1JNIIVIEIRSUY OF L.

[YIBABWE
CiIB ‘ B1OCHI0~iISTRY T~CJ~lOT
i~\1I.~
BDS II BlOC] ~i~Il~STRYBCIDi\d
STTEI’dBER 1999

~nsweram. FIYE of the :bllowing E1GH.T questions, 7he answer ~oeach question is
worth marks. ___________________________

3rieCy describe ~towthe concentration of ‘~lucosocan be determined in a blood

samcie usinu the ~iucose oxidase enz1’me. (13 mai0.~s)

Gi~ean outhne of the phenomenon ofn ~tarcu~tionin hexose sugars.

( 7 marks)
W:~tean essay on the hierachical structure of globular prct~ins. (10 marks)

Describe how the formation of globular protein subunits facilitates enzyme

function, giving the example of any of the dehydrogenases. (10 marks)

Inorganic phosphate labelled with 32P is added with glucose to glycogen free
extract from the liver and the mixture then incubated in the absence of oxygen.
After a short time 1,3 bisphosphoglycerate (1,3 BPG) is isolated from the
nlixlL:re,
On which carbons would you expect to find the radioactive label? If you allow
the incubation to continue for a longer period would you find any change in the
labelling pattern? Your answer should give explanations forthe observations.
(11 marks)
Which of the following structures change their dimensions or alter their positions
with respect to each other during muscle contraction:

I band
Aband
Thin filaments
M line to M line
H zone
Thick filaments
Z line to Z line
Z line to edge of adjacent H zone
Z line to M line (9 marks)

/2....
 I~e~cr~behow you would design an ELISA test for the detection of viral infection
in l~urnans.

Briefly explain the following:

a) how you would treat cyanide poisoning, (5 marks)

b) how uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation work, giving at least one

example, (5 marks)

c) the consequences of phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency, (6 marks)

c) the consequences of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase deficiency. (4 marks) 1

a) Give an overview ofthe major differences in mRNA translation between
prokaryotes and eul.aryotes. (14 marks)
fl Giuen the similarity of valine and isoleucine, and the 5-fold higher concentration
ofvaline over isoleucine in the cell, calculations indicate that ~sc1~ucv~-tRNA
should mistakenly incorporate valine into proteins in place of isoleucine once in
every 40 reactions. Explain why this mis-incorporation happens only once in
every 3 000 reactions. (6 marks)

7a) Using bromobenzene as an example describe the functions of Phase 1, II and III
enzymes of drug metabolism. (6 marks)

b) How is drug metabolism linked to drug resistance in a bacterial cell?

(4 marks)
c) With respect to multi-step carcinogenesis, define what is meant by the terms
Initiation and promotion. (4 marks)

d) Sulfanilamide is an antimicrobial drug whose structure is similar to the of p-

Aminobenzonic acid (PAIBA). Explain how this similarity is useful in its function
as an antimetabolite. (6 marks)

I. In what ways can non-digestible carbohydrate be of benefit to the health of

humans.

END OF QUESTION PAPER