Biochemistry Flashcards
(111 cards)
what 2 amino acids are histones primarily made from?
lysine and arginine
which histrone protein is NOT part of the nucleosome core?
H1, this protein attaches to the linker DNA between the beads (nucleosomes)
differentiate heterochromatin and euchromatin
heterochromatin - highly condensed, transcriptionally inactive
euchromatin - less condensed, transcriptionally active
where does DNA typically get methylated? what is the result?
on CpG islands
it represses transcription at that location (“M”ethylation makes DNA “M”ute)
what is the result of histone methylation?
histone methylation also tends to repress transcription, however in a few instances it can actually activate it (histone “M”ethylation “M”ostly makes DNA “M”ute)
what is the result of histone acetylation?
histone acetylation relaxes the DNA coiling thus allowing for transcription (“A”cetylation “A”ctivates DNA)
how many rings are in purines? pyrimidines?
which bases are purines? pyrimidines?
purines - 2, A and G
pyrimidines - 1, C, T and U
how many H-bonds between G-C? A-T?
G-C = 3 H-bonds (therefore stronger/higher boiling point)
A-T = 2 H-bonds
name 3 amino acids needed for purine synthesis
“GAG” (consequently G and A are purines)
Glycine
Aspartate
Glutamine
differentiate nucleoSides and nucleoTides
nucleoTides have attached phosphate (via a 3’-5’ phosphodiester bond), nucleoSides do not
which DNA base contains a methyl group?
thymine (THYmine has a meTHYl)
what reaction and substrate is used to synthesize uracil?
deamination of cytosine
what are the steps for de novo purine syntheses?
- start with sugar and phosphate (PRPP)
2. add the DNA base
what are the steps for de novo pyrimidine syntheses?
- make a temporary base (orotic acid)
- add sugar and phosphate (PRPP)
- modify the base
in de novo nucleotide synthesis, which is made first, ribonucleotides of deoxynucleotides? what enzyme converts the first to the second?
1st is ribonucleotides
ribonucleotide reductase converts them to deoxy…
name two metabolic pathways the carbamoyl is used in
- urea cycle
2. de novo pyrimidine synthesis
name 10 drugs (anti-cancer and/or antibiotic) that work by interfering with nucleotide synthesis and how they do so (if you’re a badass)
- leflunomide (inhibits dihydroorotate dehydrogenase which makes orotic acid [for pyrimidines])
- mycophenolate (inhibits IMP dehydrogenase which makes GMP [for purines])
- ribavirin (same as #2)
- hydroxyurea (inhibits ribonucleotide reductase which makes deoxynucleotides [for pyrimidines])
- 6-mercaptopurine [6-MP] (inhibit ne dono purine synthesis)
- azathioprine (prodrug of #5, same function)
- 5-fluorouracil [5-FU] (inhibits thymidylate synthesis [for pyrimidines])
- methotrexate [MTX] (inhibit dihydrofolate reductase therefore making less dTMP needed for bacteria)
- trimethoprim (TMP) (same as #8)
- pyrimethamine (same as #8)
page 67 in the book
purine salvage deficiencies diagram (page 68)
don’t understand diagram…
how does adenosine deaminase deficiency cause pathology?
adenosine deaminase is mainly involved in the purine metabolism/salvage pathway. this pathway is heavily utilized by lymphocytes as their source of purines (mostly adenosine?). therefore, without purines for DNA synthesis the body can’t produce B or T cells. this is one of the major autosomal recessive caused of SCID
what is lesch-nyhan syndrome? what are they symptoms? what is its inheritance pattern? what is the treatment?
its a defect in the purine salvage pathway due to a deficiency in HGPRT (Hypoxanthine-Guanine PhosphoRibosylTransferase). it results in excessive uric acid production.
“HGPRT as a mnemonic for symptoms”
- Hyperuricemia
- Gout
- Pissed off (agression/self mutitation)
- Retardation
- dysTonia
X-linked recessive
treatment: allopurinol
explain what the 4 features of the genetic code mean:
- unambiguous
- degenerate/redundant
- commaless/nonoverlapping
- universal
- unambiguous - each codon only codes for ONE AA
- degenerate/redundant - most AAs are encoded by MULTIPLE codons (except MET and TRP)
- commaless/nonoverlapping - read continuously from a fixed starting point
- universal - the codes is conserved throughout evolution (except in mitochondria)
DNA replication stuff (page 69)
mostly skipped since I know the hell out of it
what is the mechanism of action of fluroquinolones?
they inhibit DNA gyrase (prokaryotic topoisomerase II) thus preventing bacterial DNA synthesis
what is the function of the following enzymes/proteins?
- single-stranded binding proteins
- primase
- DNA pol. I
- DNA pol. III
- single-stranded binding proteins - prevents DNA strands from rennealing
- primase - adds an RNA primer to the DNA for DNA pol. III to bind to
- DNA pol. III - elongates leading strand (5’ to 3’) and proofreads in the opposite direction
- DNA pol. I - same as pol. III except that is can also remove the RNA primer
(#3 and 4 are PROKARYOTES only)