CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

CELLULAR METABOLISM

What is metabolism?
- How cells acquire, transform,
store and use energy
- Study reactions in a cell and
how these processes are
coordinated and regulated

Metabolic pathways can be linear, branched, cyclic or

spiral

Multienzyme systems arranged into different

metabolic pathways:
a. Enzymes loosely held together. Diffusion of
intermediates to other enzyme.
b. Multienzyme complex tightly associated.
Intermediates channeled from one active site to
the other.
c. Multienzyme system in a membrane

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

TWO PARTS:
- CATABOLISM: Degradative Pathway
o Generating energy from macronutrients
o Formation of NADH, FADH2 and ATP
§ NADH and FADH2 are used to make ATP
- ANABOLISM: Biosynthesis
o Synthesizing molecules and polymers that make up the cell
§ Uses NADPH, FADH2 and ATP

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

Metabolic Pathways Are Sequences of

Reactions
• Metabolism includes all enzyme reactions
• Metabolism can be subdivided into
branches
• The metabolism of two of the four major
groups of biomolecules will be considered:
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids
- Amino Acids and
Nucleotides not in this course

• THE ATP ENERGY CYCLE

• Energy derived from metabolic fuels is largely recovered in the form of ATP
• Pathways of catabolism release free energy that is captured as ATP
- ATP – adenosine triphosphate
o Main source of energy for the body
o Not stored but used up rapidly and resynthesized
o Common to both aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen) organisms
o Phosphoanhydride bonds are energy rich – release energy when broken

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

Metabolism Proceeds by Discrete Steps

• Multiple-step pathways permit control of energy
input and output
• Catabolic multi-step pathways provide energy in
smaller stepwise amounts
• Each enzyme in a multi-step pathway usually
catalyzes only one single step in the pathway
• Control points occur in multi-step pathways:
Regulation!
• For example: Regulation by reversible
phosphorylation
• Protein kinases phosphorylate
enzymes (+ ATP)
• Protein phosphatases remove
phosphoryl groups
- Metabolism is highly regulated to permit
organisms to respond to changing conditions and
most pathways are irreversible

• Single-step vs multi-step pathways

• A multistep enzyme pathway releases energy in
smaller amounts that can be used by the cell

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

Metabolic fuels
Three major nutrients consumed by mammals:
(1) Carbohydrates - provide energy
(2) Proteins - provide amino acids for protein synthesis and some energy
(3) Fats - triacylglycerols provide energy and also lipids for membrane synthesis

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

Three Stages of Metabolism (for now concentrate on Catabolism)

I. Breakdown of Macromolecules into

Building Blocks
- Virtually no useful energy is
released
- Preparing substrates for next stage

II. Amino acids, Fatty acids and monosaccharides are OXIDIZED to a common
intermediate
- Common intermediate = ACETYL-CoA (acetyl coenzyme A)
- All building blocks converge to same pathway
- Some energy is released also small amount of energy is used

III. Acetyl-CoA enters the TCA CYCLE

- Oxidized further to CO2 – the end product of aerobic carbon metabolism
- Reduced NADH and FADH2 formed give up their electrons (are oxidized!) and the
electrons are transported through proteins and other molecules to O2 which is reduced to
water
- This produces a proton flow and a transmembrane potential
- The energy potential across the membrane is is coupled DIRECTLY to ATP synthesis
from ADP and Pi. ADP + Pi ßà ATP
• Processes called: ELECTRON TRANSPORT AND OXIDATIVE
PHOSPHORYLATION
Anabolism:
- Also has three stages
- Characterized by divergence not convergence
- NOT simply the reverse of catabolism

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

COMPARTMENTALIZATION OF METABOLISM

Compartmentalization of metabolic
processes permits:
1. separate pools of metabolites in a cell
2. simultaneous operation of opposing
metabolic paths
3. high local concentrations of
metabolites
4. coordinated regulation of enzymes

Example: fatty acid synthesis enzymes

(cytosol), fatty acid breakdown
enzymes (mitochondria)

CELLULAR COMPARTMENTS
CHEMISTRY OF METABOLISM:

Table 14.2 – 6 MAIN TYPES OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS

• No need to memorize details
• Be able to recognize the type of reaction if shown an example

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

1. Oxidation-Reduction Reactions:
REACTIONS OF CATABOLISM ARE OXIDATIVE! (Oxidation/Reduction Reactions)
• Also known as REDOX reactions
• Amino acids, monosaccharides and lipids are oxidized in the catabolic pathways
• These substrates are relatively reduced substrates (sugars, fats)
• Oxidizing agent - accepts electrons, is reduced
• Reducing agent - loses electrons, is oxidized
• Oxidation of one molecule must be coupled with the reduction of another molecule

Ared + Box ßà Aox + Bred

O Oxidation
"OIL RIG"
I Is

L Loss of electrons

R Reduction

I Is

G Gain of electrons

Oxidation and reduction reactions always occur together, because the electrons that are
donated from one compound must be received by another compound. This is why redox
reactions are said to be the product of two half reactions, the oxidation half reaction and the
reduction half reaction.

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

Each half reaction has a measurable reduction potential E0, which is a measure in volts of how
easily the compound is reduced (how easily it gains electrons).
Remember, the reduction potential is how much a species "wants" to get reduced, and the
higher the number, the greater the potential.

