Combo Circle

Biochemistryland is a biochemical amusement park. As seen from high in the air in figure 1.1, Biochemistryland consists of a number of sections THE MAIN POWER HOUSE, CARBOHYDRATELAND, LIPIDLAND, THE AMINO ACID MIDWAY, THE DNA FUNHOUSE, PORPHY S HEMELAND, COMBO CIRCLE, and an INFIRMARY. A closer look (fig. 1.2) reveals finer de-tails, such as interconnections between the sections and subdivisions of the sections themselves. 

COMBO CIRCLE is a triple theatre that stars the glycoproteins, glycolipids, and lipoproteins (fig. 1.2). 

Carbohydrates have many useful functions. They are used for the storage and generation of energy they are important structural components, both intra- and extracellar and they may be iiansfonned into other, totally different kinds of molecules, like amino acids, lipids, and nucleic acids. When carbohydrates attach to proteins and lipids, they form glycoproteins and glycolipids. The latter complex molecules may be found in Combo Circle and will be seen at show time. 

Lipids can combine with carbohydrates or proteins to form glycolipids and lipoproteins. These will be examined in greater detail in Combo Circle. 

Sugars may also attach to the third carbon —OH group. When that happens, we are talking about glycoli-pids, a topic to be discussed further when in the glycoli-pid section of Combo Circle. Glycolipids are important components of cell membranes. 

Carbohydrateland—through the formation of glycoli-pids, but see Combo Circle for this, as well as for lipoproteins. 

Amino acids can combine with molecules from Carbohydrateland to form amino sugars and glycoproteins. They can also combine with lipids from Lipidland to form lipoproteins. These will be further examined in Combo Circle. 

The different elements of Carbohydrateland, Lipidland, and the Amino Acid Midway can combine in different ways to form lipoproteins, glycolipids, and glycoproteins. These are the three theatre sections of Combo Circle (G l). 

The Golgi apparatus and lysosomes are important intracellular organelles that relate to the molecules of Combo Circle. Ihe Golgi apparatus is important in the modification of proteins during their synthesis and in the construction and packaging of complex macromolecules. Lysosomes are important in the degradation of complex macromolecules. 

Most of the important diseases of lipids actually involve lipoproteins and glycolipids and will be discussed below in Combo Circle. Diabetes, though, does have significant effects in Lipidland ... 

Clinical disorders may occur in the Lipoprotein, Glyco-lipid, or Glycoprotein sections of Combo Circle. 

Fig. 11. COMBO/QUALITY analysis of the distribution of Lys versus Arg for class A2 versus class Ai. (A) Class A2 (B) class A. Shaded circles represent the count of Lys residues and open circles represent the count of Arg residues.

---