Oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle

The carbamoyl phosphate, which functions as an activated carbamoyl group donor, now enters the urea cycle. The cycle has four enzymatic steps. First, carbamoyl phosphate donates its carbamoyl group to ornithine to form citrulline, with the release of Pj (Fig. 18-10, step ). Ornithine plays a role resembling that of oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle, accepting material at each turn of the cycle. The reaction is catalyzed by ornithine transcarbamoylase, and the citrulline passes from the mitochondrion to the cytosol. 

To replace losses, oxaloacetate can be synthesized from pyruvate and C02 in a reaction that uses ATP as an energy source. This is indicated by the heavy gray line leading downward to the right from pyruvate in Fig. 10-1 and at the top center of Fig. 10-6. This reaction depends upon yet another coenzyme, a bound form of the vitamin biotin. Pyruvate is formed from breakdown of carbohydrates such as glucose, and the need for oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle makes the oxidation of fats in the human body dependent on the concurrent metabolism of carbohydrates. 

Answer Malate dehydrogenase catalyzes the conversion of malate to oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle, which takes place in the mitochondrion, and also plays a key role in the transport of reducing equivalents across the inner mitochondrial membrane via the malate-aspartate shuttle (Fig. 19-29). This shuttle requires the presence of malate dehydrogenase in the cytosol and the mitochondrial matrix. 

This series of reactions completes the Calvin cycle (Figure 20.12). The sum of all the reactions results in the generation of a hexose and the regeneration of the starting compound, ribulose 5-phosphate. In essence, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate acts catalytically, similarly to oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle. 

What is the function of acetyl CoA in the citric acid cycle What is the function of oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle GTP is formed in one step of the citric acid cycle. How is this GTP converted into ATP ... 

Malate is converted to oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle, which takes place in the mitochondria. In the cytoplasm, as a component of the malate-aspartate shuttle, it serves as an electron carrier to transfer electrons from NADH to the inner mitochondrial membrane. Malate can also be used as a source of electrons for the generation of NADPH in the reaction catalyzed by malic enzyme. 

The reactions of (3-oxidation are chemically the same as those in the conversion of succinate to oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle (see Figure 5.18) ... 

Pyruvate is converted to phosphoenolpyruvate for glucose synthesis by a two-step reaction, with the intermediate formation of oxaloacetate. As shown in Figure 5.31, pyruvate is carboxylated to oxaloacetate in an ATP-dependent reaction in which the vitamin biotin (section 11.12) is the coenzyme. This reaction can also be used to replenish oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle when intermediates have been withdrawn for use in other pathways, and is involved in the return of oxaloacetate from the cytosol to the mitochondrion in fatty acid synthesis — see Figure 5.26. Oxaloacetate then undergoes a phosphorylation reaction, in which it also loses carbon dioxide, to form phosphoenolpyruvate. The phosphate donor for this reaction is GTP as discussed in section 5.4.4, this provides regulation over the use of oxaloacetate for gluconeogenesis if citric acid cycle activity would be impaired. 

The first step in the citric acid cycle is reaction of oxaloacetate with acetyl CoA to give citrate. Propose a mechanism, using acid or base catalysis as needed. 

Enzymes work by bringing reactant molecules together, holding them, in the orientation necessary for reaction, and providing any necessary acidic or basic sites to catalyze specific steps. As an example, let s look at citrate synthase, an enzyme that catalyzes the aldol-like addition of acetyl CoA to oxaloacetate to give citrate. The reaction is the first step in the citric acid cycle, in which acetyl groups produced by degradation of food molecules are metabolized to yield C02 and H20. We ll look at the details of the citric acid cycle in Section 29.7. 

Steps 7-8 of Figure 29.12 Hydration and Oxidation The final two steps in the citric acid cycle are the conjugate nucleophilic addition of water to fumarate to yield (S)-malate (L-malate) and the oxidation of (S)-malate by NAD+ to give oxaloacetate. The addition is cataiyzed by fumarase and is mechanistically similar to the addition of water to ris-aconitate in step 2. The reaction occurs through an enolate-ion intermediate, which is protonated on the side opposite the OH, leading to a net anti addition. 

