UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

MBChBI BIOCHEMISTRY BC1MO1

BDSI BIOCHEMISTRY BC1DM

SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATION

SEPTEMBER 2009

3 HOURS

Answer any FIVE out of the following EIGHT questions. The answer to each
question is worth 20 marks.
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1. Discuss the role of the tricarboxylic acid cycle in metabolism.

2. (a) Use illustrated diagrams to show:

(i) how guanosine diphosphate is metabolically converted to

deoxyguanosine diphosphate. [5 marks]

(ii) how a purine ring is synthesized de novo. [5 marks]

(b) Draw a diagram of haemoglobin showing the way in which the heme group
is bound to the globin. [10 marks]

3. Describe the role of actin and myosin in muscle contraction.

4. (a) State the amino acid biosynthetic families and name at least seven
precursors from which they are derived. [14 marks]

(b) Name three in-born errors of metabolism and in each case identify the
underlying deficiency. [6 marks]

5. A man weighing 70 kg goes on hunger strike for forty days, during which he
consumes water. Predict the pattern of use of the various metabolic fuels at the
start of the hunger strike, a week into the hunger strike and on the last day of the
hunger strike.

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6. (a) (i) Using appropriate examples explain the three phases of drug metabolism
[6 marks]

(ii) Giving a specific example describe what is meant by bioactivation? [4 marks]

(b) (i) A child with a rare disease developed symptoms of drunkenness following
vigorous exercise, although he did not seem to tire easily. The pH of his
blood did not fall (i.e. [H+] did not increase. Suggest a possible biochemical
mechanism for this disease. [5 marks]

(ii) A contracting muscle in a frog’s leg was injected with disulfiram, which
prevents the binding of NAD+ to dehydrogenases. Give one possible
biochemical explanation why the contraction quickly stopped. [5 marks]

7. (a) Given that a certain vitamin is water soluble, comment on its transport,
storage and possible function. [10 marks]

(b) Draw the structure of a named antibody and explain how this structure is
related to its function. [10 marks]

8. Write an account of the β-oxidation of a fatty acid with four carbon atoms.

END OF QUESTION PAPER