Dihydroxyacetone phosphate, oxidation

The fatty acids released on triacylglycerol hydrolysis are transported to mitochondria and degraded to acetyl CoA, while the glycerol is carried to the liver for further metabolism. In the liver, glycerol is first phosphorylated by reaction with ATP. Oxidation by NAD+ then yields dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP), which enters the carbohydrate metabolic pathway. We ll discuss this carbohydrate pathway in more detail in Section 29.5. 

Step 3 of Figure 29.3 Alcohol Oxidation The /3-hydroxyacyl CoA from step 2 is oxidized to a /3-ketoacyl CoA in a reaction catalyzed by one of a family of L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenases, which differ in substrate specificity according to the chain length of the acyl group. As in the oxidation of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate to dihydroxyacetone phosphate mentioned at the end of Section 29.2, this alcohol oxidation requires NAD+ as a coenzyme and yields reduced NADH/H+ as by-product. Deprotonation of the hydroxyl group is carried out by a histidine residue at the active site. 

Another pathway is the L-glycerol 3-phosphate shuttle (Figure 11). Cytosolic dihydroxyacetone phosphate is reduced by NADFl to s.n-glycerol 3-phosphate, catalyzed by s,n-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and this is then oxidized by s,n-glycerol 3-phosphate ubiquinone oxidoreductase to dihydroxyacetone phosphate, which is a flavoprotein on the outer surface of the inner membrane. By this route electrons enter the respiratory chain.from cytosolic NADH at the level of complex III. Less well defined is the possibility that cytosolic NADH is oxidized by cytochrome bs reductase in the outer mitochondrial membrane and that electrons are transferred via cytochrome b5 in the endoplasmic reticulum to the respiratory chain at the level of cytochrome c (Fischer et al., 1985). 

Figure 10.19 Oxidative enzymatic generation of dihydroxyacetone phosphate in situ for stereoselective aldol reactions using DHAP aldolases (a), and extension by pH-controlled, integrated precursor preparation and product liberation (b).

Figure 10.20 Substrate analogs of dihydroxyacetone phosphate accessible by the CPO oxidation method, and spontaneous, reversible formation of arsenate or vanadate analogs of dihydroxyacetone phosphate/n s/tu for enzymatic aldol additions.

Glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) is indirectly associated with glycolysis and reduces dihydroxyacetone phosphate to glycerol-3-phosphate, oxidizing NADH... 

Fessner, W.D., and Sinerius, G., Synthesis of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (and isosteric analogues) by enzymatic oxidation sugars from glycerol. Angew. Chem. bit. Ed. Engl, 1994, 33, 209. 

D-bifunctional protein deficiency [5], 2-methyl acyl-CoA racemase (AMACR) deficiency [3] and sterol carrier protein (SCP-x) deficiency [6], the disorders of etherphospholipid biosynthesis (dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase and alkyl- dihydroxyacetone phosphate synthase deficiency) [2], the disorders of phytanic acid alpha-oxidation (Refsum disease) [15], and the disorders of glyoxylate detoxification with hyperoxaluria type 1 as caused by alanine glyoxylate aminotransferase deficiency as a sole representative. 

Z F6P + ATP + 2 NADH + H+ <-> 2 glycerol-3-phosphate + ADP + 2 NAD+ where F6P is fructose-6-phosphate, FDP is fructose-1,6-diphosphate, DHA-P is dihydroxyacetone phosphate, TIM is triosephosphate isomerase, and GDH is glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The oxidation of NADH is a measure of the 6-PFK activity and is determined photometrically (decrease of OD per minute) [4]. 

An antiporter in the inner chloroplast membrane exchanges P, in the cytosol for 3-phosphoglycerate or dihydroxyacetone phosphate produced by C02 assimilation in the stroma. Oxidation of dihydroxyacetone phosphate in the cytosol generates ATP and NADH, thus moving ATP and reducing equivalents from the chloroplast to the cytosol. 

