Essay :

What are the pathways involved in metabolizing carbohydrates and how these pathways are
regulated:A metabolic pathway is a step-by-step series of interconnected biochemical reactions
that convert a substrate molecules through a series of metabolic intermediates, eventually yielding
a final product or products. The first of these processes requires energy and is referred to as
anabolic. The second process produces energy and is referred to as catabolic. Some of the
pathways involved in metabolizing carbohydrates are :Carbon fixation, or photosynthesis, in
which CO2 is reduced to carbohydrate , Glycolysis - the oxidation METABOLISM of glucose
molecules to obtain ATP and pyruvate .Pyruvate from glycolysis enters the Krebs cycle, also
known as the citric acid cycle, in aerobic organisms after moving through pyruvate dehydrogenase
complex.The pentose phosphate pathway, which acts in the conversion of hexoses into pentoses
and in NADPH regeneration.NADPH is an essential antioxidant in cells which prevents oxidative
damage and acts as precursor for production of many biomolecules.Glycogenesis - the conversion
of excess glucose into glycogen as a cellular storage mechanism; this prevents excessive osmotic
pressure buildup inside the cell Glycogenolysis - the breakdown of glycogen into glucose, which
provides a glucose supply for glucose-dependent tissues.Gluconeogenesis synthesis of glucose
molecules from simple organic compounds..The Glycolytic Pathway In glycolysis, a pathway
with 10 reactions, each glucose molecule is converted into two pyruvate molecules. In addition,
two molecules each of ATP and NADH are produced. Reactions with double arrows are reversible
reactions, and those with single arrows are irreversible reactions that serve as control points in the
pathway. Regulation of Glycolysis The rate at which the glycolytic pathway operates in a cell is
directly controlled primarily by the kinetic properties of its hexokinase isoenzymes and the
allosteric regulation of the enzymes that catalyze the three irreversible reactions: hexoki- nase,
PFK-1, and pyruvate kinase. Gluconeogenesis Regulation As with other metabolic pathways, the
rate of gluconeogenesis is affected pri- marily by substrate availability, allosteric effectors, and
hormones. The pentose phosphate pathway is an alternative metabolic pathway for glucose
oxidation in which no ATP is generated. Its principal products are NADPH, a reducing agent
required in several anabolic processes, and ribose-5-phosphate, a structural component of
nucleotides and nucleic acids. Fructose, second only to glucose as a source of carbohydrate in the
modern human diet, can enter the glycolytic pathway by two routes. Glycogen is the storage form
of glucose. The synthesis and degradation of glyco- gen are carefully regulated so that sufficient
glucose is available for the bodys energy needs. Glycogen metabolism is carefully regulated to
avoid wasting energy. Both syn- thesis and degradation are controlled through a complex
mechanism involving insulin, glucagon, and epinephrine, as well as allosteric regulators. It is
important to know that the chemical reactions of METABOLICpathways don't take place
spontaneously. Each reaction step is facilitated, or catalyzed, by a protein called an enzyme.
Enzymes are important for catalyzing all types of biological reactions: those that require energy as
well as those that release energy.The most important carbohydrate is glucose, a simple sugar that is
METABOLIZEDby nearly all known organisms.
Discuss the role of vitamins in the context of metabolism in a healthy cell. Vitamins are
any of a group of organic compounds which are essential for normal growth and nutrition
and are required in small quantities in the diet because they cannot be synthesized by the
body.Vitamins can be categorized into two types: fat soluble and water soluble.Vitamins
are a group of substances that are essential for normal cell function,
growth, and development.Each of the vitamins has an important JOBin the
body. A vitamin deficiency occurs when you do not get enough of a certain
vitamin. Vitamin deficiency can cause health problems.Many people think that
if some is good, a lot is better. This is not always the case. High doses of
certain vitamins can be poisonous. Vitamin A (retinol) is an essential nutrient needed
in small amounts by humans for the normal functioning of the visual system; growth and
development; and maintenance of epithelial cellular integrity, immune function, and
reproduction.Vitamins are among the nutrients found to be essential for life. Unlike other
classes of nutrients, vitamins serve no structural function nor do they provide significant
energy. Their various uses tend to be highly specific. Common food forms of most
vitamins require some METABOLIC activation into a functional (active) form. Although
vitamins share these general characteristics, they show few close chemical or functional
similarities. For example, some vitamins function as coenzymes, others function as
antioxidants, and two vitamins, A and D, function as hormones. organic chemical
compound (or related set of compounds) is called a vitamin when the organism cannot
synthesize the compound in sufficient quantities, and it must be obtained through the diet;
thus, the term "vitamin" is conditional upon the circumstances and the particular organism.
