Session 2 Flashcards
What are the tissues with an absolute requirement for glucose?
- Red blood cells
- Neutrophils
- Innermost cells of kidney medulla
- Lens of the eye
At what concentrations of blood glucose do symptoms occur?
Normally held at around roughly 5mmol/L
- 8mmol/L. Confusion
- 7mmol/L weakness, nausea
- 1 mol/L muscle cramps
- 6mmol/L brain damage, death
How is glycogen stored?
Glycogen is stored as granules.
What happens to proteins when glucose concentration in the blood is too high?
They react with the glucose and become glycosylated and alters function
What are the two main stores of glycogen in the body?
Liver (roughly 100g) and muscles (roughly 300g)
What is the difference between glycogen stored in the liver and glycogen stored in the muscles?
Glycogen in the liver can be used to replenish blood plasma glucose whereas in the muscles it is trapped only to be used there.
In the liver:
G6P converted to glucose and exported to blood. Liver glycogen is a buffer of blood glucose levels.
In the muscles:
Muscle lacks the enzyme Glucose-6-phosphatase. G6P enters glycolysis for energy production.
Muscle glycogen stores differ in that Glucagon has no effect.
Also AMP is an allosteric activator of muscle glycogen phosphorylase but
not of the liver form of enzyme
Describe the structure of glycogen
- Glycogen is a polymer consisting of chains of glucose residues
- Chains are organized like the branches of a tree originating from a dimer of the protein glycogenin (acts as a primer at core of glycogen structure).
- Glucose residues linked by α-1-4 glycosidic bonds with α-1-6 glycosidic bonds forming branch points every 8-10 residues
What are the benefits to storing glucose as glycogen in the way that we do?
Highly branched so many points for enzymes to cleave off glucose molecules. By storing it as a macromolecule it significantly reduces its osmotic effects so water isn’t drawn into the cell.
What is glycogenesis? Explain how it works
Glycogen synthesis
- A glucose molecule reacts with an ATP molecule to form glucose-6-phosphate and an ADP molecule. This is requires hexokinase or (glucokinase in the liver).
- Glucose 6-phosphate is converted to phosphoglucomutase.
- Glucose 1-phosphate + UTP + H2O forms UDP-glucose + PPi. This reaction is carried out by G1P uridyltransferase.
- Glycogen(n residues) + UDP-glucose forms glycogen(n+1 residues) + UDP. The enzymes for this are Glycogen synthase (α-1-4 Glycosidic bonds) or branching enzyme (α-1-6 Glycosidic bonds).
Synthesis of glycogen requires energy.
What is glycogenolysis? Explain how it works
Glycogen degradation
Not a simple reversal of glycogenesis.
1. Glycogen(n residues) + Pi forms glucose 1–phosphate and Glycogen(n-1 residues). This reaction requires glycogen phosphorylase (α-1-4 Glycosidic bonds) or de-branching enzyme(α-1-6 Glycosidic bonds).
2. Glucose 1-phosphate is converted to glucose 6-phosphate using phosphoglucomutase.
Draw and annotate a diagram giving an overview of glycogen metabolism
Insert image
What is the rate limiting enzyme of glycogen synthesis in the liver?
Glycogen synthase
What is the rate limiting enzyme of glycogen degradation in the liver?
Glycogen phosphorylase
Explain regulation of glycogen metabolism in the liver
Occurs in reciprocal fashion. Insert table
How do glycogen storage diseases arise?
What effects would they have?
Give examples
Inborn errors of metabolism (inherited diseases)
Arise from deficiency or dysfunction of enzymes of glycogen metabolism
• Liver and /or muscle can be affected
• Excess glycogen storage can lead to tissue damage
• Diminished glycogen stores can lead to hypoglycaemia & poor exercise tolerance.
Examples:
Examples: • von Gierke’s disease -glucose 6-phosphatase deficiency
• McArdle disease - muscle glycogen phosphorylase deficiency
What is gluconeogenesis and when does it occur?
The production of new glucose
Beyond ~ 8 hours of fasting, liver glycogen stores start to deplete and an alternative source of glucose is required: Gluconeogenesis
Where does gluconeogenesis occur?
Occurs in Liver and to lesser extent in Kidney cortex
What are thee three major precursors for gluconeogenesis?
Lactate - From anaerobic glycolysis in exercising muscle and red blood cells (Cori cycle) (insert pic)
Glycerol - Released from adipose tissue breakdown of triglycerides.
Amino acids - Mainly alanine.
Can glucose be synthesised from acetyl-CoA
Acetyl-CoA cannot be converted into pyruvate (pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction is irreversible) so there is no net synthesis of glucose from acetyl-CoA
What type of receptor does insulin bind to?
Tyrosine kinase receptor
From what family of receptors does adrenaline and glucagon bind to?
GPCR
G protein coupled receptor
What are the key enzymes in the gluconeogneseis pathway?
And which two are the majors control sites of the pathway?
- Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK)
- Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase
- Glucose-6-phosphatase
1 and 2 are the majors control sites of the pathway.
What factors do the enzymes involved in regulation of gluconeogenesis respond to?
Starvation/fasting
Prolonged exercise
Stress
What are the two enzymes involved in the regulation of gluconeogenesis and how do they regulate it?
Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase
Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK)
Insert table
Explain the time course of glucose utilisation
Glucose from food - up to roughly to hours. Obtains glucose from feeding
Glygogenolysis -up to 8-10 hours. Uses glycogen
Gluconeogenesis from 8-10 hours onwards. Uses lactate, glycerol and amino acids.
How are lipids stored?
- Energy intake in excess of requirements is converted to Triacylglycerol (TAG) for storage
- TAGs are hydrophobic and therefore stored in an anhydrous form in specialised tissue – adipose tissue
- Highly efficient energy store. Energy content per gram twice that of carbohydrate or protein
- Utilised in prolonged exercise, stress, starvation, during pregnancy
- The storage & mobilisation of TAGs is under hormonal control
How is triacylglycerol formed?
Insert pic
What are adipocytes?
Cells that store fats (mainly TAG and cholesterol ester)
• Typical adipocyte ~0.1mm in diameter. Cells expand as more fat
added
• Average adult ~30 billion fat cells weighing ~15 kg.
• Can increase in size about fourfold on weight gain before dividing
and increasing total number of fat cells
How are adipocytes adapted for their function
Cytoplasm and organelles pushed to the edge so that there’s more space for storage.
Overview of dietary triacylglycerol metabolism
Insert image of cycle
What is the process called for fatty acid synthesis?
How does it work?
Lipogenesis
• Mainly in liver. Dietary glucose as major source of carbon.
• Glucose is turned into pyruvate in cytoplasm (glycolysis).
• Pyruvate enters mitochondria and forms acetyl-CoA & oxaloacetate which then condense to form citrate
• Citrate enters the cytoplasm and is cleaved back to Acetyl-CoA &
Oxaloacetate.
• Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (key regulator) produces
malonyl-CoA from Acetyl-CoA.
• Fatty acid synthase complex builds fatty acids by sequential addition of 2 carbon units provided by malonyl-
CoA.
Process requires both ATP and NADPH