BIOENERGETICS:

HOW THE BODY

CONVERTS
FOOD TO
ENERGY
(1) Rica Marie Dela Peña
(2) Glayzel Nicole Dichosa
(3) Maria Erica Dordas
REPORTER 7

Rica Marie A. Dela Glayzel Nicole D. Maria Erica A.

Peña Dichosa Dordas
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE PRINCIPAL
THE NATURE OF
01 03 COMPOUNDS OF
METABOLISM CATABOLIC PATHWAYS

MITOCHONDRIA AND THEIR THE CITRIC ACID CYCLE

ROLE IN METABOLISM 02 04 AND IN METABOLISM
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ENERGY YIELD FROM

ELECTRON AND
05 07 AEROBIC METABOLISM
H+ TRANSPORT

THE CHEMIOSMOTIC PUMP CONVERSION OF

AND ATP PRODUCTION 06 08 CHEMICAL ENERGY TO
OTHER FORMS
DEFINITION OF TERMS
● Anabolism - a biochemical process in metabolism where the simple
molecules combine to generate complex molecules.
● Biochemical Pathway - or metabolic pathway is a step by step series
of interconnected biochemical reactions in which each step is
catalyzed by a specific enzyme.
● Chemiosmotic Theory - is the movement of ions across a
semipermeable membrane bound structure, down their
electrochemical gradient.
● Citric acid cycle- serves as the mitochondrial hub for the final steps in
carbon skeleton oxidative catabolism for carbohydrates, amino acids,
and fatty acids.
● Coenzyme - an organic molecule that binds to the active sites of
certain enzymes to assist in the catalysis of a reaction.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
● Crista - each of the partial partitions in a mitochondrion formed
by infolding of the inner membrane.
● Cristae - is to increase the surface area of the mitochondrial
membrane.
● Cytochrome c - one of the mitochondrial proteins that is
released into the cytosol when the cell is activated by an
apoptotic stimulus.
● Cytoplasm - a thick solution that fills each cell and is enclosed
by the cell membrane.
● Decarboxylation - the process that leads to tha loss of CO2
from a - COOH group.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
● Electron transport - the sequential transfer of electrons especially
by cytochromes in cellular respiration from an oxidizable substrate to
molecular oxygen by a series of oxidation-reduction reactions.
● Enzymes - are proteins that help speed up metabolism, or the
chemical reactions in our bodies.
● Filamentous cytoskeleton (microtobules) - they provide a basis for
movement and cell division.
● Golgi body - a complex of vesicles and folded membranes within the
cytoplasm of most eukaryotic cells, involved in secretion and
intracellular transport.
● Guanosine Triphosphate - a purine nucleoside triphosphate. It is
one of the building blocks needed for the synthesis of RNA during the
transcription process.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
● Intermembrane space - is the space occurring between or
involving two or more membranes.
● Lysosome - membrane-enclosed organelles that contain an
array of enzymes capable of breaking down all types of
biological polymers—proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates,
and lipids.
● Matrix - the inner nonmemranous portion of a
mitochondrion.
● Mitochondria - power house of a cell. Hence, are
membrane-bound cell organelles (mitochondrion, singular)
that generate most of the chemical energy needed to power
the cell's biochemical reactions.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
● Nuclear Membrane - a double layer that encloses the cell's
nucleus, where the chromosomes reside.
● Nucleus - is the membrane-enclosed organelle within a cell that
contains the chromosomes.
● Phosphorylation - is the addition of a phosphoryl (PO3) group
to a molecule.
● Phosphorylation Pathway - is the functional unit utilizing the
protonmotive force to phosphorylate ADP (D) to ATP (T), and
may be defined more specifically as the P»-system.
● Plasma Membrane - also called the cell membrane, is the
membrane found in all cells that separates the interior of the cell
from the outside environment.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
● Proton Gradiant - is a continuous variation in the H+ concentration
along a given region.
● Rough endoplasmic reticulum - produce proteins for the rest of
the cell to function.
● Smooth endoplasmic reticulum - It synthesizes lipids,
phospholipids as in plasma membranes, and steroids.
● Thick Filament (myosin) - consists largely of myosin. Six proteins
make up myosin: two heavy chains whose tails intertwine to form a
supercoil and whose heads contain actin binding sites and a
catalytic site for ATP hydrolysis. Two myosin light chains bind to
each head region.
● Thin filament (actin) - are a polymer of actin with tightly bound
regulatory proteins troponin and tropomyosin.
WHAT IS BIOENERGETICS?
Any ideas?
 THE NATURE OF
METABOLISM
01 Living cells are in a dynamic state, which
means that compounds are constantly
being synthesized and then broken
down into smaller fragments.
Thousands of different reactions take
place at the same time.