Fate of glycerol Glycerol that is released from triacylglycerol used almost exclusively by the liver to produce glycerol 3-phc phate, which can enter either glycolysis or gluconeogenesis oxidation to dihydroxyacetone phosphate (see p. 188). 

Fructose bisphosphate is cleaved by action of an aldolase (reaction 4) to give glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. These two triose phosphates are then equilibrated by triose phosphate isomerase (reaction 5 see also Chapter 13). As a result, both halves of the hexose can be metabolized further via glyceraldehyde 3-P to pyruvate. The oxidation of glyceraldehyde 3-P to the corresponding carboxylic acid, 3-phosphoglyceric acid (Fig. 17-7, reactions 6 and 7), is coupled to synthesis of a molecule of ATP from ADP and P . This means that two molecules of ATP are formed per hexose cleaved, and that two molecules of NAD+ are converted to NADH in the process. 

Another assay for phosphoffuctokinase involves converting the fructose 1,6-diphosphate to dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate with aldolase, equilibrating the triosephosphates with triosephosphate isomerase, and then measuring the production of NADH on the oxidation of the glyceraldehyde phosphate by glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. 

Breakdown The fatty acids in triacylglycerols are released from the glycerol backbone by the action of lipases. The free fatty acids can then be degraded by (3-oxidation to produce energy. The glycerol is converted into dihydroxyacetone phosphate which enters glycolysis. 

It is often necessary to move electrons into mitochondria for disposal via oxidative phosphorylation. However, NADH and FADH2 do not penetrate the inner mitochondrial membrane. Instead, such electrons may first be passed to dihydroxyacetone phosphate or to oxaloacetate to make glycerol-3-phosphate and malate, respectively. These compounds can penetrate the inner mitochondrial membrane via the porters described earlier and oxidized there by mitochondrial NAD+ or FAD. These systems are termed the glycerol-3-phosphate and malate shuttles, respectively, and they are described in greater detail in Chapter 18. 

Fatty acids released by lipoprotein lipase are taken up by the tissue where this enzyme is located, where they may be oxidized (see later) or stored in the form of triglycerides, such as adipose tissue. Triglyceride biosynthetic enzymes are located in the endoplasmic reticulum. Triglyceride biosynthesis is summarized in Figure 19.4. It is seen that dihydroxyacetone phosphate (see Chapter 18) is a key intermediate. It can combine with an acyl residue carried by acyl coenzyme A... 

Figure 23-2. Metabolism in the fed state. An adequate supply of carbohydrate provides glucose to replenish glycogen stores. Dietary protein provides amino acids for protein synthesis. Dietary carbohydrates, fats, and proteins can all be metabolized to generate ATP. (For clarity, ATP generation during P-oxidation of fatty acids and substrate-level phosphorylation during glycolysis is not depicted.) Excess dietary carbohydrates and amino acids are converted to fatty acids and, along with excess dietary fatty acids, stored as triacylglycerols. DHAP, dihydroxyacetone phosphate.

The FADH2 enters the electron-transport chain at coenzyme Q, while the dihydroxyacetone phosphate can return to the cytoplasm. Although this shuttle is generally inefficient, in the sense that only two ATP molecules are produced per FADH2 molecule oxidized, compared with three for NADH oxidation, it provides a mechanism for regeneration of NAD+ in the cytosol. The presence of cytosolic NAD+ is essential for continued glycolysis (see Fig. 11-20). 

The oxidation of L-glycerol 3-phosphate to dihydroxyacetone phosphate is catalyzed by two different enzymes. One is the cytoplasmic NAD-linked a-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, and the other is the mitochondrial enzyme, which appears to contain flavin and iron. The latter enzyme was first studied by Green in 1936 (223). It was shown to be associated with respiratory particles, and widely distributed in animal tissues. The highest concentration of the enzyme was found in the brain. Lardy and co-workers (234) studied the enzyme in deoxycholate-solubilized particles obtained from skeletal muscle, confirmed the finding... 

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