Glycogen Metabolism: Synthesis and Breakdown
Glycogen Metabolism: Synthesis and Breakdown
Glycogen, the storage form of glucose, is a branched polymer crucial for energy regulation in the body. Both glycogen and starch store glucose for future metabolic needs. In animals, glycogen provides a rapidly accessible source of glucose, especially for tissues like the brain and red blood cells, which heavily rely on glucose as their primary energy source. While other tissues can utilize fatty acids or amino acids for energy, a constant supply of glucose
Glycolysis and Enzyme Kinetics: Metabolic Pathways Explained
Enzyme Kinetics Fundamentals
Key equations in enzyme kinetics:
- Kcat = Vmax / [E]t
- V0 = Vmax[S] / (αKM + [S])
Enzyme Inhibition Types
KI: Dissociation constant for the inhibitor from the enzyme.
Competitive Inhibitors
- Affects the slope of the Lineweaver-Burk plot.
- Y-intercept (1/Vmax) does not change.
- Apparent KM increases (when inhibitor concentration is high, the slope gets steeper and the line moves closer to the origin).
Uncompetitive Inhibitors
- Apparent KM changes.
- Vmax changes.
- Results in parallel lines
Understanding Carbohydrate Metabolism and Glycolysis
4. Metabolism of Carbohydrates: Glycolysis: All carbohydrates obtained from the diet are digested by pancreatic and salivary enzymes, absorbed by the intestine, and metabolized in the blood and liver. Glucose is distributed throughout the body.
Glycolysis: Transformation of pyruvic acid (pyruvate) from glucose. The net reaction is: Glucose + 2NAD+ + 2ADP → 2 Pyruvates + 2NADH + 2ATP. It’s a highly energetic pathway, although it is fundamental (common to all eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells). It
Read MoreBiochemistry Key Terms: Hydrolysis, Enzymes, and More
Biochemistry Key Terms
Lesson 1, 2, and 3
- Hydrolysis reaction: The cleavage of a molecule by the addition of water.
- Amphipathic compounds: Molecules with both polar and nonpolar regions.
- Hydrophobic molecules: Molecules that are not readily dissolved in water.
- Condensation reaction: The formation of cellular polymers from their subunits by the removal of water (reversal of hydrolysis).
- Functional groups: Added groups that confer specific chemical properties on a molecule.
- pH scale: A means of designating
Understanding Metabolism: Catabolic and Anabolic Pathways
Metabolism:
Catabolic Reactions:
- Degradation of macromolecules to monomers, metabolic intermediates, and simple final products
- Oxidation
- Gain energy (ATP, NADH)
Anabolic Reactions:
- Synthesis of complex molecules from simple molecules
- Reduction
- Energy expenditure
This route has three levels of complexity:
- Interconversion of polymers and lipid complexes
- Interconversion of sugars, amino acids, and lipids
- Degradation ends up as inorganic compounds
Nucleotide Catabolism in Nicotinamide Biosynthesis:
NAD+ acts as a
Read MoreEffective Water Resources Management: Key Principles and Practices
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Key Questions in Water Resources Management
Questions:
1. What is the hydrological cycle and how can water balance be quantified?
Caused by solar energy.
HC: ocean → evaporation → precipitation → runoff (→ evaporation) → infiltration (→ ocean) → subsurface runoff → ocean
Annual water balance in the world:
Quantification: Precipitation (P) = evapotranspiration (E) + runoff (R)
520 (km3) = 484 + 36
Some points:
- Water moves from one reservoir to another (from river