42 Folate, Cobalamin and Megaloblastic Anemias Flashcards
To form a functional compound, folates must be in the reduced ____________________ form
Tetrahydrofolate form (FH4)
Enzyme that catalyzes both FA→FH2 and FH2→FH4
Dihydrofolate reductase
Stable form of folic acid and the form preferred for clinical use
N5-formyl FH4, also called citrovorum factor, leucovorin, or folinic acid
The richest sources of folic acid are
Dark green leafy vegetables
Meat, with the exception of_______, is generally not a good source of folate.
Liver
In the normal adult, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for folate is expressed as
Dietary folate equivalents (DFEs)
One microgram of food folate is the dietary equivalent of_____mcg folic acid added to food
0.6 mcg folic acid
The officially recommended dietary allowance of food folate expressed as DFEs for an adult is ___ mg
0.4 mg
The body is thought to contain approximately _____ of folate.
5 mg
When folate intake is reduced to _____ mcg/day, megaloblastic anemia develops in approximately 4 months.
5 mcg/day
Folate requirements in pregnanancy
600 mcg/day
Folate requirements in lactating women
500 mcg/day
Among the several 1-carbon transfers mediated by folic acid, the transfer that is the most important clinically is the
Methylation of deoxyuridylate to thymidylate
This reaction is an essential step in the synthesis of DNA
The methylation of deoxyuridylate to thymidylate is catalyzed by the enzyme
Thymidylate synthase
Intracellular folates exist primarily as _________________
Polyglutamate conjugates
Inside the cells, the polyglutamate chain is sequentially built up by an ATP-dependent
Folylpoly-γ-glutamyl synthase
TRUE OR FALSE
Folylpolyglutamates are superior to monoglutamates as substrates for folate-dependent enzyme reactions.
TRUE
Folylpolyglutamates are superior to monoglutamates as substrates for folate-dependent enzyme reactions.
The principal sites of folate absorption
Duodenum and proximal jejunum
Because only folylmonoglutamate appears in plasma, all folylpolyglutamates must first be hydrolyzed by the enzyme _________ during absorption across the intestine.
Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (folate hydrolase)
Lysosomal carboxypeptidases that are not involved in absorption of folates from the intestine, but which play a role in the release of folate from storage sites in the liver and kidney
γ-glutamyl hydrolases
Folate receptors that despite its missing cytoplasmic extension, is effective in mediating endocytosis
Folate receptor-α
A probenecid-inhibitable organic anion carrier that, among other functions, carries reduced folates and methotrexate in and out of the cytoplasm
Membrane folate transporter
The principal form of the cobalamin in tissues and in blood
N5-methyl form
Breakdown product of folic acid metabolism
p-Aminobenzoylglutamate
Folate-binding proteins of serum and milk can be detected in approximately ___% of normal individuals
15%
Found at increased levels in some pregnant women, women taking oral contraceptives, folate-deficient alcoholics (but not patients with cobalamin deficiency), and patients with uremia, hepatic cirrhosis, and chronic myelogenous leukemia
Folate bound to the milk folate binder in suckling animals is absorbed chiefly in the_______, rather than the jejunum, the principal site of absorption of free folate.
Ileum
The cobalamin molecule has a porphyrin-like near-planar macrocycle known as_______
Corrin
The usual therapeutic form of cobalamin
Cyanocobalamin
Four cobalamins are important in animal cell metabolism
Cyanocobalamin (CnCbl; vitamin B12)
Hydroxocobalamin (OHCbl) or aquocobalamin (HOHCbl)
Adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)
Methylcobalamin (MeCbl)
2 cobalamins are alkyl derivatives that are synthesized from OHCbl and serve as coenzymes
Adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)
Methylcobalamin (MeCbl)
The major form of cobalamin in human blood plasma
MeCbl
TRUE OR FALSE
Cobalamin is known to be synthesized in plants and its presence in foods of plant origin are believed to have come from microbial contamination or through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria.
FALSE
Cobalamin is not known to be synthesized in plants and its presence in foods of plant origin are believed to have come from microbial contamination or through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria.
Foods that contain cobalamin are of animal origin: meat, liver, seafood, and dairy products.
Total body content of cobalamin
2–5 mg
Amount of cobalamin found in liver
1 mg
TRUE OR FALSE
Relative to the daily requirement, body reserves of cobalamin are much larger than those of folate.