Metabolism is the sum total of all the

chemical reactions involved in maintaining
the dynamic state of the cell.
 METABOLIC REACTIONS INTO TWO
BROAD GROUPS:

Catabolism is a Anabolism is a
process of breaking process of
down molecules to synthesizing
(building up)
supply energy.
molecules.
METABOLIC REACTIONS INTO TWO BROAD
GROUPS:
➢ The main outlines of metabolic pathways are
well known and, in some cases, have been
known for decades. Molecular biology is
developing a new layer of understanding of
the topic by seeing how signaling
mechanisms and genetic control play a large
part in determining the physiological state of a
cell. Cancer cell growth, circadian rhythms,
and longevity are affected by the metabolism
of cells.
➢ To focus on cancer, we know that genes which
promote cancer (onco-genes) and mutations in genes
that suppress cancer (tumor suppressor genes) can
shift metabolic patterns to those characteristic of tumor
cells from those found in normal cells.
➢ For example, It has been known for decades that
when cancer cells metabolize sugars, the products do
not enter the normal metabolic pathways. Instead, the
intermediates are used in ways that aid uncontrolled
cell growth, which is a characteristic of cancer cells.
 A BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAY

It is a series of consecutive biochemical

reactions. We will see the actual reactions that
enable the chemical energy stored in our food to
be converted to the energy we use every minute
of our lives — to think, to breathe, and to use
our muscles to walk, write, eat and do everything
else.
 A CATABOLIC PATHWAY
➢ The food we eat consists of many types of compounds —
carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. All of them can serve as fuel. The
body uses a different energy - conversion pathway for each of these
compounds. All of these pathways converge to the common catabolic
pathway, called the Citric Acid Cycle and the Electron Transport
Chain.

➢ The purpose of catabolic pathways is to convert the chemical energy

in foods to molecules of ATP. In the process, foods also yield
metabolic intermediates, which the body can use for synthesis.
 MITOCHONDRIA AND
02 THEIR ROLE IN
METABOLISM
➢ The specialized structures within
cells are called organelles. The
mitochondria, which possess two
membranes, are the organelles in
which the citric acid cycle and
electron transport occurs in higher
organisms. The enzymes that
catalyze the common pathway are
all located in these organelles.
➢ Because the enzymes are located inside the inner
membrane of mitochondria, the starting materials of the
reactions in the common pathway must pass through the
two membranes to enter the mitochondria. Products must
leave the same way.

➢ The inner membrane of a mitochondrion is quite resistant

to the penetration of any ions and of most uncharged
molecules. However, ions and molecules can still get
through the membrane — the are transported across it by
the numerous protein molecules embedded in it. While the
outer membrane is quite permeable to small molecules
and ions and does not have transporting membrane
proteins.
➢ The matrix is the inner
nonmembranous
portion of a
mitochondrion. The
inner membrane is
highly corrugated and
folded. Most of the
enzymes of citric acid
cycle are located in the
matrix, while one is
attached to the inner
mitochondrial
membrane.
➢ On the basis of electron microscopic
studies, the Romanian-born
American cell biologist George Emil
Palade (1912-2008) proposed his
baffle model of the mitochondrion in
1952. The baffles, which are called
cristae, project into the matrix like
the bellows of an accordion.
➢ The enzymes of the electron
transport chain are localized on the
cristae. The space between the inner
and outer membranes is the
intermembrane space.
 THE PRINCIPAL
03 COMPOUNDS OF
CATABOLIC
PATHWAYS
➢ The common catabolic pathway
has two parts: the citric acid
cycle (also called the
tricarboxylic acid cycle or the
Kreb cycle) and the electron
transport chain and
phosphorylation, together called
the oxidative phosphorylation
pathway.
 A. AGENTS FOR STORAGE OF ENERGY AND
TRANSFER OF PHOSPHATE GROUPS
The most important of these agents are three
rather complex compounds: adenosine
monophosphate (AMP), adenosine diphosphate
(ADP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). All
three of these molecules contain the heterocyclic
amine adenine and the sugar D-ribose joined
together by a B-N-glycosidic bond, forming
adenosine.
Adenosine 5’ - monophosphate (AMP)
Hydrolysis of ATP produces ADP plus dihydrogen
phosphate ion plus energy

