ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE

Adenosine triphosphate or ATP is often called the energy currency of the cell because this
molecule plays a key role in metabolism, particularly in energy transfer within cells. The
molecule acts to couple the energy of exergonic and endergonic processes, making
energetically unfavorable chemical reactions able to proceed.

ATP is continuously recycled, rather than expended. It's converted back into precursor
molecules, so it can be used again and again. In human beings, for example, the amount of
ATP recycled daily is about the same as body weight, even though the average human being
only has about 250 grams of ATP. Another way to look at it is that a single molecule of ATP
gets recycled 500-700 times every day. At any moment in time, the amount of ATP plus ADP
is fairly constant. This is important since ATP is not a molecule that can be stored for later
use.

ATP may be produced from simple and complex sugars as well as from lipids via redox
reactions. For this to occur, the carbohydrates must first be broken down into simple sugars,
while the lipids must be broken into fatty acids and glycerol. However, ATP production is
highly regulated. Its production is controlled via substrate concentration, feedback
mechanisms, and allosteric hindrance.

How ATP Produces Energy

The key to energy production lies with the phosphate groups. Breaking the phosphate bond is
an exothermic reaction. So, when ATP loses one or two phosphate groups, energy is released.
More energy is released breaking the first phosphate bond than the second.

ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi + Energy (Δ G = -30.5 kJ.mol-1)

ATP + H2O → AMP + PPi + Energy (Δ G = -45.6 kJ.mol-1)

The energy that is released is coupled to an endothermic (thermodynamically unfavorable)

reaction in order to give it the activation energy needed to proceed.
Functions of ATP:

There are essentially two reasons ATP is so important:

1. It's the only chemical in the body that can be directly used as energy.

2. Other forms of chemical energy need to be converted into ATP before they can be
used.

Another important point is that ATP is recyclable. If the molecule was used up after each
reaction, it wouldn't be practical for metabolism.

Role of ATP in Metabolism:

ATP serves as a bearer of chemical energy in metabolism, more specifically in cellular

respiration.

Cellular respiration (metabolism) comes in three steps:

 glycolysis

 the Krebs Cycle

 the electron transport chain

During glycolysis, ATP is first used to invest energy in glucose, as to allow for its subsequent
breakdown into pyruvate. Later in glycolysis, ADP is phosphorylated and becomes the active
form of the molecule, ATP, which holds energy for the cell.

During the Krebs Cycle, ATP isn't used as much. In fact, the only time it is involved is with
its synthesis, which occurs about halfway through the steps of the Krebs Cycle. A molecule
similar to ADP, called GDP, is phosphorylated, which, in turn, phosphorylates ATP.

Moving on to electron transport, ATP is mainly produced here. It is not spent at all during
electron transport, only synthesized. As hydrogen ions are pumped though the plasma
membrane of the inner mitochondrial membrane into the intermembrane space of the
mitochondria, a gradient build up.

This basically means that there are more hydrogen ions in the intermembrane space than in
the matrix of the mitochondria (where the hydrogen ions started off). As you probably know
about diffusion, these hydrogen ions are going to resist having this gradient, and they'll want
to go back into the matrix, where there is a lower concentration of hydrogen ions.

But the only way for the ions to enter the matrix is through a protein in the inner
mitochondrial membrane called ATP synthase. How that works is the hydrogen ions attach
to a rotor on the upper part of the protein, which makes the rotor and an attached rod spin.

The rod sits in a bowl-like structure of the protein, and when the rod spins, the binding sites
in the bowl structure are activated, which allows ADP to become phosphorylated. Electron
transport yields many ATP

In summary, ATP is basically the energy bearer for the cell as metabolism takes place. you
can think of it as a rechargeable battery for the cell, and metabolism recharges the batteries.

Phosphorylation of ADP TO ATP:

Two processes convert ADP into ATP:

1) substrate-level phosphorylation

2) Chemiosmosis

Substrate-level phosphorylation occurs in the cytoplasm when an enzyme attaches a third

phosphate to the ADP (both ADP and the phosphates are the substrates on which the enzyme
acts)

Chemiosmosis is the process where energy is harnessed through a series of protein

complexes embedded in the inner-membrane of mitochondria (called the electron transport
chain and ATP synthase) to create ATP.

Chemiosmosis occurs after the oxidation of NADH and FADH2 received from Kreb Cycle.
As a result of oxidation of NADH and FADH2 an electrochemical gradient is created,
meaning there is a difference in electrical charge between the two sides of the inner
mitochondrial membrane. The outside, or exterior, of the mitochondrial membrane is positive
because of the accumulation of the protons (H+), and the inside is negative due to the loss of
the protons. A chemical concentration gradient has also developed on either side of the
membrane. The electrochemical gradient is how the cell transfers the stored energy from the
reduced NADH and FADH2. When there is a high concentration of protons on the outside of
the mitochondrial membrane, protons are pushed through ATP synthase. This movement of
protons causes ATP synthase to spin, and bind ADP and Pi, producing ATP. Finally, ATP is
made.

In oxidative phosphorylation, oxygen must be present to receive electrons from the protein
complexes. This allows for more electrons and high energy molecules to be passed along, and
maintains the hydrogen pumping that produces ATP.