Post-absorption Processing of Carbohydrates Flashcards

1
Q

Which 3 sugars are absorbed from the GI tract?

A
  1. glucose
  2. galactose
  3. fructose
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2
Q

Where do glucose and fructose come from?

A

Glucose comes from starch and glycogen breakdown (animal products)

Fructose comes from sucrose (sugar)

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3
Q

Where does galactose come from?

A

Galactose is one of the monomers of lactose

Lactose comes from dairy products

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4
Q

Which metabolic pathway will fructose and galactose enter?

A

They are converted to compounds that will enter the same metabolic pathway as glucose

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5
Q

What are the 2 potential products with galactose and fructose metabolism?

How common are they?

A
  1. hereditary fructose intolerance occurs in 1 in 20,000 births
  2. galactosaemia occurs in 1 in 23,000 births

They are genetically inherited and are associated with an absence of enzymes

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6
Q

What are the 4 possible fates of glucose?

A
  1. metabolism to produce energy (ATP)
  2. conversion to glycogen for storage
  3. synthesis of other cellular components
  4. conversion to fat for storage
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7
Q

What are the other cellular components that glucose may be converted to?

A

It can be converted into ribose phosphate, which is used to make DNA and RNA

It can be converted into glycoproteins and glycolipids

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8
Q

Where will glucose be stored as glycogen after a meal?

A

In the liver and skeletal muscle

Some glucose is also stored as fat

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9
Q

At what concentration should blood glucose be maintained at and why?

A

Maintaining blood glucose at around 5 mM is crucial for survival

This is because the brain relies on glucose for ATP synthesis

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10
Q

What happens if blood glucose falls below 3 mM?

A

This leads to confusion and coma

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11
Q

What happens if blood glucose rises above 8 mM?

Why does this occur?

A

It leads to long term vascular damage

Damage to the vascular system occurs through protein glycation

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12
Q

What must glucose be converted to before it can be used to produce energy?

A

Glucose and fatty acids are converted to acetyl CoA

Glucose must be first converted to pyruvate, then acetyl CoA

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13
Q

What happens once glucose (and fatty acids) are converted to acetyl CoA?

A
  1. Acetyl CoA enters the Krebs cycle
  2. The Krebs cycle produces reduced coenzymes (e.g. NADH)
  3. NADH carries high energy electrons to the IMM and passes them to the electron transport chain
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14
Q

Why is glucose a universal metabolic fuel?

A

It is used by all cells

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15
Q

Where does glycolysis take place?

What is significant about when glycolysis can generate ATP?

A

It takes place in the cytosol of ALL cells

Glycolysis can generate ATP in the presence or absence of oxygen

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16
Q

What are the 2 phases of glycolysis?

A
  1. preparative phase

2. generating phase

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17
Q

What does the preparative phase require?

Where does it run to?

A

It requires ATP

It runs from glucose to the generation of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate

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18
Q

Where does the generating phase run to?

What does it generate?

A

It runs from fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to pyruvate

It generates ATP and NADH

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19
Q

What is the overall equation for glycolysis?

A

glucose + 2 ADP + 2 Pi + 2 ATP + 2 NAD+

————>

2 pyruvate + 2 NADH + 4ATP + 2 H+ + 2 H2O

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20
Q

How many molecules of ATP are produced per molecule of glucose during glycolysis?

A

4 molecules of ATP are generated per glucose molecule

2 ATP are consumed during the preparative phase

The net production is 2 ATP

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21
Q

Under anaerobic conditions, how much ATP is generated per glucose molecule?

What is this process?

A

2 molecules of ATP are generated per molecule of glucose via glycolysis

This process is substrate level phosphorylation

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22
Q

Under aerobic conditions, how many molecules of ATP are generated per glucose and why?

A

Under aerobic conditions, ATP is used to generate a further 3-5 molecules of ATP through oxidative phosphorylation

Aerobic glycolysis generates 5-7 ATP molecules per glucose molecule

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23
Q

How many molecules of ATP are produced per glucose molecule after complete oxidation of glucose via the Krebs cycle?

A

This yields 30 - 32 molecules of ATP per glucose molecule

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24
Q

What is the first reaction in glycolysis which requires ATP?

Why is this reaction important?

A

Conversion of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate

This involves hexokinase and glucokinase

It prevents glucose from leaving the cell

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25
Q

What is the second reaction in glycolysis which requires ATP?

Which enzymes are involved?

A

Conversion of fructose-6-phosphate to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate

This involves phosphofructokinase-1

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26
Q

What is significant about the ATP-requiring reactions in glycolysis?

A

Most reactions in glycolysis are reversible

These reactions are IRREVERSIBLE so allow for control of the pathway

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27
Q

What are the 3 key control points in glycolysis?

A
  1. Hexokinase/glucose
  2. Phosphofructokinase-1
  3. Pyruvate kinase
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28
Q

Why does the hexokinase/glucose stage act as a control point in glycolysis?

A

It converts glucose to glucose-6-phosphate so it is only performed when it is needed

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29
Q

Why is phosphofructokinase-1 the main control step of glycolysis?

