Fatty acids citric acid cycle

Mitochondria 39% 18-22% 1,700-2,200 Protein secretion, haem synthesis, transport and degradation functions, cellular energy generation (ATP), oxidative phosphorylation, urea synthesis, gluconeogenesis, liponeogenesis, ketogenesis, p-oxidation of fatty acids, citric acid cycle, respiratory chain, etc. 

Generally, NAD-linked dehydrogenases catalyze ox-idoreduction reactions in the oxidative pathways of metabolism, particularly in glycolysis, in the citric acid cycle, and in the respiratory chain of mitochondria. NADP-linked dehydrogenases are found characteristically in reductive syntheses, as in the extramitochon-drial pathway of fatty acid synthesis and steroid synthesis—and also in the pentose phosphate pathway. 

The central role of the mitochondrion is immediately apparent, since it acts as the focus of carbohydrate, hpid, and amino acid metabohsm. It contains the enzymes of the citric acid cycle, P-oxidation of fatty acids, and ketogenesis, as well as the respiratory chain and ATP synthase. 

The citric acid cycle is the final common pathway for the aerobic oxidation of carbohydrate, lipid, and protein because glucose, fatty acids, and most amino acids are metabolized to acetyl-CoA or intermediates of the cycle. It also has a central role in gluconeogenesis, lipogenesis, and interconversion of amino acids. Many of these processes occur in most tissues, but the hver is the only tissue in which all occur to a significant extent. The repercussions are therefore profound when, for example, large numbers of hepatic cells are damaged as in acute hepatitis or replaced by connective tissue (as in cirrhosis). Very few, if any, genetic abnormalities of citric acid cycle enzymes have been reported such ab-normahties would be incompatible with life or normal development. 

Citrate is isomerized to isocitrate by the enzyme aconitase (aconitate hydratase) the reaction occurs in two steps dehydration to r-aconitate, some of which remains bound to the enzyme and rehydration to isocitrate. Although citrate is a symmetric molecule, aconitase reacts with citrate asymmetrically, so that the two carbon atoms that are lost in subsequent reactions of the cycle are not those that were added from acetyl-CoA. This asymmetric behavior is due to channeling— transfer of the product of citrate synthase directly onto the active site of aconitase without entering free solution. This provides integration of citric acid cycle activity and the provision of citrate in the cytosol as a source of acetyl-CoA for fatty acid synthesis. The poison fluo-roacetate is toxic because fluoroacetyl-CoA condenses with oxaloacetate to form fluorocitrate, which inhibits aconitase, causing citrate to accumulate. 

The citric acid cycle is not only a pathway for oxidation of two-carbon units—it is also a major pathway for interconversion of metabolites arising from transamination and deamination of amino acids. It also provides the substtates for amino acid synthesis by transamination, as well as for gluconeogenesis and fatty acid synthesis. Because it fimctions in both oxidative and synthetic processes, it is amphibolic (Figure 16—4). 

The Citric Acid Cycle Takes Part in Fatty Acid Synthesis (Figure 16-5)... 

Figure 16-5. Participation of the citric acid cycle in fatty acid synthesis from glucose. See also Figure 21-5.

The citric acid cycle is amphibolic, since in addition to oxidation it is important in the provision of carbon skeletons for gluconeogenesis, fatty acid synthesis, and interconversion of amino acids. 

Theoretically, a fall in concentration of oxaloacetate, particularly within the mitochondria, could impair the ability of the citric acid cycle to metabolize acetyl-CoA and divert fatty acid oxidation toward ketogenesis. Such a fall may occur because of an increase in the [NADH]/[NAD+] ratio caused by increased P-oxida-tion affecting the equilibrium between oxaloacetate and malate and decreasing the concentration of oxaloacetate. However, pyruvate carboxylase, which catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, is activated by acetyl-CoA. Consequently, when there are significant amounts of acetyl-CoA, there should be sufficient oxaloacetate to initiate the condensing reaction of the citric acid cycle. 

Heart Pumping of blood Aerobic pathways, eg, P-oxidation and citric acid cycle Free fatty acids, lactate, ketone bodies, VLDL and chylomicron triacylglycerol, some glucose Lipoprotein lipase. Respiratory chain well developed. 

