Test 4 Flashcards
Finish these sentences about the importance of amino acid metabolism:
- Amino acids are ___ __ of proteins
- Many cellular proteins are constantly ___ and ____ in response to ___ ___ demands of organisms
- Amino acids over those needed for ___ can neither be
___ nor ___, in contrast with fatty acids and glucose - ___ amino acids are used as ___ fuel
- Most of the amino groups harvested from ___ amino acids are converted into ___ through the ___ cycleFin
- Amino acids are building block of proteins
- Many cellular proteins are constantly degraded and resynthesized in response to changing metabolic demands of organisms
- Amino acids over those needed for biosynthesis can neither be stored nor excreted, in contrast with fatty acids and glucose
- Surplus amino acids are used as metabolic fuel
- Most of the amino groups harvested from surplus amino acids are converted into urea through the urea cycle
Dogs and cats have different amino acid requirements, how?
- Dogs inadequately synthesize citrulline
- Most dog breeds convert cysteine into taurine efficiently in the liver.
— Some breeds are more prone to taurine deficiency due to lower hepatic activities of cysteine dioxygenase - De Novo synthesis of arginine and taurine is very limited in cats
- Cats have greater endogenous nitrogen losses and higher requirements for many amino acids than dogs. (Arginine, taurine, cysteine, tyrosine)
Digestion absorption of amino acids
Protein digestion starts in the stomach with pepsin, active at pH 2.
Further the digestion continues in the small intestine at pH 7,4 and is a primary result of the activity of enzymes secreted by the pancreas.
Further aminopeptidase (intestinal epithelium) continues digestion.
Amino acids and di- and tripeptides are absorbed into the intestinal cells by transporters.
Free amino acids get released into blood by transporters for use by other tissues.
The first step of AA degradation is..
The removal of amino group.
- it is first removed and transferred to a-ketoglutarate to form glutamate which is then oxidatively deaminated to release the ammonia
- remaining carbon skeleton is metabolized into:
–> Glucose
–> One of several citric acid cycle intermediates
–> Acetyl CoA - Major site of amino acid degradation in mammals is the liver, although muscles degrade the branched-chain amino acids
What transfers the amino group from a amino acid to keto acid. And which ones in which process.
Aminotransferases transfer the amino groups.
AST (Aspartate aminotransferase) catalyzes the transfer of the amino group aspartate to a-ketoglutarate
– Aspartate + a-ketoglutarate <=> oxaloacetate + glutamate
Alanine aminotransferase catalyzes the transfer of the amino group of alanine to a-ketoglutarate
– Alanine + a-ketoglutarate <=> pyruvate + glutamate
Serine —->
Threonine —->
they are?
Serine —-> Pyruvate + NH4+
Threonine —-> a-ketobutyrate + NH4+
They are both directly deaminated
Oxidative deamination of glutamate occurs….
In the liver mitochondria
- You need a liver -> mitochondria specific enzyme (Glutamate dehydrogenase) for this process
- This compartmentalization sequesters free ammonium ions which are toxic
Glucose-alanine cycle…
Helps to transport amino acid groups from muscle to liver
How does the Glucose-alanine cycle help transport amino acid groups from muscle to liver?
The first step is to remove the nitrogen from the amino acids
Then glutamate can be used to transfer amino group to pyruvate to form alanine
Alanine will then be transported through the blood to the liver
What amino acids do muscles use?
Branched amino acids
– Leucine
– Isoleucine
– Valine
What is Glutamine and what is it essential for?
It is a nonessential amino acid in the body, that is mostly conditionally essential in states of stress
What happens to glutamine in septic and malnourished patients?
It gets depleted in muscles. It is hypothesized that in these patients the availability of glutamine lymphocytes and the gut is reduced, resulting in increased risk of sepsis.
What does amino acid catabolism result in?
It results in waste ammonia that all animals have to excrete.
What does ammonium get converted to in most terrestrial vertebrates?
It gets converted into urea.
Ammoniotelic, Ureotelic and Uricotelic animals
Ammoniotelic animals - Excrete ammonia without converting it
Ureotelic animals - Convert nitrogen into a less toxic substance because they cant easily remove it, such as urea. Via the urea cycle that mainly occurs in the liver. Urea will then be released into the bloodstream where it travels to the kidneys and gets excreted in urine.
Uricotelic animals - Ammonia gets converted to uric acid or urate salt, which is excreted in solid form
The urea cycle begins with..
The formation of carbamoyl phosphate
What does Carbamoyl phosphate react with to form citrulline?
It reacts with ornithine. The reaction is catalyzed by ornithine transcarbamoylase.
Where does citruline condense with aspartate?
In the hepatocyte cytoplasm.
The synthesis of argininosuccinate is catalyzed by?
catalyzed by argininosuccinate synthetase
Argininosuccinate is cleaved into…?
Arginine and fumarate. It does it by using argininosuccinase.
Arginase hydrolyzes…
Arginine to generate urea. The equivalent of four ATP molecules are consumed in this reaction to synthesize one molecule of urea.
What are the urea cycle, gluconeogenesis and transamination linked through?
They are linked through fumarate and aspartate
Inherited defects in the urea cycle can lead to..
Hyperammonemia and brain damage
What can help partly bypass the effects of argininosuccinate deficiency?
Providing surplus of arginine in the diet and restricting total protein intake