Nitrogen Flashcards
What is the R group on glutamate?
CH2CH2COO-/H
How are proteins hydrolysed?
Pepsin hydrolyses proteins into large peptide chains in the stomach
Trypsin and chymotrypsin hydrolyse larger peptide chains into smaller peptide chains in the small intestine
Aminopeptidase and Carboxypeptidase hydrolyse short peptide chains into single amino acids in the small intestine
How is ammonia transported in the blood stream?
As glutamine
How is alanine made?
Glutamate donates ammonia to pyruvate created from glycolysis in anaerobically respiring tissue.
What is the purpose of converting glutamate to alanine or glutamine just to convert it back to glutamate in the liver?
Glutamate has a negative charge, whereas alanine and glutamine are neutral. Therefore these molecules are easier to transport as they can pass through lipid membranes
Where is excess glutamate metabolised?
Mitochondria of hepatocytes
What processes are involved in glutamate dehydrogenase?
Two enzyme oxidation followed by hydrolysis. The electron acceptor here can be either NAD+ or NADP+
What is the difference between glucogenic and ketogeneic amino aicds?
These terms refer to the fate of the amino acids.
Glucogenic amino acids feed into gluconeogenesis to produce glucose or glycogen in the liver.
Ketogenic amino acids feed into acetoacetate or acetyl CoA
What happens to the toxic ammonia produced as a result of glutamate dehydrogenase?
Captured to create carbamoyl phosphate which enters into the urea cycle.