A

It involves splitting a 6 carbon molecule into 2 3-carbon units

This is the start of the generating phase

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30
Q

Why does the generating phase run twice per molecule of glucose?

A

Each 3 carbon unit produced by phosphofructokinase enters the generating phase

Per glucose molecule, 2 3C units are produced

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31
Q

What is involved in the pyruvate kinase control step?

A

This converts phosphoenolpyruvate into pyruvate

It generates 1 ATP

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32
Q

What is the other reaction in the generating phase that generates a molecule of ATP?

A

Conversion of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate into 3-phosphoglycerate

This is catalysed by phosphoglycerate kinase

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33
Q

What happens to pyruvate in the absence of oxygen?

A

It is NOT converted to acetyl CoA to enter the Krebs cycle

It is converted to lactate and NAD+ is regenerated

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34
Q

During the process of converting pyruvate to lactate, how much ATP is produced?

A

2 molecules of ATP are produced per molecule of glucose

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35
Q

Why is the conversion of pyruvate to lactate important for maintaining the rate of glycolysis?

A

It prevents the build-up of pyruvate at the end of the metabolic pathway by removing it

Build-up of pyruvate would slow down glycolysis

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36
Q

Why is the conversion of pyruvate to lactate important in maintaining NAD+ levels?

A

There is a requirement to regenerate NAD+

If NADH builds up, NAD+ levels fall

This also leads to a slowing down of glycolysis

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37
Q

What is meant by the Warburg effect?

A

High lactate production under aerobic conditions can be diagnostic of cancer

38
Q

What type of glycolysis is used by tumour cells?

A

Tumour cells absorb glucose more rapidly than normal cells

They use anaerobic glycolysis in preference to oxidative phosphorylation, even in the presence of oxygen

39
Q

Why do tumour cells use anaerobic glycolysis?

A

It aids the growth of the tumour in the absence of a good blood supply

As the tumour grows, it outstrips its own blood supply and it takes time for new blood vessels to grow

40
Q

What type of scan can be used to identify tumours?

How does this work?

A

Positron emission tomography (PET) scans using 2-18F-deoxyglucose

It does this by identifying the increased glucose uptake and glycolysis of the tumour

41
Q

What can glucose be converted into for storage?

A
  1. glycogen

2. fatty acids which are then converted into lipids

42
Q

Where is glycogen found in the body?

A

Every cell contains a small amount of glycogen

It is mainly found in the liver and skeletal muscle

43
Q

What is the structure of glycogen and what types of linkages does it contain?

A

It has a branched structure

a-1,4 linkages form the main body of the molecule

a-1,6 linkages form the branch points

44
Q

Why is the branched structure of glycogen beneficial?

A

The branched effect allows glucose to be rapidly added to glycogen, and rapidly released when it is needed

45
Q

What is the role of glycogen within the liver?

How does it achieve this?

A

The role of glycogen is to maintain blood glucose levels

Glycogen is broken down in the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream

46
Q

How do glycogen levels in the liver fluctuate?

A

Glycogen levels fluctuate a lot

Liver glycogen levels are particularly low in the morning before food is consumed - this can lead to fainting

47
Q

What is the first stage in glycogen synthesis?

What enzyme is required?

A

glucose-6-phosphate is converted to glucose-1-phosphate

This is performed by phosphoglucomutase

48
Q

What happens to the glucose-1-phosphate that is formed in glycogen synthesis?

A

UTP and glucose-1-phosphate come together to form UDP-glucose and phosphate

UDP acts as a carrier

49
Q

What is the role of UDP in glycogen synthesis?

A

UDP transfers glucose-1-phosphate to glycogenin

Glycogenin attaches to the hydroxyl group of a tyrosine residue

50
Q

What factor limits the amount of glycogen that can be stored?

A

The amount of glycogenin present limits storage of glycogen

51
Q

What happens once glucose-1-phosphate has joined to glycogenin?

A

The glycogen chain is elongated and branch points are added

The key control enzyme is glycogen synthase

52
Q

What is glycogenolysis?

A

The breakdown of glycogen

53
Q

What is the enzyme involved in the first stage of glycogenolysis?

What does it do?

A

Glycogen phosphorylase removes glucose units from glycogen

The glucose-1-phosphate is then converted to glucose-6-phosphate

54
Q

Where will the glucose-6-phosphate be converted to glucose during glycogenolysis?

A

The glucose-6-phosphate is only converted to glucose in the liver and kidneys

This is due to the presence of the necessary enzyme

55
Q

What happens to the glucose-6-phosphate produced in glycogenolysis in muscles?

A

In muscle cells, the glucose-6-phosphate goes straight into glycolysis

56
Q

What are the 2 main effects of athletic training on muscles?

A
  1. increased numbers of mitochondria allow for more aerobic respiration
  2. increased muscle glycogen content
57
Q

What type of energy do long-distance runners rely on?

What is “glycogen loading”?

A

They rely on fat metabolism for energy, but the ‘final push’ at the end requires glycogen

“glycogen loading” involves eating high carbohydrate diets in preparation for racing to increase glycogen stores

58
Q

Why do long distance runners often collapse?