TRUE
Relative to the daily requirement, body reserves of cobalamin are much larger than those of folate.
The official RDA for cobalamin among adults
2.4 mcg
A mitochondrial enzyme that participates in the disposal of the propionate formed during the breakdown of valine, isoleucine, and odd-carbon fatty acids
Methylmalonyl Coenzyme A Mutase
Participates in cobalamin-dependent synthesis of methionine from homocysteine
Also serves as a mechanism critical for converting N5-methyltetrahydrofolate to tetrahydrofolate required for synthesis of polyglutamates as well as other important 1-carbon adducts of folate
N5-Methyltetrahydrofolate-Homocysteine Methyltransferase
TRUE OR FALSE
The megaloblastic anemia of cobalamin deficiency also is variably corrected by folic acid supplementation even if no cobalamin is given, although the remission is partial and only temporary.
TRUE
The megaloblastic anemia of cobalamin deficiency also is variably corrected by folic acid supplementation even if no cobalamin is given, although the remission is partial and only temporary.
TRUE OR FALSE
The anemia of folate deficiency is generally helped by cobalamin
FALSE
The anemia of folate deficiency is generally not helped at all by cobalamin
Two explanations have been proposed to account for the folate responsiveness of cobalamin-deficient megaloblastic anemia:
Methylfolate Trap Hypothesis
Formate Starvation Hypothesis
Hypothesis based on the fact that the folate-requiring enzyme N5-methyl FH4–homocysteine methyltransferase is also dependent on cobalamin
Hypothesis predicts that in cobalamin deficiency tissue levels of N5-methyl FH4 are abnormally high and those of other forms of folate are abnormally low
Methylfolate Trap Hypothesis
This theory is based on the diminished capacity of cobalamin-deficient lymphoblasts to incorporate formaldehyde into purine and methionine and on experiments showing that N5-formyl FH4 is more effective than FH4 at correcting some of the abnormalities in folate metabolism seen in cobalamin deficiency.
Formate Starvation Hypothesis
Human intrinsic factor is a glycoprotein (Mr approximately 44,000) encoded by a gene on _________________
Chromosome 11
Promotes absorption uptake of cobalamin by ileum
Source: Gastric parietal cells
Intrinsic factor
Promotes uptake of cobalamin by cells
Source: Probably all cells
Transcobalamin
Promotes uptake of cobalamin by cells
Source: Probably all cells
Transcobalamin
Helps dispose of cobalamin analogues; possible antimicrobial
function(?)
Source: Exocrine glands, phagocytes
Haptocorrin
(previously known as R proteins or TC I and TC III)
TRUE OR FALSE
Cobalamin binds much more tightly to HC than to intrinsic factor at the acid pH of the stomach
TRUE
Cobalamin binds much more tightly to HC than to intrinsic factor at the acid pH of the stomach
The intrinsic factor receptor, located in the microvillus pits of the ileal mucosa brush border
Cubilin
The ileal cubilin receptor complex consists of 2 proteins:
Cubilin (CUB) and amnionless (AMN)
“CUBAM complex”
In the portal blood, the cobalamin is complexed with a cobalamin-transporting protein known as
Transcobalamin (TC) previously known as transcobalamin II
The protein with which cobalamin given parenterally associates almost immediately
Transcobalamin (TC)
This receptor belongs to the low-density lipoprotein receptor family and its internalization involves megalin
CD320
Bind cobalamin but lack intrinsic factor activity, that is, they are unable to promote the intestinal absorption of the vitamin
Carries most (70–90%) of the circulating cobalamin
Haptocorrin
Current assays use ______________ as the binder and give more reliable values for serum cobalamin.
Intrinsic factor
Shows some evidence of improved specificity compared with the standard cobalamin assay for identifying true cobalamin deficiency, although the assays appear to be generally comparable with respect to sensitivity.
Holotranscobalamin
Conditions with Increased haptocorrin (transcobalamin I, R protein)
Myeloproliferative disorders
Polycythemia vera
Myelofibrosis
Benign neutrophilia
Chronic myelocytic leukemia
Hepatoma (occasionally)
Metastatic cancer
Conditions with Increased transcobalamin
Liver disease
Inflammatory disorders
Gaucher disease
Morphologic hallmark of megaloblastic anemias
Presence of megaloblastic cells
Cell with a large horseshoe-shaped nucleus, sometimes irregularly shaped, containing ragged open chromatin
Giant metamyelocyte