Week 3 - Lipids Flashcards
What is the simplest unit of a lipid?
A fatty acid hydrocarbon
What are lipids stored in ?
In adipose tissue as triacyglycerides
Where does fatty acid synthesis occur?
In the cytoplasm - anabolic pathway
Where does fatty acid oxidation occur?
In the mitochondria - catabolic pathway. Most catabolic, energy-yielding pathways occur in the mitochondria.
What is the terminus of the long hydrocarbon chain of the fatty acid?
A carboxylate group and a methyl end
What are the three major physiological roles of fatty acids?
- building blocks of structural cell membranes
- Steroid molecules; cholesterol, hormones: estrogen/progesterone, bile acids etc and intracellular hormones.
- Fatty acids are steroid molecules; cholesterol hormones
What are triacylglycerols?
Uncharged esters of glycerol
What are unesterified free fatty acids usually associated with?
Albumin
The presence of what in a FA chain makes it unsaturated?
A double bond
If a FA has more than one double bond it is what?
Polyunsaturated
What type of double bond introduces kinks into the FA chain?
Cis double bonds
What increases the melting temperature of FA?
Increased length of chain.
What decreases the melting temperature of FA?
Reduced by cis bonds
What are the two types of LIPID maps classification?
Fatty acyls
Fatty acids and conjugates
What are SCFA’s ?
These are straight chain fatty acids
What is an example of an SCFA that increases appetite regulation?
GPR41, which increases insulin sensitivity, increases leptin and PYY
What can modify gene expression through the methylation of DNA?
Butyrate
What is the difference between free fatty acids and the fatty acids in TAGs/adipose tissue?
Fatty acids in TAGs exist as acyl esters.
Free Fatty acids exist as free, unesterified.
What is saponification?
This is when fatty acids can be hydrolysed by a strong base such as NaOH.
How much of dietary lipif is contributed to TAG?
90% TAG
What is the enzyme in the esophagus that begins digestion of the lipid?
Lingual lipase
What is the enzyme in the stomach that is secreted from the gastric mucosa secretions?
Gastric Lipase
What does lingual lipase and gastric lipase target?
SCFA, MCFA release from TAG
Are active at acidic pH 4.0 - 6.0
When stomach contents are emptied into the duodenum and mix with bicarbonate and bile acid what do they form?
Lipid droplets called micelles
What is the role of pancreatic colipase?
It anchors droplets, colipase restores activity to pancreatic lipase
How is lipid digestion regulated?
By feedback control from the gut hormones
What peptide hormone is produced by the duodenal and jejunum in response to the presence of food?
Cholecytokinin (CKK)
What does CKK do?
- decreases gastric motility
- induces the release of pancreatic digestive enzymes
- induces the gall bladder to contract
What is produced when chyme enters the GI tract and induces bicarbonate release from the pancreas?
Secretin, the bicarbonate neutralises the pH so that the lipases can act
What is the exocrine function of the pancreas?
the secreation of digestive enzymes via the pancreatic duct
What is the endocrine function of the pancreas?
The secretion of insulin, glucagon and other hormones by the islets of langerhans
What is the pancreas responsible for?
glycemic control
What is acute pancreatitis?
- can be caused by gall stones, alcohol abuse, mumps etc
- they have an increased amylase activity in their serum
What is chronic pancreatitis?
This is the consequence of long term inflammation and leads to malnutrition and steatorrhea –> excessive fecal fat
Where do we see Steatorrhea?
Short bowel resection, cystic fibrosis
Chylomicron assembly is impaired in a disorder called?
Zollinger Ellison
What are some of the complications of Zollinger Ellison syndrome?
Malnutrition
NASH - non alcoholic liver disease
NAFLD - non alcoholic fatty liver disease