Acetyl CoA reacts with oxaloacetate to form citrate, which moves across the bilayer membrane before being broken down back into oxaloacetate and acetyl CoA
What’s the key first step in fatty synthesis?
Acetyl-CoA carboxylase takes acetyl CoA (2C), ATP and carbonate ions (HCO3-) and forms malonyl-CoA (C4), ADP and Pi
Via what feedback is this first step of fatty acid synthesis regulated?
A positive feedback mechanism
What activates the first step of fatty acid synthesis?
Citrate
What vitamin does the first step of fatty acid synthesis require?
Vitamin biotin
What is the second step of fatty acid synthesis?
Malonyl-CoA then reacts with ACP (acyl carrier protein) to activate malonyl CoA and prepare it for subsequent reactions. Another acetyl CoA binds to ACP, then malonyl-ACP and acetyl-ACP undergo a condensation reaction to form acetoactyl-ACP (C4)
What happens to acetoactyl-ACP in fatty acid synthesis?
Acetoactyl ACP undergoes reduction, dehydration and further reduction to form butyryl-ACP. Butyryl-ACP then reacts with another malonyl-ACP in a condensation reaction. The elongation process can continue until a 60 carbon chain is formed (palmitic acid)
What is fatty acid synthase?
A multi-functional complex of enzymes that exists as a dimer, oriented head to tail
Where is cholesterol synthesised?
Cholesterol is mostly synthesised in the ER
How does cholesterol synthesis begin?
Cholesterol synthesis starts with the activation of acetate, acetyl-CoA.
What is a major regulatory step in cholesterol synthesis?
The conversion of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA (HMGCoA) to mevalonate.
How does cholesterol regulate its own synthesis?
Cholesterol inhibits HMGCoA reductase- the enzyme involved in its own synthesis. It’s therefore difficult to reduce circulating cholesterol by diet alone, as endogenous synthesis will increase
What are the 3 steps of fatty acid degradation to release stored energy and where do they happen?
Mobilisation in the adipocytes.
Activation in the liver cytosol.
Degradation in the liver mitochondria.
What stimulates mobilisation of fatty acids?
Mobilisation is stimulated by hormones such as glucagon and adrenaline
How do glucagon and adrenaline act to mobilise fatty acids?
They stimulate a 7TM receptor protein to synthesise cAMP, which will then activate PKA, which phsophorylates triacylglycerol lipase, activating the enzyme. The active enzyme starts to break down triacylglycerol to diacylglycerol. This is then broken down by other lipase to form glycerol and free fatty acids
What happens to the glycerol formed in fatty acid mobilisation?
Glycerol is phosphorylated to glycerol-3-phosphate, which is then oxidised to dihydroacetone phosphate and isomerism to Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
What happens to most of the Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate derived from glycerol in the liver?
Very little glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate goes towards glycolysis. Most goes to gluconeogenesis
What happens to fatty acids once they’re mobilised?
They are transported to the liver and activated by acyl-CoA synthase in the cytoplasm. Acyl-CoA that’s produced is transported across the inner mitochondrial membrane bound to carnitine, an alcohol
What can carnitine deficiency cause and why?
Carnitine deficiency can cause muscle weakness or even death, as carnitine is essential to fatty acid degradation and therefore energy release
What inhibits transport of the activated fatty acid chain into the IMM?
Malonyl CoA
How is Acyl CoA transported across the IMM?
Acyl CoA reacts with carnitine, catalysed by carnitine acyltransferase I, to form acyl carnitine. Acyl carnitine is transported via a translocase into the matrix. Acyl CoA is resynthesised via carnitine acyltransferase II