Vitamin K Flashcards
What are the different forms of vitamin K and where are they found?
- Phylloquinone - natural form found in food
- Menaquinone - made by intestinal bacteria
Where is vitamin K found in food?
Fats and oils
How is Vitamin K transported?
Transported into lymph as part of chylomicrons
What is the structural difference between phylloquinone and menaquinone?
- Phylloquinone = Vitamin K1. Shorter chain, biologically active form
- Menaquinone-7 = Vitamin K2; MK-4. Longer chain, but function not really changed
- Rings = active structure.
- Similar in their menadione structure but chain length is different
What are the overall functions of Vitamin K?
- Post-translational carboxylation of proteins: Gamma-carboxyl glutamic acid (Glu-COO-) AKA adds extra carboxyl group therefore adding extra negative charge
- Modify Glutamic acid of calcium binding proteins (requires O2, CO2, NAD(P)H and Vit K)
- Extra negative charge allows calcium to bind proteins (extra negative charge binds to positively charged compounds)
- These calcium binding proteins are important for blood clotting and bone formation
Explain the vitamin K cycle
- Vitamin K - containing Ketones go through pathway I and II and are reduced to alcohols to get Vitamin K hydroxyquinone (KH2). Occurs by VKOR and NAD(P)H
- Vitamin K Hydroxyquinone and Glutamic acid (protein) with carbon dioxide and oxygen interact to form a carboxyglutamic acid (carboxylated protein - contains 2 CO2 now - extra negative charge). Vitamin K hydroxyquinone has been oxidized to Vitamin K epoxide
- Vitamin K epoxide converted back to normal by VKOR
Explain the vitamin K cycle in terms of enzymes
- Vitamin K converted to Vitamin K hydroquinone by quinone reductase and NADPH reduced to NADP
- Hydroquinone and protein converted to vitamin K epoxide and carboxylated protein via vitamin K-dependent carboxylase which adds CO2 to protein
- Citamin K epoxide converted to Vitamin K by Vitamin K epoxide reductase
What is the function of Warfarin?
- Structural analog of Vitamin K
- Drug we use when people are clotting too much. Need to stop regeneration of Vitamin K in the Vitamin K cycle to reduce clotting ability (AKA acts as anticoagulant and inhibits Vit K cycle)
- No longer use, better drugs with improved safety.
- Used for specific purposes not the entire population
What are the biological roles of Vitamin K?
- Needed for blood clotting (K is abbreviated for the German word “Koagulation”)
- Activation of the proteins by adding carbon dioxide otherwise called gama-carboxylation of glutamic acid residues
- Cofactor of gama-carboxylation of glutamic acid
What proteins does Vitamin K impact? Where are they made and what happens to them?
- Factor II (prothrombin)
- Factor VII (proconvertin)
- Factor IX (Christmas factor)
- Factor X (Stuart factor)
- All of these proteins are made in liver as inactive zymogens
- Undergo post translational modification by carboxylation of glutamic acid residues
- Many proteins (like prothrombin) will have multiple (10) glutamic acid molecules modified
Explain the process of blood clotting
- Precursors exist early on
- Vitamin K comes in and adds a negative charge to the protein (e.g. prothrombin)
- Calcium and thromboplastin (a phospholipids) from blood platelets bind to proteins
- Convert protein/enzyme into active form (thrombin)
- Active enzyme converts fibrinogen (a soluble protein) to fibrin (a solid clot)
- Calcium comes in at many different cascades all to cause activation
What is osteocalcin? Where is it found? What does it do? How is it made?
- Small protein 40-50 amino acids important in bone metabolism
- Synthesized by osteoblasts of bone (induced by Vitamin D)
- Also found in kidney, lung, and spleen
- Activity depends on carboxylation of glutamic acid
- Binds to hydroxyapatite crystals in bone (Needs Vit K)
- Contains hydroxyproline - dependent on vitamin C
What is MGP? When is it expressed and what is it involved in?
- Matrix Gla protein
- High affinity to bind calcium. Protein plays a role in bone organization
- Expressed in developing bone prior to ossification; inhibits inappropriate calcification of epiphyseal (growth) plate
What 3 proteins does Vitamin K impact when it comes to bone metabolism? How does it do this?
- Osteocalcin
- MGP
- Protein S
* Without Vitamin K don’t have the activity of these proteins so you don’t have bone resabsorption/organization
What is Protein S and what does it do?
- Another Gla protein; modulates cell proliferation