Biochemistry: molecular-cellular-lab-genetics-nutrition-metabolism Flashcards
(137 cards)
Chromatin structure
- DNA exits int he condensed, chromatin from in order to fit into nucleus
- negatively charged DNA loops 2x around positively charged histone octamer to form nucleosome bead
- histones are rich in the amino acids lysine & arginine
- H1 ties nucleosome beads together in a string
- in mitosis, DNA condenses to form chromosomes.
Heterochromatin
- condensed, transcriptionally inactive, sterically inaccessible
- HeteroChromatin=Highly Condensed
Euchromatin
Less condensed, transcriptionally active, sterically accessible.
-Eu=true, truly transcribed
DNA methylation
-template strand Cytosine & Adenine are methylated in DNA replication, which allows mismatch repair enzymes to distinguish between old & new strands in prokaryotes
Histone methylation
inactivates transcription of DNA
-Methylation makes DNA Mute (M-M)
Histone acetylation
Relaxes DNA coiling, allowing for transcription
-Acetylation makes DNA Active (A_A)
Nucleotides
-PURines (A, G)-2 rings= “PUR As Gold”
-PYrimidines (CTU)- 1 ring= CUT the PY (pie)
-Guanine has a ketone. Thymine has a methyl. THYmine has a meTHYl
-Deamination of cytosine makes uracil.
-Uracil found in RNA; thymine in DNA
G-C bond (3 H bonds) stronger than A-T bond (2 H bond).
-increase G-C content= increase melting temperature
-GAG- amino acids necessary for purine synthesis
-Glycine
-Aspartate
-Glutamine
-nucleoSide=base + ribose (Sugar)
-nucleoTides=base + ribose + phosphaTe;
linked by 3’-5’ phosphodiester bond
De novo pyrimidine & purine synthesis
Purines:
-start with sugar + phosphate (PRPP)
-add base
Pyrimidines:
-make temporary base (orotic acid)
-add sugar + phosphate (PRPP)
-modify base
-ribonucleotides are synthesized first & are converted to deoxyribonucleotides by ribonucleotide reductase
-carbamoyl phosphate is involved in 2 metabolic pathways:
1. de novo pyrimidine synthesis & urea cycle
2. ornithine transcarbamoylase deficiency (OTC, key enzyme
in urea cycle).
-leads to accumulation of carbamoyl phosphate, which
is converted to orotic acid.
-various antineoplastic & antibiotic drugs function by interfering
with purine synthesis:
1. hydroxyurea inhibits ribonucleotide reductase
2. 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) blocks de novo purine synthesis
3. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) inhibits thymidylate synthase
(decrease deoxythymidine monophosphate [dTMP]
4. methotrexate (MTX) inhibits dihydrofolate reductase
(decrease dTMP)
5. trimethoprim (TMP) inhibits bacterial dihydrofolate reductase
(decrease dTMP)
- Orotic aciduria:
- finding:
- treatments:
Orotic aciduria:
-inability to convert orotic acid to UMP (de novo pyrimidine synthesis pathway) because of defect in UMP synthase (a bifunctional enzyme). -Autosomal recessive.
Finding:
-increase orotic acid in urine,
-megaloblastic anemia (does not improve with administration of vit B12 or folic acid),
failure to thrive
-no hyperammonemia (vs. OTC deficiency= increase orotic acid with hyperammonemia)
Treatments:
Purine Salvage Deficiencies:
-Adenosine deaminase deficiency
- excess ATP & dATP imbalances nucleotide pool via feedback inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase—> prevents DNA synthesis & thus decrease lymphocyte count.
- one of major causes of SCID
- autosomal recessive
- Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID) happens to KIDS
- 1 st disease to be treated by experimental human gene therapy
Purine Salvage Deficiencies:
-Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
-defective purine salvage owing to absence of HGPRT, which converts:
hypoxanthine–> IMP &
guanine—> GMP
-result in excess uric acid production & de novo purine synthesis
-x-linked recessive
Findings:
- retardation
- self-mutilation
- aggression
- hyperuricemia
- gout
- choreoathetosis
Genetic Code Features:
- unambiguous:
- degenerate/redundant:
- commaless, nonoverlapping
- universal
- unambiguous:
each codon specifies only one amino acid - degenerate/redundant:
-most amino acids are coded by multiple codons
-exceptions: methione & tryptophan encoded by only 1 codon (AUG & UGG) - commaless, nonoverlapping
-read from fixed starting point as a continuous sequence of bases
-except some viruses - universal
-genetic code is conserved throughout evolution
-except in humans–> mitochondria
Genetic Code Features:
- unambiguous:
- degenerate/redundant:
- commaless, nonoverlapping
- universal
- unambiguous:
each codon specifies only one amino acid - degenerate/redundant:
-most amino acids are coded by multiple codons
-exceptions: methione & tryptophan encoded by only 1 codon (AUG & UGG) - commaless, nonoverlapping
-read from fixed starting point as a continuous sequence of bases
-except some viruses - universal
-genetic code is conserved throughout evolution
-except in humans–> mitochondria
Point mutations in DNA
- silent:
- missense:
- nonsense:
- frameshift:
- severity less–>greatest
- silent:
- same amino acid, often base change in 3rd position of codon (tRNA wobble) - missense:
- changed amino acid (conservative-new amino acid is similar in chemical structure) - nonsense:
- change resulting in early stop codon
- “Stop the nonsense” - frameshift:
- misreading of all nucleotides downstream
- truncated, nonfunctional pattern - silent<frameshift
- DNA Replication
- origin of replication
- replication fork
- helicase
- single-stranded binding proteins
- DNA topoisomerases
- primase
- DNA polymerase III
- DNA polymerase I
- DNA ligase
- Telomerase
- DNA Replication
- Eukaryotic DNA replication is more complex than the prokaryotic process but uses many enzymes.