Step 2 of Figure 29.13 Decarboxylation and Phosphorylation Decarboxylation of oxaloacetate, a jB-keto acid, occurs by the typical retro-aldol mechanism like that in step 3 in the citric acid cycle (Figure 29.12), and phosphorylation of the resultant pyruvate enolate ion by GTP occurs concurrently to give phosphoenol-pyruvate. The reaction is catalyzed by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. 

Succinyl-CoA is converted to succinate by the enzyme succinate thiokinase (succinyl-CoA synthetase). This is the only example in the citric acid cycle of substrate-level phosphorylation. Tissues in which glu-coneogenesis occurs (the hver and kidney) contain two isoenzymes of succinate thiokinase, one specific for GDP and the other for ADP. The GTP formed is used for the decarboxylation of oxaloacetate to phos-phoenolpymvate in gluconeogenesis and provides a regulatory hnk between citric acid cycle activity and the withdrawal of oxaloacetate for gluconeogenesis. Nongluconeogenic tissues have only the isoenzyme that uses ADP. 

Pyruvate carboxylase (also called PC) is an enzyme that converts pyruvate to oxaloacetate (shown as oxaloacetic acid in the citric acid cycle diagram). Pyruvate carboxylase deficiency is a genetic disorder that is characterized by insufficient quantities of pyruvate carboxylate in the body. How do you think this disorder affects the citric acid cycle Use print and electronic resources to research pyruvate carboxylase deficiency. Find out what its symptoms are, and how it affects the body at the molecular level. Also find out what percent of the population is affected, and how the deficiency can be relieved. Present your findings as an informative pamphlet. If possible, conduct an e-mail interview with an expert on the disorder. 

The carbon skeleton of oxaloacetate from the citric acid cycle (in the mitochondrion) is carried to the gly-oxysome in the form of aspartate. Aspartate is converted... 

The urea cycle results in a net conversion of oxaloacetate to fumarate, both of which are intermediates in the citric acid cycle. The two cycles are thus interconnected. 

The following is the sum of three steps in the citric acid cycle A + B + FAD + H20 — C + FADH2 + NADH Reactant A Reactant B Reactant C A. Succinyl CoA GDP Succinate B. Succinate NAD+ Oxaloacetate C. Fumarate NAD Oxaloacetate D. Succinate NAD Malate E. Fumarate GTP Malate Correct answer = B. Succinate + NAD" + FAD oxaloacetate + NADH + FADH2... 

One of the first persons to study the oxidation of organic compounds by animal tissues was T. Thunberg, who between 1911 and 1920 discovered about 40 organic compounds that could be oxidized by animal tissues. Salts of succinate, fumarate, malate, and citrate were oxidized the fastest. Well aware of Knoop s (3 oxidation theory, Thunberg proposed a cyclic mechanism for oxidation of acetate. Two molecules of this two-carbon compound were supposed to condense (with reduction) to succinate, which was then oxidized as in the citric acid cycle to oxaloacetate. The latter was decarboxylated to pyruvate, which was oxidatively decarboxylated to acetate to complete the cycle. One of the reactions essential for this cycle could not be verified experimentally. It is left to the reader to recognize which one. 

One of the simplest biochemical addition reactions is the hydration of carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, which is released from the zinc-containing carbonic anhydrase (left, Fig. 13-1) as HC03-. Aconitase (center, Fig. 13-4) is shown here removing a water molecule from isocitrate, an intermediate compound in the citric acid cycle. The H20 that is removed will become bonded to an iron atom of the Fe4S4 cluster at the active site as indicated by the black H20. An enolate anion derived from acetyl-CoA adds to the carbonyl group of oxaloacetate to form citrate in the active site of citrate synthase (right, Fig. 13-9) to initiate the citric acid cycle. 

As mentioned in Section 4, glyoxylate can be converted to oxaloacetate by condensation with acetyl-CoA (Fig. 17-16) and the oxaloacetate can be decarboxylated to pyruvate. This sequence of reactions resembles that of the conversion of oxaloacetate to 2-oxoglutarate in the citric acid cycle (Fig. 17-4). Doth... 

Figure 4.8 Intermediates in the citric acid cycle shown in the ionized forms in which they exist at physiological pH values. The final oxaloacetate product reacts with acetyl-CoA from glycolysis to start the cycle over again.

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