+ H2PO4 + 7.3
kcal

Dihydrogen
phosphate ion
➢ AMP, ADP, and ATP all contain adenosine
connected to phosphate groups. The only
difference between the three molecules is the
number of phosphate groups. On the (Figure
26.5), each phosphate is attached to the next by
an anhydride bond. ATP contains three
phosphates, one phosphoric ester and two
phosphoric anhydride bonds. In all three
molecules, the first phosphate is bonded to the
ribose by a phosphoric ester bond.
➢ A phosphoric anhydride bond contains more chemical
energy (7.3 kcal/mol) than a phosphoric ester bond (3.4
kcal/mol). Thus, when ATP and ADP are hydrolyzed to
yield phosphate ion, they release more energy per
phosphate group than does AMP. When one phosphate
group is hydrolyzed from each, the following energy yields
are obtained: AMP=3.4 kcal/mol; ADP=7.3 kcal/mol;
ATP=7.3 kcal/mol). (The PO43 -- ion is called inorganic
phosphate). Conversely, when inorganic phosphate bonds
to AMP or ADP, greater amounts of energy input are
required than when it bonds to adenosine. ADP and ATP
contain high-energy phosphoric anhydride bonds.
➢ ATP releases the most energy and AMP releases the least energy
when each gives up one phosphate group. This property makes
ATP a very useful compound for energy storage and release. The
energy gained in the oxidation of food is stored in the form of
ATP, albeit only for a short while ATP molecules in the cells
normally do not last longer than about 1 minute. They are
hydrolyzed to ADP and inorganic phosphate to yield energy that
drives other processes, such as muscle contraction, nerve signal
conduction, and biosynthesis. As a consequence, ATP is
constantly being formed and decomposed. Its turnover rate is
very high. Estimates suggest that the human body manufactures
and degrades as much as 40 kg (approximately 88 lb) of ATP
every day. Even with these considerations, the body is able to
extract only 40 to 60% of the total caloric content of food.
B. AGENTS FOR TRANSFER OF ELECTRONS IN
BIOLOGICAL OXIDATION-REDUCTION
REACTIONS
➢ Two other actors in this drama are the
coenzymes NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide) and FAD (flavin adenine
dinucleotide), both of which contain an ADP
core. The + in NAD+ refers to the positive
charge on the nitrogen. In NAD+, the
operative part is the flavin portion.
For example, when NAD+ is reduced, the
nicotinamide part of the molecule gets reduced:
The reduced form of NAD+ is NADH. The same reduction
happens on the two nitrogens of the flavin portion of FAD:
The Structures of NAD+ and FAD
 C. AGENT FOR TRANSFER OF ACETYL GROUPS
➢ The final principal compound in the common catabolic
pathway is coenzyme A, is the acetyl-transporting
molecule. Coenzyme A also contains ADP, but here the
next structural unit is pantothenic acid, an other B
vitamin. Just as ATP can be viewed as an ADP molecule to
which a —PO3^2- group is bonded by a high-energy
bond, so can acetyl coenzyme A be considered a CoA
molecule linked to an acetyl group by a high-energy
thioester bond, for which the energy of hydrolysis is 7.51
kcal/mol. The active part of coenzyme A is the
mercaptoethylamine. The acetyl group of acetyl
coenzyme A is bonded to the SH group.
The Structure of
the Coenzyme A
THE CITRIC ACID CYCLE AND
IN METABOLISM 04
➢ The common catabolism of
carbohydrates and lipids begins when
they have been broke down into
molecules of two carbon atoms each.

➢ The two-carbon fragments are the

acetyl portions of acetyl coenzyme A
(coA). The acetyl group is now
metabolized further in the citric acid
cycle.
➢ Hans Krebs (1900-1981), is a
Noel laureate in 1953, who
established the
relationships among the
different components of the
cycle.
➢ The cyclic nature of this acetate degradation has other
advantages besides maximizing energy yield:

1. The citric acid cycle (Kreb cycle) components provide raw

materials for amino acid synthesis as the need arises. For
example, a-ketoglutaric acid is used to synthesize glutamic
acid.
2. The many component cycle provides an excellent method for
regulating the speed of catabolic reactions.

