β-oxidation of fatty acids Flashcards
What experiment did Knoop carry out
- Published 1904- before radio labelling
- Fed fatty acids labelled at the methyl end with phenyl group to dogs (phenyl group blocks degradation)
- Criticism that phenyl group could be interfering- big artefact
- Some fatty acids had odd number of carbons eg Phenyl propionate
- Some had even numbers of carbons eg Phenyl butyrate
- Examined the excretion products in the urine
7)
What was the result of Knoops experiment
- Discovered with odd chain lengths- benzoate or benzoate derivative in urine
- Even chains- phenyl acetate in urine
- Where there is a β carbon it can be oxidised and then the bond between the α and β carbons can be broken
- Needs to be 2 ch2 groups taken away together
- If enzyme which removes carbon attacks alpha carbon- can do one at a time- benzoate
- If enzymes recognise beta carbon then that explains how two carbons removed at a time
- Beta carbon is c3 from carboxyl end in fatty acid
What are the 3 stages of beta- oxidation
- Activation
- Transport
- Oxidation
Where does activation occur
- In the cytosol on the outer surface of the mitochondrial membrane
What is the enzyme involved in activation
- Acyl-CoA synthetase (thiokinases)
What is the equation for activation
- RCOO- + CoA + ATP ACYL-CoA +AMP + PPi
2. RCOO- = fatty acid
What is the purpose of the activation step
- Ensures subsequent reactions can occur as negative delta G
- Combined hydrolysis of ATP and combination of coA to acyl group- delta G almost 0 so is freely reversible
How is the reaction diven
- Being reversible is not helpful if want to drive reaction to right
- Reaction is driven to the right by removal of a product 3. Pyrophosphatase- breaks pyrophosphate into two phosphates- is ubiquitous found all over mitochondria
- Cleave different phosphodiester bond to form pyrophosphate and adenosine monophosphate
- Hydrolysing pyrophosphate to two inorganic phosphates- removes components from right of reaction and no substrate to go back the other way
- RCOO- + CoA + ATP + H2O –> Acyl-CoA + AMP + 2Pi + 2H+
- Because got to AMP would need to be phosphorylated again twice- used up two ATPs
Why does transportation need to occur
- Fatty acid is in cytosol In surface of mitochondria
2. Acyl groups need to enter mitochondrion to be metabolised (oxidised)
Describe how fatty acyl-CoA is transported across the membrane
- Acyl group attached to coenzyme A outside mitochondria
- Long-chain fatty acyl-CoA cannot directly cross the inner mitochondrial membrane
- Its acyl portion is first transferred to carnitine
- CoA on outside stays outside
- Utilises carnitine as intermediate to carry acyl group through facilitated diffusion through a pore in the inner mitochondrial membrane
- Acyl CoA can easily go through outer- inner is problem
- Acyl carnitine goes in
- Then acyl group is transferred back to CoA releasing carnitine
- Carnitine returns to the cytosol
Who discovered that fatty acids are oxidised in the mitochondrion
- Lehninger and Kennedy
Describe the structure of carnitine
- Has a hydroxyl group
- Acyl group becomes attached in place of hydroxyl and releases Coenzyme A
- Ester linkage rather than thioester linkage
Where does beta-oxidation occur
- In the mitochondrial matrix
Outline the first step of beta-oxidation
- Formation of a trans-alpha,beta double bond through dehydrogenation by acyl-CoA dehydrogenase
Outline the second step of beta-oxidation
- Hydration of the double bond by enoyl-CoA hydratase to form a 3-L-hydroxyacyl-CoA
Outline the third step of beta-oxidation
- NAD+ dependent dehydrogenation of this Beta-hydroxy-acyl-CoA by 3-L-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase to form the corresponding beta-ketoacyl-CoA
Outline the fourth step of beta-oxidation
- Calpha-Cbeta cleavage in a thiolysis reaction with CoA as catalysed by Beta-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (just thiolase)
- forms acetyl CoA and a new acyl-CoA containing two less C atoms than the original