Thiamine pyrophosphate is a coenzyme for several enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism. These enzymes either catalyze the decarboxylation of oi-keto acids or the rearrangement of the carbon skeletons of certain sugars. A particularly important example is provided by the conversion of pyruvic acid, an oi-keto acid, to acetic acid. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex catalyzes this reaction. This is the key reaction that links the degradation of sugars to the citric acid cycle and fatty acid synthesis (chapters 16 and 18) ... 

The oxidation/reduction reactions that require one of the nicotinamide coenzymes are everywhere in metabolism in the glycolytic pathway, the citric acid cycle, the synthesis and degradation of fatty acids, the synthesis of steroids, and so on. Certain of... 

In order to carry out all of these different functions, peroxisomes are equipped with a unique set of enzyme proteins, catalysing the different reactions involved. In addition, the peroxisomal membrane contains specific transporters in order to take up substrates from the cytosol and release the end products of peroxisomal metabolism. Since peroxisomes lack a citric acid cycle as well as a respiratory chain, the end products of peroxisomal metabolism, such as acetyl-CoA, propionyl-CoA and a range of other acyl-Co A esters predominantly derived from fatty acid beta-oxidation, are exported from the peroxisomal interior and shuttled to mitochondria for full oxidation to C02 and H20. The same applies to the NADH produced during beta-oxidation, which is reoxidised via redox-shuttles so that the NADH generated in peroxisomes is ultimately reoxidised in the mitochondrial respiratory chain at the expense of molecular oxygen. 

Eugene Kennedy and Albert Lehninger showed in 1948 that, in eulcaiyotes, the entire set of reactions of the citric acid cycle takes place in mitochondria. Isolated mitochondria were found to contain not only all the enzymes and coenzymes required for the citric acid cycle, but also all the enzymes and proteins necessaiy for the last stage of respiration—electron transfer and ATP synthesis by oxidative phosphoiylation. As we shall see in later chapters, mitochondria also contain the enzymes for the oxidation of fatty acids and some amino acids to acetyl-CoA, and the oxidative degradation of other amino acids to a-ketoglutarate, succinyl-CoA, or oxaloacetate. Thus, in nonphotosynthetic eulcaiyotes, the mitochondrion is the site of most energy-yielding... 

The production of acetyl-CoA for the citric acid cycle by the PDH complex is inhibited allosterically by metabolites that signal a sufficiency of metabolic energy (ATP, acetyl-CoA, NADH, and fatty acids) and stimulated by metabolites that indicate a reduced energy supply (AMP, NAD+, CoA). 

FIGURE 16-22 Relationship between the glyoxylate and citric acid cycles. The reactions of the glyoxylate cycle (in glyoxysomes) proceed simultaneously with, and mesh with, those of the citric acid cycle (in mitochondria), as intermediates pass between these compartments. The conversion of succinate to oxaloacetate is catalyzed by citric acid cycle enzymes. The oxidation of fatty acids to acetyl-CoA is described in Chapter 17 the synthesis of hexoses from oxaloacetate is described in Chapter 20. 

Conditions that promote gluconeogenesis(untreated diabetes, severely reduced food intake) dow the citric acid cycle (by drawing off oxaloacetate) and enhance the conversion of acetyl-CoA to acetoacetate. The released coenzyme A allows continued /3 oxidation of fatty acids... 

The mitochondrial matrix, enclosed by the inner membrane, contains the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and the enzymes of the citric acid cycle, the fatty... 

While CoA was discovered as the "acetylation coenzyme," it has a far more general function. It is required, in the form of acetyl-CoA, to catalyze the synthesis of citrate in the citric acid cycle. It is essential to the P oxidation of fatty acids and carries propionyl and other acyl groups in a great variety of other metabolic reactions. About 4% of all known enzymes require CoA or one of its esters as a substrate.4... 

At the end of this sequence, the P-oxoacyl-CoA derivative is cleaved (Fig. 17-1, step e) by a thiolase (see also Eq. 13-35). One of the products is acetyl-CoA, which can be catabolized to C02 through the citric acid cycle. The other product of the thiolytic cleavage is an acyl-CoA derivative that is two carbon atoms shorter than the original acyl-CoA. This molecule is recycled through the P oxidation process, a two-carbon acetyl unit being removed as acetyl-CoA during each turn of the cycle (Fig. 17-1). The process continues until the fatty acid chain is completely degraded. 

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