A

Exhaustion and collapse are caused by the depletion of glycogen

The muscles have run out of energy

59
Q

What happens once glycogen storage is saturated?

A

Glucose can be broken down into acetyl CoA, which is converted to fatty acids

60
Q

What will fatty acids be converted to for storage?

A

Fatty acids are converted to triacylglycerols for storage

61
Q

In which cells does fatty acid synthesis occur?

A

It occurs in the cell cytosol of:

  1. mainly in the liver
  2. in adipose tissue
  3. in breast tissue during lactation
62
Q

What happens to acetyl CoA produced from glucose?

A

It cannot get out of the mitochondria

High levels of acetyl CoA in the mitochondria leads to the synthesis of citrate

63
Q

What happens to citrate that is formed when there are high levels of acetyl CoA in the mitochondria?

A
  1. Acetyl CoA carboxylase adds carbon dioxide to citrate

This produces malonyl CoA (3C molecule)

  1. This reaction is repeated many times, adding 2 carbons each time, until palmitate is produced
64
Q

What is palmitate?

What happens once palmitate is formed?

A

Palmitate is a 16 carbon molecule

From palmitate, double bonds can be inserted into the chain and longer-chain fatty acids can be made

65
Q

How can weight be gained from a low-fat diet?

A

If more sugar is taken in than required, this leads to the synthesis of fat

This process results in palmitate and longer chain fatty acids

66
Q

Where does triacylglycerol synthesis occur?

What is involved in this process?

A

Occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum

This involves the addition of 3 fatty acids to a molecule of glycerol-3-phosphate

67
Q

Where are triacylglycerols stored?

What happens to triacylglycerols in the liver?

A

They are stored in the cytosol of adipose tissue

In the liver, they are packaged to form VLDL, which is secreted into the blood

68
Q

Where are the VLDLs produced in the liver transported to?

A
  1. adipose tissue for storage

2. other peripheral tissues for use as an energy source

69
Q

What are the 2 main reasons why control of metabolism is needed?

A

It is needed to ensure that cells and the whole body can:

  1. work efficiently to utilise the materials it has to create the metabolites it needs
  2. adapt to different conditions
70
Q

How does control of metabolism occur within the cell?

A

Cells respond to energy availability and the need for specific metabolites

71
Q

How does control of metabolism occur on a whole body level?

A

hormonal signalling allows the body to adapt to the environment

72
Q

What is meant by product inhibition as a way of controlling reaction rates?

A

If an enzyme is producing a lot of a product which is not being used, this will slow the reaction rate

73
Q

How may covalent modification affect reaction rate?

A

Covalent modification can activate or inhibit an enzyme through the addition or removal of phosphate groups

74
Q

How may hormones affect reaction rate?

A

Some hormones control the amount of enzyme that is present through controlling the rate of synthesis or degradation

75
Q

Why are ATP levels not used to monitor energy status/

What is used instead?

A

ATP levels fluctuate quite quickly as it is constantly being produced and broken down

Levels of AMP are a sensitive monitor of energy status

76
Q

What is the role of AMP-activated protein kinase?

A

It phosphorylates key enzymes involved in energy metabolism in the heart, adipose tissue, liver and muscle

77
Q

What are the overall effects of AMP-activated protein kinase?

A
  1. it increases energy-providing pathways

2. it inhibits anabolic/synthetic pathways

78
Q

What happens to levels of insulin after eating?

What is the result of this?

A

Levels of insulin are raised after eating

Transporters for glucose are moved into the membrane of the muscle, allowing more glucose to enter the cell

79
Q

What will hexokinase be inhibited by?

A

It is inhibited by product inhibition

The retention of glucose-6-phosphate inhibits hexokinase

80
Q

What controls the rate of glycogen synthesis and break down?

A

Phosphorylation

Phosphorylating glycogen phosphorylase speeds up glycogen breakdown

Phosphorylating glycogen synthase slows it down so there is less glycogen synthesis

81
Q

What does high glucagon levels lead to?

A

high glycogen means that blood glucose levels are low

this leads to the breakdown of glycogen to release glucose

82
Q

Why will high ATP inhibit the breakdown of glucose?

A

It signals that no more ATP is needed

83
Q

How do energy levels influence the synthesis of fatty acids from glucose?

A

Low energy levels inhibit fatty acid synthesis from glucose

This is activated by the presence of insulin

When there is lots of food, excess energy will be stored

84
Q

what is the role of insulin?

A
  1. increases expression of genes which code for enzymes of glycolysis
  2. decreases expression of genes which code for enzymes of gluconeogenesis
85
Q

What is gluconeogenesis?

A

The process of making new glucose

86
Q

What will high levels of insulin stimulate?

A

Glycolysis

87
Q

What is signalled by high levels of glucagon?

A

A lack of energy

88
Q

What is the role of glucagon?

A

It regulates the level of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate

This will activate glycolysis and inhibit gluconeogenesis

89
Q

What happens when glucagon levels are high?

A

High glucagon will phosphorylate an enzyme, leading to degradation of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate

This decreases glycolysis

90
Q

What happens when glucagon levels are low?

A

Low glucagon dephosphorylates an enzyme, leading to synthesis of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate

This increases glycolysis