For example, ascorbic acid (one form of vitamin C) is a vitamin for humans, but not for
most other animal organisms. Supplementation is important for the treatment of certain
health problems, but there is little evidence of NUTRITIONALbenefit when used by
otherwise healthy people.[Vitamins have diverse biochemical functions. Some, such as
vitamin D, have hormone-like functions as regulators of mineral METABOLISM, or
regulators of cell and tissue growth and differentiation (such as some forms of vitamin A).
Others function as antioxidants (e.g., vitamin E and sometimes vitamin C).[4] The largest
number of vitamins, the B complex vitamins, function as precursors for enzyme cofactors,
that help enzymes in their work as catalysts in metabolism.Vitamins are essential for
the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism.

oxidative phosphorylation describing how the mechanism for the production of ATP and the
conversion of oxygen to water are linked.The majority of cellular ATP is synthesized during
cellular respiration in the mitochondria of animal and plant cells, and during photosynthesis
in the chloroplasts of plant and algal cells. The mechanism of ATP synthesis in these two
organelles is very similar and represents an evolutionarily conserved mechanism (which bacteria
also employ). Basically this mechanism is two linked processes: electron transport and ATP
synthesis (both are mediated by membrane-bound proteins). Electrons are transferred along an
electron transport chain (ETC) that is composed of protein complexes embedded in a membrane.
As the electrons move from one protein to another, protons are pumped across the membrane. This
results in an electrochemical proton gradient, where the free energy released during electron
movement is captured in this gradient. The hydrogen ions then flow back across the membrane
(down the electrochemical gradient) through a specialized protein complex termed the ATP
synthase, which captures the free energy of the hydrogen gradient to drive the synthesis of ATP
from ADP and inorganic phosphate. The linkage of electron transport, proton pumping and ATP
synthesis is referred to as chemiosmotic coupling. In mitochondria this process is the final stage of
cellular respiration and is referred to as oxidative phosphorylation.The space defined by the
inner membrane is the matrix, and the space between the two membranes is the intermembrane
space. NADH and FADH 2, generated in glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, are oxidized in the
mitochondria. They donate their electrons to protein complexes embedded in the mitochondrial
inner membrane, composed of many polypeptides with a variety of prosthetic groups capable of
accepting and donating electrons. These complexes are components of the respiratory chain.
Electrons donated from NADH and FADH 2are transported along the respiratory chain and they will
eventually be donated to oxygen, thus generating water. The ATP synthase is composed of two
subunts: the F0 subunit, which provides a channel for the flow of hydrogen ions back across the
inner membrane; and the F1 subunit, which catalyzes the synthesis of ATP from ADP + Pi. As
hydrogen ions flow through the F0 subunit, a portion of the subunit rotates in the membrane. As it
rotates, it induces conformational changes in the F1 subunit that activate the ATP synthesis activity,
thereby converting the free energy of the hydrogen electrochemical gradient (generated by the
proteins of the electron transport chain) into the energy of a chemical bond.
Compare and contrast glycolysis with gluconeogenesis:Cells take energy by the hydrolysis of
ATP molecules.ATP synthesis requires cells to perform exergonic reactions. Both glycolysis and
gluconeogenesis pathways have nine intermediates and seven enzyme-catalyzed reactions. The
regulation of these pathways in animal cells involves one or two major control mechanisms;
allosteric regulation and hormonal regulation.The glycolysis or glycolytic pathway is a sequence
of ten step reactions that converts one glucose molecule or any of several related sugars into two
pyruvate molecules with the formation of two ATP molecules. Glycolysis pathway does not require
oxygen so that it can happen in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. All the intermediate states
existent in this pathway have either 3 or 6 carbon atoms. The glycolysis reaction sequence can be
divided into three major steps. First glucose is trapped and destabilized. Then the molecule with 6
carbon atoms is split into molecules with two or three carbon atoms.Gluconeogenesis is defined
as the process of synthesizing glucose and other carbohydrates from three or four carbon
precursors in living cells. Usually, these precursors are non-carbohydrate in nature; Pyruvate is the
most common precursor in many living cells. Under anaerobic conditions, pyruvate is converted
into lactate and it is used as the precursor in this pathway.Mainly the gluconeogenesis is taking
place in the liver and kidney. First seven reactions in the gluconeogenesis pathway occur by simple
reversal of the corresponding reactions in glycolysis pathway.The differneces are: The three
essentially irreversible reactions of the glycolic pathway are circumvented in gluconeogenesis
pathway by four bypass reactions.Gluconeogenesis is an anabolic pathway while glycolysis is a
catabolic pathway.Glycolysis is an exergonic pathway, thus yielding two ATPs per glucose.