- Transfer of electrons from reducing agent (that

which is oxidized) to an oxidizing agent (that
which is reduced)

- Two simple rules identify the players in carbon

compounds:

A. OXIDATION has occurred if molecule has LOST HYDROGEN from carbon

B. OXIDATION has occurred if molecule GAINS an OXYGEN or if the

NUMBER OF CARBON BONDS TO OXYGEN increases.

Reduction: Molecule has fewer bonds to O or gains hydrogen to carbon

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

COENZYMES INVOLVED IN DEHYDROGENASE REACTIONS

• Redox reactions transfer large amounts of energy. Much of the energy liberated in an oxidation
is captured in the reduction of the oxidizing agent, such as NAD+ or FAD.
- Reducing equivalents are released from substrates, often as hydride ions (proton + 2e-)
H:-
- Hydride ion is transferred in enzymatic DEHYDROGENASE reactions from substrates
to the coenzymes NAD+ and FADH (2 H+ accompanies the reaction)
•
NAD+ ßà NADH + H+ (Vitamin precursor NAD+ of is Niacin)
•
FAD ßà FADH2
+
- NAD and FAD COLLECT THE ELECTRONS FROM THE REACTION!
§ NAD+ and FAD accept electrons and therefore are REDUCED
- NADH and FADH2 will ultimately pass their electrons on to other molecules (get
oxidized)
- Electrons of reduced coenzymes (NADH and FADH2) flow toward O2
- End result is formation of ATP

Derived from the vitamin nicotinamide

The NAD+ coenzyme is involved with many types of oxidation reactions at oxygen – carbon centers
(e.g. alcohols converted to ketones or aldehydes).
+
NAD accepts two electrons and one proton when it is reduced. Although NAD carries two reducing
equivalents, only one hydrogen atom attaches to the nicotinamide ring. The second hydrogen atom
becomes a hydrogen ion in solution.

NAD+ + 2(H) --> NADH + H+

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

FAD

Derived from the vitamin riboflavin (B2)

Both hydrogens derived from a redox reaction become attached to the flavin ring.

The FAD coenzyme is involved with many types of oxidation reactions at carbon – carbon centers to
form double bonds

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

- Remember, in complete chemical reactions, oxidation and reduction complement each

other; Use corollaries of above rules to figure out when REDUCTION occurs

2. Group Transfer Reaction:

- Phosphorylation is one of the most common group transfers
o Usually the first step in nutrient entering metabolism
o Glucose gets into cells via glucose transport proteins in the cell
membrane
o Phosphorylation of glucose inside cells adds charge and
prevents glucose from exiting
o Kinases are the subclass of transferases that catalyze
phosphorylation

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

3. Isomerization and Rearrangement Reactions

- Two kinds of chemical transformations:
1. Intramolecular hydrogen atom shifts
a. Results in changing location of double bonds
2. Intramolecular rearrangement of functional groups (b)

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

4. Hydrolysis Reactions:
- Water is used to split a molecule into TWO
distinct molecules
- All three nutrient types are shown in Figure
below:
- ESTER HYDROLYSIS: Hydrolytic release
of FA from TAG

- AMIDE HYDROLYSIS: Peptidase reaction;

Cleaving peptides into amino acids

- GLYCOSIDIC BOND HYDROLYSIS:

Glycosidic bonds in sugars hydrolyzed by
glucosidases

- Opposite of nutrient formation which releases

water via dehydration reactions

- Recall lipid and disaccharide formation - Lost

water in those reactions

5. Non-hydrolytic Cleavage Reactions:

- Molecules split WITHOUT use of
water
- Most prevalent are carbon-carbon
cleavages
- Enzymes called LYASES
- May also include:
o Addition of functional groups to double
bonds
o Enolase: water removed to form the
double bond (b)
o Reverse of aldolase : Addition of
Dihydroxyacetone phosophate to
carbonyl of glyceraldehydes 3-
phosphate to make fructose 1,6-
bisphosphate (a)

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

6. Bond Formation Using Energy of ATP

- Enzymes that catalyze the joining of two separate molecules using the energy from ATP hydrolysis
- For example, ligases and synthetases
- Carbon – carbon bonds formed by reaction of stabilized carbanion with the carbonyl
groups of ketones, esters or CO2
- Carbanions are stabilized by the presence of electron-withdrawing groups such as acyl
groups. Inductive withdrawl of electrons or resonance stabilization of the negative charge.

REACTION EXAMPLES:
Carboxylation of pyruvate to make oxaloacetate

Combination of acetyl-CoA and OAA to make citryl-CoA

Resonance stabilized carbanion

generated on methyl group of
substrate: Pyruvate or acetyl-CoA

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

Reactions types can be combined in a single metabolic step:

Oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate:

1. Alcohol on C2 on isocitrate oxidized to a keto group. Coupled to reduction of NAD+ to NADH
2. Intermediate formed is oxalosuccinate – unstable and spontaneously loses CO2 (decarboxylation)
So, two reactions: Oxidation – reduction & Non-hydrolytic cleavage of a C-C bond

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CHM333 LECTURE 24 & 25: 3/27 – 29/13 SPRING 2013 Professor Christine Hrycyna

TYPES OF FUNCTIONAL GROUPS INVOLVED IN BIOCHEMICAL REACTIONS

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