The following equation represents the overall reactions in the citric

acid cycle:

GDP + Pi + CH3 —CO—S—CoA + 2H2O + 3NAD+ + FAD → CoA +

GTP + 2CO2 + 3NADH + FADH2 + 3H+ (Eq. 26.1)
➢ The citric acid cycle is controlled by feedback mechanisms.
When the essential product of this cycle, NADH + H+, and the
end product of the common catabolic pathway, ATP,
accumulate, they inhibit some of the enzymes in the cycle.
Citrate synthase (Step 1), isocitrate dehydrogenase (Step 3),
and a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (part of the complex
enzyme system in Step 4 are inhibited by ATP and/or by
NADH + H+. This inhibition slows down or shuts off the cycle.
Conversely, when the acetyl-CoA is in abundance, the cycle
accelerates. The enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenases (Step 3)
is stimulated by ADP and NAD+, which are the essential
reactants from which the end products of the cycle are
derived.
 ELECTRON AND
H+ TRANSPORT
05 The reduced coenzymes NADH and
FADH2 are end products of the citric
acid cycle. They carry hydrogen ions
and electrons and therefore, have
the potential to yield energy when
these combine with oxygen to form
water.

4H+ + 4e– + O2 ⟶ 2H2O + energy

 The sequence of the electron-carrying enzyme systems starts with
complex I. It is the largest complex, containing some 40 subunits,
among them a flavoprotein and several FeS clusters. Coenzyme Q
(CoQ, also called ubiquinone) is associated with complex I, which
oxidizes the NADH produced in the citric acid cycle and reduces the
CoQ:

