More Exchange & Transport Systems Flashcards
How is food broken down?
Into smaller molecules during digestion.
Why can some food not be absorbed from the gut into the blood?
The large biological molecules are too big to cross cell membranes do they can’t be absorbed from the gut into the blood.
What happens to the large molecules?
They are broken down into smaller molecules which CAN move across cell membranes - so they can be easily absorbed from the gut into the blood.
How are the large biological molecules broken down?
Into monomers using hydrolysis reactions.
What are fats broken down into?
Fatty acids and monoglycerides.
How are digestive enzymes produced?
By specialised cells in the digestive system of mammals.
Different enzymes are needed to…
Catalyse the breakdown of different food molecules.
What is Amylase?
A digestive enzyme that catalysed the conversion of starch into the smaller sugar maltose.
What does Amylase converting starch into maltose involve?
The hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds in starch. I’m
Where is Amylase produced?
In the salivary glands and pancreas.
What are membrane bound disaccharides?
Enzymes that are attached to the cell membranes of epithelial cells lining the ileum ( part of small intestine)
What do membrane bound disaccharides do?
They help to break down disaccharides into Monosaccharides.
How can Monosaccharides can be transported?
Across the cell membrane of the ileum epithelial cells via specific transporter proteins.
What do Lipase enzymes do?
They catalyse the breakdown of lipids into monoglycerides and fatty acids - hydrolysises the ester bonds in lipids.
Where are Lipase made and where do they work?
In the pancreas
Work in small intestine
Where produced Bile salts?
The liver and the bile emulsify lipids - cause lipids to be in small droplets.
Why are Bile salts important?
In lipid digestion - several small lipid droplets have a bigger surface area than a single large droplet.
What happens once a lipid has been broken down?
The monoglycerides and fatty acids stick with the Bile salts to form tiny structures called micelles.
What breaks down proteins?
By a combination of different proteases or peptides.
What are proteases?
Enzymes that catalyse the conversion of proteins into amino acids by hydrolysing the peptide bonds between amino acids.
Name the two molecules which break down Proteins:
Endopeptidases
Exopeptidases
Explain Endopeptidases?
They act to hydrolyse peptide bonds WITHIN a protein.
Give 2 examples of Endopeptidases:
a Trypsin
a Chymotrypsin
Synthesised in the pancreas and secreted into the small intestine.
Give another example of another Endopeptidase:
Pepsin
Released into the stomach by cells in the stomach lining - given acidic conditions.
Explain what Exopeptidases do?
They hydrolyse peptide bonds at the ends of the protein molecules - remove single amino acids from proteins.
What are Dipeptidases?
final part of digestion of proteins
Exopeptidases that work specifically on dipeptides - act to seperate two amino acids that make up a dipeptide by hydrolysing the peptide bond between them.
Where are Dipeptidases located?
Located in the cell-surface membrane of epithelial cells in the small intestine.
Products of digestion are absorbed across…
Cell membranes.
How are Monosaccharides absorbed across the ileum epithelium?
Glucose and Galactose absorbed by active transport with sodium ions via a co-transporter protein.
Fructose is absorbed via facilitated diffusion.
How are Monoglycerides and fatty acids absorbed across cell membranes?
Micelles help to move monoglycerides and fatty acids towards the epithelium.
What can Micelles do?
They can release monoglycerides and fatty acids allowing them to be absorbed - they are lipid soluble so they can diffuse directly through.
How are Amino acids absorbed across cell membranes?
Via co-transport. Sodium ions are actively transported out of the ileum epithelial cells into the blood - creates a sodium ion concentration gradient.
Sodium ions can…
Diffuse from the lumen of the ileum into the epithelial cells through the sodium dependent transporter proteins, carrying the amino acids with them.
Describe the role of enzymes in the complete breakdown of starch: (3)
- analyse breaks down starch into maltose.
- maltase breaks down maltose into glucose.
- this happens with hydrolysis which removes a glycosidic bond.
Describe the process involved in the absorption of the products of starch digestion: (4)
- sodium is removed from epithelial cells by active transport via the sodium potassium pump into the blood.
- this maintains a low conc of sodium in epithelial cell compared to lumen.
- glucose moves into the blood by facilitated diffusion.
- glucose moves in with the sodium to the epithelial cell via a carrier protein.
How is starch absorbed?
Glucose (the product) passes through the small intestine into the blood supply.
it passes through the epithelial cells (which have microvilli) to go into the blood stream where there is a low conc of glucose usually.
What is the most important part of the small intestine and what does it do?
The Villi - provides a large surface area.
What breaks down the Disaccharides Maltose, Sucrose and Lactose?
Disaccharidases
- maltAse
- sucrAse
- lactAse
What happens after the Fatty acids and glycerol are diffused across the small intestine? (4)
- they combine again in the ER.
- assosciate with cholesterol and proteins - form chylomicrons.
- they leave cells via exocytosis which enter lacteal of lymphatic system, the enter blood via the thoracic duct.
- then diffuse into the body cells.
Red blood cells contain…
Haemoglobin - a large protein with a quaternary structure (made up of 4 polypeptide chains)