Gluconeogenesis occurs mainly in the liver whereas glycolysis occurs in muscles and other various
tissues. Gluconeogenesis and glycolysis are coordinated so that within a cell one pathway is
relatively inactive while the other is highly active. If both sets of reactions were highly active at the
same time, the net result would be the hydrolysis of four nucleotide triphosphates two ATP and
Two GTP.
Compare and contrast lipid biosynthesis and degradation
Fatty Acid Pathways:The Biosynthesis and Degradation Pathways are Different.As in cases of
glycolysis gluconeogenesis and glycogen synthesis/breakdown, fatty acid synthesis and
degradation go by different routes .There are four major differences between fatty acid breakdown
and biosynthesis .The Differences Between fatty acid biosynthesis and breakdown
.Intermediates in synthesis are linked to -SH groups of acyl carrier proteins.Synthesis in
cytosol; breakdown in mitochondria.Enzymes of synthesis are one polypeptide.Biosynthesis
uses NADPH/NADP+; breakdown uses NADH/NAD+.Activation by Malonyl-CoA.Acetate Units
are Activated for Transfer in Fatty Acid Synthesis by Malonyl-CoA.Fatty acids are built from 2-C
units - acetyl-CoA.Acetate units are activated for transfer by conversion to malonylCoA.Decarboxylation of malonyl-CoA and reducing power of NADPH drive chain growth.Chain
grows to 16-carbons.Other enzymes add double bonds and more Cs.Challenge: Ac-CoA in
Cytosol,Amino acid degradation produces cytosolic acetyl-CoA.FA oxidation produces
mitochondrial acetyl-CoA.Glycolysis yields cytosolic pyruvate which is converted to acetyl-CoA
in mitochondria.Citrate-malate-pyruvate shuttle provides cytosolic acetate units and reducing
equivalents for fatty acid synthesis.Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase The "ACC enzyme" commits acetate
to fatty acid synthesis.Carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to form malonyl-CoA is the irreversible,
committed step in fatty acid biosynthesis.Although fatty acid synthesis and fatty acid oxidation
both require the same nucleotide co-factors, they each use different forms of the co-factors. For
example, during synthesis, a nucleotide co-factor called NADPH is oxidized, while during
oxidation, this co-factor is reduced. From a chemical perspective, this difference allows one
process to conserve energy and the other to release energy.

compare and contrast nuclei acid synthesis and degradation:Nucleic acids are high
molecular mass com- pounds found in all living cells and viruses. Their name originates from
their discovery in the nu- clei of eucaryotic cells. The metabolic requirements for the nucleotides
and their cognate bases can be met by both dietary intake or synthesis de novo from low molecular
weight precursors. Indeed, the ability to salvage nucleotides from sources within the body
alleviates any nutritional requirement for nucleotides, thus the purine and pyrimidine bases are not
required in the diet. The salvage pathways are a major source of nucleotides for synthesis of DNA,
RNA and enzyme co-factors.Extracellular hydrolysis of ingested nucleic acids occurs through the
concerted actions of endonucleases, phosphodiesterases and nucleoside phosphorylases.
Endonucleases degrade DNA and RNA at internal sites leading to the production of
oligonucleotides. Oligonucleotides are further digested by phosphodiesterases that act from the
ends inward yielding FREE nucleosides. The bases are hydrolyzed from nucleosides by the action
of phosphorylases that yield ribose-1-phosphate and free bases. If the nucleosides and/or bases are
not re-utilized the purine bases are further degraded to uric acid and the pyrimidines to aminoiosobutyrate, NH3 and CO2. Activation of Ribose-5-Phosphate.Both the salvage and de
novo synthesis pathways of purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis lead to production of nucleoside-5'phosphates through the utilization of an activatedsugar intermediate and a class of enzymes called
phosphoribosyltransferases. The activated sugar used is 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate, PRPP.
PRPP is generated by the action of PRPP synthetase (also called ribose-phosphate
pyrophosphokinase 1) and requires energy in the form of ATP. The major site of purine synthesis is
in the liver. Synthesis of the purine nucleotides begins with PRPP and leads to the first fully
formed nucleotide, inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP). The purine base without the attached ribose
moiety is hypoxanthine. The purine base is built upon the ribose by several amidotransferase and
transformylation reactions. The synthesis of IMP requires five moles of ATP, two moles of
glutamine, one mole of glycine, one mole of CO 2, one mole of aspartate and two moles of formate.