NADH + H+ + CoQ ⟶ NAD+ + CoQH2

Complex II also catalyzes the transfer of electrons to CoQ. The

source of the electrons is FADH2 produced by the oxidation of
succinate in the citric acid cycle. The final reaction is:
FADH2 + CoQ → FAD + CoQH2
 Complex III delivers the electrons from CoQH2 to
cytochrome c. This integral membrane complex contains 11
subunits, including cytochrome b, cytochrom c1 and FeS
clusters. Each cytochrome has an iron-ion containing heme
center embedded in its own protein. Complex III has two
channels through which two H+ ions are pumped from the
CoQH2 into the intermembrane space. Each cytochrome c can
pick up only one electron, two cytochrome c units are needed:
CoQH2 + 2 cytochrome c (oxidized) →
CoQ + 2H+ + 2 cytochrome c (reduced)
 Complex IV, known as cytochrome oxidase, contains 13
subunits --- most importantly, cytochrome a3, a heme that has an
associated copper center. Complex IV is an integral membrane
protein complex. The electron movement flows from cytochrome
c to cytochrome a to cytochrome a3. There, the electrons are
transferred to the oxygen molecule, and the O---O bond is
cleaved. The oxidized form of the enzyme takes up two H+ ions
from the matrix for each oxygen atom.
The water molecule formed in this way is released into the
matrix:
O2 + 2H+ + 2e-- → H2O
The carriers in order whether there is a movement of both electrons
and H+ or just electrons:
NAD+/NADH - Electrons and H+ (both)
FMN - both
FeS - electrons only
CoQ/CoQH2 - both
FAD/FADH2 - both
Cytochrome b - electrons only
Cytochrome c1 - electrons only
Cytochrome c - electrons only
Uncoupling and Obesity
● The health concerns that surround the growing number of obese people in
developed countries have led to research into the causes and alleviation of
obesity. A number of weight reducing drugs exist. Some of them operate as
uncouplers of electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation.
● The discovery of a role for uncouplers in weight reduction occurred more or
less by accident. During World War I, many ammunition workers were
exposed to 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), a compound used to prepare the
explosive picric acid, which is structurally related to the well-known
explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT). After it was observed that these workers lost
weight, DNP was used as a weight-reducing drug during the 1920s.
Unfortunately, DNP eliminated not only the fat but sometimes also the
dieter, and its use as a diet pill was discontinued after 1929.
Uncoupling and Obesity
● Today we know why DNP works as a weight reducing drug: it is an
effective protonophore---a compound that transports ions through cell
membranes passively, without the expenditure of energy. As noted
earlier, H+ ions accumulate in the intermembrane space of
mitochondria and under normal conditions, drive the synthesis of ATP
while they are going back inside. This process is Mitchell’s
chemiosmotic principle in action. When DNP is ingested, it transfers
the H+ back to the mitochondrion easily, and no ATP is manufactured.
The energy of the electron separation is dissipated as heat and is not
built in as chemical energy in ATP. The loss of this energy-storing
compound makes the utilization of food much less efficient, resulting
in weight loss.
Uncoupling and Obesity
● A similar mechanism provides heat in hibernating bears. The
bears have brown fats; its color is derived from the numerous
mitochondria in the tissue. The brown fat also contains an
uncoupling protein called thermogenin, a protonophore that
allows the ions to stream back into the mitochondrial matrix
without manufacturing ATP. The heat generated in this manner
keeps the animal alive during cold winter days. In similar
fashion, an uncoupling protein is known to be involved in
obesity, but it is not known what relationship, if any, exists
between this protein and hibernation.
 THE CHEMIOSMOTIC
06 PUMP AND ATP
PRODUCTION
➢ Peter Mitchell (1920-1992), an English chemist,
proposed the chemiosmotic theory.
➢ How do the electron and H+ transports produce
the chemical energy of ATP? The energy in the
electron transfer chain creates a proton
gradient. A proton gradient is a continuous
variation in the H+ concentration along a given
region.
➢ Subsequent studies have confirmed this
theory, and Mitchell received the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry in 1978.
➢ The proton-translocating ATPase is a complex “rotor
engine” made of 16 different proteins. The F0 sector, which
is embedded in the membrane, contains the proton
channel. The 12 subunits that form this channel rotate
every time a proton passes from the cytoplasmic side
(intermembrane) to the matrix side of the mitochondrion.
➢ This rotation is transmitted to a “rotor” (γ and ε subunits)
that synthesizes the ATP. The catalytic unit converts the
mechanical energy of the rotor into chemical energy of the
ATP molecule. The last unit, the “stator”, containing the δ
subunit, stabilizes the whole complex.
➢ The proton-translocating ATPase can catalyze the reaction
in both directions. When protons that have accumulated on
the outer surface of the mitochondrion stream inward, the
enzyme manufactures ATP and stores the electrical energy
(due to the flow of charges) in the form of chemical energy.
In the reverse reaction, the enzyme hydrolyzes ATP and, as
a consequence, pumps out H+ from the mitochondrion. Each
pair of protons that is translocated gives rise to the formation
of one ATP molecule. Only when the two parts of the
proton-translocating ATPase F1 and F0 is disrupted the
energy transduction is lost.
➢ The protons that enter a mitochondrion combine with
the electrons transported through the electron
transport chain and with oxygen to form water. The
net result of the two processes (electron/H+ transport
and ATP formation) is that each oxygen molecule we
inhale combines with four H+ ions and four electrons
to give two water molecules. The four H+ ions and
four electrons come from the NADH and FADH2
molecules produced in the citric acid cycle.
The oxygen therefore has two functions:
1. It oxidizes NADH to NAD+ and FADH2 to FAD so that these
molecules can go back and participate in the citric acid cycle.
2. The production of water from oxygen provides energy for the
conversion of ADP to ATP.
➢ The electron and H+ transport chain and the subsequent
phosphorylation process are collectively known as oxidative
phosphorylation. The following equations represent the
overall reactions in oxidative phosphorylation:
NADH + 3 ADP + O2 + 3Pi + H+ → NAD+ + 3 ATP + H2O
FADH2 + 2 ADP + O2 + Pi → FAD + 2 ATP + H2O
ENERGY YIELD FROM
AEROBIC METABOLISM 07
➢ The energy released during
electron transport is finally
captured in the chemical energy of
ATP molecules. Therefore, it is
instructive to look at the energy
yield in the universal biochemical
currency: the number of ATP
molecules.
➢ Unfortunately, the nature of the electron transport
chain and oxidative phosphorylation makes it
difficult to come up with exact numbers for the yield
of ATP from this process , and the numbers have
been adjusted over time. Currently, the best
estimate is that for each NADH that delivers
electrons to the electron transport chain, 2.5 ATPs
are produced. When the electrons enter as FADH2,
then only 1.5 ATPs are produced.
➢ Now we can produce the energy balance for the entire
common catabolic pathway (citric acid cycle and oxidative
phosphorylation combined). For each C2 fragment entering
the citric acid cycle, we obtain three NADH and one FADH2
plus one GTP, which is equivalent in energy to one ATP. Thus,
the total number of ATP molecules produced per C2 fragment
is:
3 NADH × 2.5 ATP/NADH = 7.5 ATP
1 FADH2 × 1.5 ATP/FADH2 = 1.5 ATP
1 GTP = 1 ATP
= 10 ATP
➢ Each C2 fragment that enters the cycle
produces 10 ATP molecules and uses up two
O2 molecules. The total effect of the
energy-production chain of reactions is to
oxidize one C2 fragment with two molecules
of O2 to produce two molecules of CO2 and 10
molecules of ATP:
C2 + 202 + 10ADP + 10Pi → 10ATP 2CO2
 CONVERSION OF
CHEMICAL ENERGY TO

