Nitrogen Flashcards
(28 cards)
Where is nitrogen mainly found in the body?
Amino acids
Ammonia
Urea
What 3 stages can protein digestion be split into?
Gastric
Pancreatic
Intestinal
Why is ammonia very unreactive?
Due to triple bond
What does the presence of aminotransferases in plasma indicate?
Cell damage
What are the 3 circumstances when amino acids undergo catabolism?
Leftovers
Dietary
When proteins are broken down
What amino acid is central to transamination?
glutamate
What do humans excrete?
Urea and uic acid
How is ammonia transported safely in the blood stream?
As glutamate
Where is excess glutamate processed?
Intestines
Kidneys
Liver
When muscles work anaerobically what builds up?
Lactic acid
What can the pyruvate be converted to instead of lactic acid building up?
Alanine
Why is the alanine taken to the liver?
So the pyruvate can be converted back to glucose?
What process converts the pyruvate back to glucose in the liver?
Gluconeogenesis
Explain the glucose alanine cycle?
There is too much pyruvate
Converted to alanine and transported to lover
Converted back to glucose via gluconeogenesis
What charge does glutamate have?
Negative
What is the glutamate dehydrogenase reaction?
When their is oxidation of the glutamate
Causing deamination of glutamate
Where does the glutamate dehydrogenase reaction occur?
Mitochondrial matrix
What is the second nitrogen acquiring reaction?
The entry of aspartate into the urea cycle
What are the carbon skeletons of the amino acids used to create?
Acetyl CoA
Pyruvate
A-ketoglutarate
Oxaloacetate
What is the primary role of dietary protein?
Building blocks for proteins
What are glucogenic skeletons?
The amino acids that feed into gluconeogenesis
And so produce glucose, glycogen
What are the ketogenic skeletons?
Ones that feed into acetyl coA
or acetoacetate
Cannot be converted back to glucose
How many inherited disorders of the urea cycle are there?
6
What is OTC?
X linked
