Tricarboxylic Thiamine pyrophosphate

Reactions of the TCA cycle Enzyme that oxidatively decarboxylates pyruvate, its coenzymes, activators, and inhibitors REACTIONS OF THE TRICARBOXYLIC ACID CYCLE (p. 107) Pyruvate is oxidatively decarboxylated by pyruvate dehydrogenase complex producing acetyl CoA, which is the major fuel for the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle). The irreversible set of reactions catalyzed by this enzyme complex requires five coenzymes thiamine pyrophosphate, lipoic acid, coenzyme A (which contains the vitamin pantothenic acid), FAD, and NAD. The reaction is activated by NAD, coenzyme A, and pyruvate, and inhibited by ATP, acetyl CoA, and NADH. 

Thiamin pyrophosphate (or thiamin diphosphate) is a coenzyme involved in (1) the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetyl coenzyme A (enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase), (2) the oxidative decarboxylation of a-ketoglutarate to succinyl coenzyme A (a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase) in the tricarboxylic add cycle, (3) the pentose phosphate pathway (transketolase) and (4) the synthesis of branched-chain amino acids such as valine (branched-chain ketoacid dehydrogenase) in bacteria, yeasts and plants. 

Magnesium is closely associated with calciiun and phosphorus. About 70 per cent of the total magnesium is found in the skeleton but the remainder, which is distributed in the soft tissues and fluids, is of crucial importance to the well-being of the animal. Magnesium is the commonest enzyme activator, for example in systems with thiamin pyrophosphate as a cofactor, and oxidative phosphorylation is reduced in magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is an essential activator of phosphate transferases (e.g. creatine kinase) and it activates pyruvate carboxylase, pyruvate oxidase and reactions of the tricarboxylic acid cycle therefore, it is essential for the... 

Thiamine is required by the body as the pyrophosphate (TPP) in two general types of reaction, the oxidative decarboxylation of a keto acids catalyzed by dehydrogenase complexes and the formation of a-ketols (ketoses) as catalyzed by transketolase, and as the triphosphate (TTP) within the nervous system. TPP functions as the Mg -coordinated coenzyme for so-called active aldehyde transfers in mul-tienzyme dehydrogenase complexes that affect decarboxyia-tive conversion of a-keto (2 oxo) acids to acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) derivatives, such as pyruvate dehydrogenase and a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. These are often localized in the mitochondria, where efficient use in the Krebs tricarboxylic acid (citric acid) cycle follows. 

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