Amino acid Carbohydrate integration

A quote from a biochemistry text is instructive here. "This is not an easy reaction in organic chemistry. It is, however, a very important type of reaction in metabolic chemistry and is an integral step in the oxidation of carbohydrates, fats, and several amino acids." G. L. Zubay, Biochemistry, 4th ed., William C. Brown Publishers, 1996, p. 333. 

Glycolysis is the major route of carbohydrate metabolism in all cell types and the TCA is a focal point allowing the integration of carbohydrate, amino acid and lipid metabolism. The two pathways are illustrated in Figures 3.9 and 3.14. These two well-known pathways exemplify many of the general principles of metabolic regulation described above. 

The calorific capacity of amino acids is comparable to that of carbohydrates so despite their prime importance in maintaining structural integrity of cells as proteins, amino acids may be used as fuels especially during times when carbohydrate metabolism is compromised, for example, starvation or prolonged vigorous exercise. Muscle and liver are particularly important in the metabolism of amino acids as both have transaminase enzymes (see Figures 6.2 and 6.3 and Section 6.4.2) which convert the carbon skeletons of several different amino acids into intermediates of glycolysis (e.g. pyruvate) or the TCA cycle (e.g. oxaloacetate). Not all amino acids are catabolized to the same extent... 

Chapters 20 through 22 describe the major anabolic pathways by which cells use the energy in ATP to produce carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, and nucleotides from simpler precursors. In Chapter 23 we step back from our detailed look at the metabolic pathways—as they occur in all organisms, from Escherichia coli to humans—and consider how they are regulated and integrated in mammals by hormonal mechanisms. 

Various inborn errors of metabolism (Table 25-1) result from deficiencies or absence of some of the enzymes listed in Figure 25-9. Some of these are discussed later in the chapter. The relationship of carbohydrate metabolism to the production of lactate, ketone bodies, and triglycerides is also depicted in Figure 25-9. The pentose phosphate pathway, also known as the hexose monophosphate shunt, is an alternative pathway for glucose metaboUsm that generates the reduced form of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), which is used in maintaining the integrity of red blood cell membranes, in lipid and steroid biosynthesis, in hydroxylation reactions, and in other anabolic reactions. The complete picture of intermediary metabolism of carbohydrates is rather complex and interwoven with the metabolism of lipids and amino acids. For details, readers should consult a biochemistry textbook. 

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