- both prokaryotes & eukaryotes=DNA replication is semiconservative & involves both continuous & discontinuous (Okazaki fragment) synthesis - origin of replication
- particular consensus sequence of base pairs in genome where DNA replication begins.
- may be single (prokaryotes) or multiple in eukaryotes - replication fork
- Y-shaped region along DNA template where leading & lagging strands are synthesized - helicase
- unwinds DNA template at replication fork - single-stranded binding proteins
- prevent strands from reannealing - DNA topoisomerases
- create nick in helix relieve supercoils created in replication
- fluoroquinolones= inhibit DNA gyrase (prokaryotic topoisomerase II) - primase
- makes RNA primer on which DNA polymerase III can initiate replication - DNA polymerase III
- prokaryotes only
- elongates leading strand adding deoxynucleotides to the 3’ end.
- elongates lagging strand until it reaches primer of preceding fragment
- 3’-5’ exonuclease activity “proofreads” each added nucleotide
- DNA pol III has 5’-3’ synthesis & proofreads with 3’-5’ exonuclease - DNA polymerase I
- prokaryotes only
- degrades RNA primer
- replaces it with DNA
- has same functions as DNA polymerase III but also excises RNA primer with 5’-3’ exonuclease - DNA ligase
- catalyzes formation of phosphodiesterase bond within a strand of double stranded DNA (Okazki frag)
- seals - Telomerase
- enzyme adds DNA to 3’ end chromosomes to avoid loss genetic material with every duplication
DNA repair Single strand 1. nucleotide excision repair 2. base excision repair 3. mismatch repair
Single strand
- nucleotide excision repair
- specific endonucleases release the oligonucleotide-containing damaged bases
- DNA polymerase & ligase fill and reseal the gap.
- repairs bulky helix distorting leions
- mutated in xeroderma pigmentosum, which prevents repair of pyrimidine dimers because of ultraviolet light exposure - base excision repair
- specific glycosylases recognize and remove damaged bases, apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease cuts DNA at both apurinic and apyrimidinic sites
- empty sugar is removed
- gap is filled and resealed
- important in repair of spontaneous/toxic deamination - mismatch repair
- newly synthesized strand is recognized
- mismatched nucleotides are removed
- gap filled and resealed
- mutated in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC)
DNA repair
Double strand
1. nonhomologous end joining
- nonhomologous end joining
- brings together 2 ends of DNA fragments to repair double stranded breaks.
- no requirement for homology
- mutated in ataxia telangiectasia
DNA/RNA/Protein synthesis direction
-DNA & RNA synthesized 5’-3’
(5’ of incoming nucleotide bears triphosphate energy source for bond)
-triphosphate bond is target of 3’ hydroxyl attack.
-drugs blocking DNA replication often have modified 3’OH, preventing addition of next nucleotide–>chain termination
-mRNA read 5’-3’
-protein synthesis is N-terminus to C-terminus
Types of RNA
- rRNA-most abundant type
- mRNA longest type
- tRNA smallest type
rampant, massive, tiny
Start & stop codons
- mRNA start
a. euk
b. prok - mRNA stop
- AUG or rarely GUG (AUG in AUGurates protein synthesis)
a.) codes for methionine, may be removed before translation is completed
b.) codes for formylmethionine (f-met) - UGA= U Go Away
UAA= U Are Away
UAG= U Are Gone
Regulation of gene expression
- promoter
- enhancer
- silencer
- promoter
- site where RNA pol and multiple other transcription factors bind to DNA upstream from gene locus (AT rich upstream sequence with TATA and CAAT)
- promoter mutation commonly results in dramatic decrease in amount of gene transcribed - enhancer
- stretch of DNA that alters gene expression by binding transcription factors
- enhancers and silencers may be located close to, far from, or even within (in an intron) the gene whose expression it regulates - silencer
- site where negative regulators (repressors) bind
RNA pol
- Euk
- Prok
- Euk
- RNA pol I: makes rRNA (most numerous RNA, rampant)
- RNA pol II: makes mRNA (largest RNA massive
- RNA pol III: makes tRNA (smallest RNA, tiny)
- no proofreading function but initiate chains. RNA pol II opens DNA at promoter site
- pol I, II, III, numbered as their products are used in protein synthesis
- alpha-amanitin in Amanita phalloides (death cap mushrooms), inhibits RNA polymerase II.Causes severe hepatotoxicity if ingested - Prok
- 1 RNA pol (multisubunit complex) makes all 3 kinds of RNA
RNA processing (Euk)
- initial transcript is called heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA), hnRNA destined for translation is called pre-mRNA
- only processed RNA is transported out of nucleus
- processing occurs in nucleus
- after transcription:
1. capping 5’ end (addition of 7-methylguanosine cap)
2. polyadenylation on 3’ end (=200 A’s)
3. splicing out of introns - Poly A polymerase does not require a template AAUAAA=polyadenylation signal
- capped, tailed, spliced transcript=mRNA
Splicing of pre-MRNA
3 steps
- primary transcript combines with snRNPs and other proteins to form spliceosome.
- Lariat-shaped (looped) intermediate is generated.
- lariat is released to remove intron precisely and join 2 exons
* *patients with lupus make antibodies to spliceosomal snRNPs.