Week 1: Amino Acids + Proteins Flashcards
How many amino acids (aa) are there in humans?
20
What is an essential amino acid?
You must eat it
What is the net charge of an aa?
Neutral
What is a peptide bond?
Amino group of one aa bonds with the carboxyl group of another aa
What is a zwitterion?
Have positive and negative charges but net neutral, like aa
What properties does the secondary protein structure add?
Strength + flexibility
What properties does the tertiary protein structure add?
Shape + function
Describe protein digestion
- Swallow food, which travels down esophagus to stomach
- Stomach pepsin + HCl breaks protein down into peptides
- Intestinal enzymes (trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase, sodium bicarbonate) digest peptides into aa
- Amino acids from intestine get reabsorbed into bloodstream to get recycled
What is an aminoacidopathy?
Inherited enzyme defect that inhibits the metabolism of certain aa
List aminoacidopathies
- Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD)
- Phenylketonuria (PKU)
- Tyrosinemia
- Alkaptonuria
- Isovaleric acidemia
- Homocystinuria
- Citrullinemia
- Argininosuccinic aciduria
- Cystinuria
Blood samples should be drawn after at least what time frame of fasting?
6-8 hr fast
How are samples collected for aa analysis?
Heparin tube. Plasma removed promptly from cells. Leave buffy coat alone
Deproteination must occur within _____ of sample collection
30 min
If analysis cannot be performed immediately, how do you store aa sample?
Freeze -20°C to -40°C
Properties of proteins
- 6k to 1 million Da
- Small is less than 20k Da
- Variable solubility
- Electrical charge
- Adsorption
- Specific binding to antibodies