The first reaction (1) of purine synthesis is catalyzed by an enzyme called glutamate
phosphoribosylpyrophosphate amidotransferase (GPAT). The essential rate limiting steps in purine
biosynthesis occur at the first two steps of the pathway. Degradation of nucleic acids can be
effected in vivo and in vitro by a series of enzymes. Some DNases are specific for single strands
and others for double strands, some cleave bonds located within a double strand (endonucleases)
and others require a free DNA end (exonucleases).
The TCA cycle is simply an anabolic cycle
tricarboxylic acid cycle, (TCA cycle), also called Krebs cycle and citric acid cycle, the second
stage of cellular respiration, the three-stage process by which living cells break down organic
fuel molecules in the presence of oxygen to harvest the energy they need to grow and divide.
This metabolic process occurs in most plants, animals, fungi, and many bacteria. In all
organisms except bacteria the TCA cycle is carried out in the matrix of intracellular
structures called mitochondria.The TCA cycle PLAYS a central role in the breakdown, or
catabolism, of organic fuel moleculesi.e., glucose and some other sugars, fatty acids, and some
amino acids. Before these rather large molecules can enter the TCA cycle they must be degraded
into a two-carbon compound called acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl CoA). Once fed into the TCA cycle,
acetyl CoA is converted into carbon dioxide and energy.The TCA cycle consists of eight steps
catalyzed by eight different enzymes (see Figure). The cycle is initiated (1) when acetyl CoA reacts
with the compound oxaloacetate to form citrate and to release coenzyme A (CoA-SH). Then, in a
succession of reactions, (2) citrate is rearranged to form isocitrate; (3) isocitrate loses a molecule of
carbon dioxide and then undergoes oxidation to form alpha-ketoglutarate; (4) alpha-ketoglutarate
loses a molecule of carbon dioxide and is oxidized to form succinyl CoA; (5) succinyl CoA is
enzymatically converted to succinate; (6) succinate is oxidized to fumarate; (7) fumarate is
hydrated to produce malate; and, to end the cycle, (8) malate is oxidized to oxaloacetate. Each
complete turn of the cycle RESULTS in the regeneration of oxaloacetate and the formation of two
molecules of carbon dioxide.Energy is produced in a number of steps in this cycle of reactions. In
step 5, one molecule of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the molecule that powers most cellular
functions, is produced. Most of the energy obtained from the TCA cycle, however, is captured by
the compounds nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)
and converted later to ATP. Energy transfers occur through the relay of ELECTRONS from one
substance to another, a process carried out through the chemical reactions known as oxidation and
reduction, or redox reactions. (Oxidation involves the loss of electrons from a substance and
reduction the addition of electrons.) For each turn of the TCA cycle, three molecules of NAD+ are
reduced to NADH and one molecule of FAD is reduced to FADH2. These molecules then transfer
their energy to the electron transport chain, a pathway that is part of the third stage of cellular
respiration. The electron transport chain in turn releases energy so that it can be converted to ATP
through the process of oxidative phosphorylation. In eukaryotic cells, the citric acid cycle occurs
in the matrix of the mitochondrion. In prokaryotic cells, such as bacteria which lack
mitochondria, the TCA reaction sequence is performed in the cytosol with the proton gradient for
ATP PRODUCTION being across the cell's surface (plasma membrane) rather than the inner
membrane of the mitochondrion.
Importance of protein structure on enzyme activity and the properties of the protein that
could determine the mechanism of the reaction. A protein molecule is very large compared with
molecules of sugar or salt and consists of many amino acids joined together to form long chains,
much as beads are arranged on a string. There are about 20 different amino acids that occur
naturally in proteins. Proteins of similar function have similar amino acid composition and
sequence. The common property of all proteins is that they consist of long chains of -amino
(alpha amino) acids. The general structure of -amino acids is shown in Formula 1. The -amino
acids are so called because the -carbon atom in the molecule (shown by an asterisk [*] in Formula
1) carries an amino group (NH2); the -carbon atom also carries a carboxyl group (COOH). In
acidic solutions, when the pH is less than 4, the COO groups combine with hydrogen ions (H+)
and are thus converted into the uncharged form (COOH). Enzyme inhibitors are molecules or
compounds that bind to enzymes and result in a decrease in their activity. An inhibitor can bind to
an enzyme and stop a substrate from entering the enzyme's active site and/or prevent the enzyme
from catalyzing a chemical reaction. The protein function of binding is very specific. The ability
of binding is dependent on the tertiary structure of the protein, also known as the three-dimensional
structure of the protein. The area of the protein that is bound to another molecule, such as a ligand,

is called the binding site. The binding site is often a crevice on the surface of the protein. The
molecule that binds to the protein changes the chemical conformation of the protein.