Hexoses pathway

Fig. 3. Biosynthetic pathways for amino acids. HMP = hexose monophosphate pathway CAC = citric acid cycle P = phosphate PP = pyrophosphate ...

In contrast with the well-known Embden-Meyerhof-Pamass glycolysis pathway for the conversion of hexose sugars to alcohol, the steps in conversion of ethanol to acetic acid remain in some doubt. Likely, ethanol is first oxidized to acetaldehyde and water (39). For further oxidation, two alternative routes are proposed more likely, hydration of the acetaldehyde gives CH2CH(OH)2, which is oxidized to acetic acid. An alternative is the Cannizzaro-type disproportionation of two molecules of acetaldehyde to one molecule of ethanol and one molecule of acetic acid. Jicetobacter... 

A rather limited collection of simple precursor molecules is sufficient to provide for the biosynthesis of virtually any cellular constituent, be it protein, nucleic acid, lipid, or polysaccharide. All of these substances are constructed from appropriate building blocks via the pathways of anabolism. In turn, the building blocks (amino acids, nucleotides, sugars, and fatty acids) can be generated from metabolites in the cell. For example, amino acids can be formed by amination of the corresponding a-keto acid carbon skeletons, and pyruvate can be converted to hexoses for polysaccharide biosynthesis. 

A somewhat more complicated route into glycolysis is followed by galactose, another simple hexose sugar. The process, called the Leloir pathway after Luis Leloir, its discoverer, begins with phosphorylation from ATP at the C-1 position by galactokinase ... 

Most of the enzymes mediating the reactions of the Calvin cycle also participate in either glycolysis (Chapter 19) or the pentose phosphate pathway (Chapter 23). The aim of the Calvin scheme is to account for hexose formation from 3-phosphoglycerate. In the course of this metabolic sequence, the NADPH and ATP produced in the light reactions are consumed, as indicated earlier in Equation (22.3). 

Cells require a constant supply of N/ X)PH for reductive reactions vital to biosynthetic purposes. Much of this requirement is met by a glucose-based metabolic sequence variously called the pentose phosphate pathway, the hexose monophosphate shunt, or the phosphogluconate pathway. In addition to providing N/VDPH for biosynthetic processes, this pathway produces ribos 5-phosphate, which is essential for nucleic acid synthesis. Several metabolites of the pentose phosphate pathway can also be shuttled into glycolysis. 

False. D-gluconolactone is produced directly from glucose via glucose oxidase. 6-phosphogluconolactone is an intermediate in the hexose monophosphate pathway. 

The Pentose Phosphate Pathway Other Pathways of Hexose Metabolism... 

The pentose phosphate pathway is an alternative route for the metabolism of glucose. It does not generate ATP but has two major functions (1) The formation of NADPH for synthesis of fatty acids and steroids and (2) the synthesis of ribose for nucleotide and nucleic acid formation. Glucose, fructose, and galactose are the main hexoses absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, derived principally from dietary starch, sucrose, and lactose, respectively. Fructose and galactose are converted to glucose, mainly in the liver. 

THE PENTOSE PHOSPHATE PATHWAY OTHER PATHWAYS OF HEXOSE METABOLISM / 165... 

Defects in the Hexose Monophosphate Pathway and Glutathione Metabolism... 

Mature red blood cells do not have nuclei, mitochondria, or microsomes therefore red blood cell function is supported through the most primitive and universal pathway. Glucose, the main metabolic substrate of red blood cells, is metabolized via two major pathways the Embden-Meyerhof glycolytic pathway and the hex-ose monophosphate pathway (Fig. 1). Under normal circumstances, about 90% of the glucose entering the red blood cell is metabolized by the glycolytic pathway and 10% by the hexose monophosphate pathway. 

The most important product of the hexose monophosphate pathway is reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). Another important function of this pathway is to provide ribose for nucleic acid synthesis. In the red blood cell, NADPH is a major reducing agent and serves as a cofactor in the reduction of oxidized glutathione, thereby protecting the cell against oxidative attack. In the syndromes associated with dysfunction of the hexose monophosphate pathway and glutathione metabolism and synthesis, oxidative denaturation of hemoglobin is the major contributor to the hemolytic process. 

Deficiencies of enzymes involved in glycolysis, the hexose monophosphate pathway, the closely related glutathione metabolism and synthesis, and nucleotide metabolism have emerged as causes of hereditary nonspherocytic hemolytic anemias (Table 1) (F10, Fll, M27). Some enzyme deficiencies, such as diphospho-glycerate mutase deficiency, lactate dehydrogenase deficiency, and NADH cy-... 

Triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) catalyzes the interconversion of glyceralde-hyde-3-phosphate and dihydoxyacetone phosphate and has an important role in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, fatty acid synthesis, and the hexose monophosphate pathway. Red blood cell TPI activity measured in vitro is approximately 1000 times that of Hx, the least active glycolytic enzyme. TPI is a dimer of identical subunits, each of molecular weight 27,000, and does not utilize cofactors or metal ions. Posttranslational modification of one or both subunits may occur by deamidination, resulting in multiple forms of the enzymes and creating a complex multibanded pattern on electrophoresis. 

Glutathione reductase (GR) catalyzes the reduction of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) to reduced glutathione (GSH) using NADPH provided from the hexose monophosphate pathway. GR, a ubiquitous flavoenzyme, maintains a high value of two for the GSH/GSSG ratio in the red blood cells. l,3-Bis(2-chloroethyl)-nitrosourea (BCNU) selectively inhibits cellular GR. GR is composed of two identical subunits, each of molecular mass 50 kDa (S8). The three-dimensional structure and mechanism of catalysis have been established for human GR (K17). 

There is known one more catabolic route for carbohydrates commonly referred to as the pentose phosphate cycle (also called hexose mono phosphate shunt, or phosphogluconate pathway). 

---