08
OTHER FORMS
➢ The storage of chemical
energy in the form of ATP
lasts only a short time.
Usually, within a minute, the
ATP is hydrolyzed (an
exothermic reaction) and
releases its chemical energy.
➢ A. Conversion to Other Forms of Chemical Energy
The activity of many enzymes is controlled and regulated
by phosphorylation. For example, the enzyme
phosphofructokinase (PFK-2), which catalyzes the formation
of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate, (chemical connections 22E), a
key allosteric effector in the glycolytic pathway that
catabolizes glucose is activated by phosphorylation. When
ATP transfers a phosphate group to a serine residue, the
enzyme becomes active. Thus, the chemical energy of ATP is
used in the form of chemical energy to activate PFK-2 so that
glucose can be metabolized.
B. Electrical Energy
The body maintains a high concentrations of K+ ions inside its
cells despite the fact that the K+ concentration is low outside the
cells. The reverse is true for Na+. So that K+ does not diffuse out of
the cells and Na+ does not enter them, special transport proteins
in the cell membranes constantly pump K+ into and Na+ out of the
cells. This pumping requires energy, which is supplied by the
hydrolysis of ATP to ADP. Because of this pumping, the charges
inside and outside the cell are unequal, which generates an
electric potential. Thus, the chemical energy of ATP is
transformed into electrical energy, which operates in
neurotransmission.
C. Mechanical Energy
ATP is the immediate source of energy in muscle contraction.
In essence, muscle contraction takes place when thick and thin
filaments slide past each other. The thick filament is myosin, an
ATPase enzyme (that is, one that hydrolyzes ATP). The thin
filament, actin, binds strongly to myosin in the contracted state.
However, when ATP binds to myosin, the actin-myosin complex
dissociates, and the muscle relaxes. When myosin hydrolyzes ATP,
it interacts with actin once more, and a new contraction occurs. In
this way, the hydrolysis of ATP drives the alternating association
and dissociation of actin and myosin and consequently, the
contraction and relaxation of the muscle.
D. Heat Energy
One molecule of ATP upon hydrolysis to ADP yields 7.3
kcal/mol. Some of this energy is released as heat and used to
maintain body temperature. For example, if we estimate that
the specific heat of the body is about the same as that of
water, a person weighing 60 kg would need to hydrolyze
approximately 99 moles (approximately 50 kg) of ATP to raise
the temperature of the body from room temperature, 25°C to
37°C. Not all body heat is derived from ATP hydrolysis; some
other exothermic reactions in the body also make heat
contributions.
➢ In the thin filament of skeletal muscle fiber, a small globular protein that masks
the active sites on the actin, is “troponin”. The thin filament of skeletal muscle fiber
is composed of three distinct proteins, i.e. actin, tropomyosin, and troponin.
Troponin inhibits the actin-myosin interaction. The binding of calcium to the
troponin unmasks the myosin binding active sites on actin. Tropomyosin is a
fibrous molecule that attaches to actin in the groove between its filaments. G-actin
is the monomer of the actin filament.
 ATP in Cell Signaling
➢ In recent years, research has made it clear that
ATP and its derivatives act in cell signaling.
Receptors for ATP, ADP, AMP, and adenosine
bind all these molecules and set off the type of
cascade. Vesicles in the ATP-releasing cell fuse
with the cell membrane, releasing ATP into the
intercellular medium. Enzymatic reactions
catalyze the hydrolysis of ATP to ADP, then to
AMP, and finally to adenosine. In the target cell,
ATP binds to the P2X receptor. Both ATP and
ADP bind to the P2Y receptor. AMP and
adenosine bind to the P1 receptor.
 ATP in Cell Signaling
➢ The effect in the cell is frequently the release of
calcium ion from intracellular reservoirs, leading
to the activation of key enzymes that trigger a
number of responses, including effects on the
nervous system and blood vessel dilation.
Research is in progress to find other
health-related applications of cell signaling.
One example already in existence is the drug
clopidogrel, which blocks ATP receptors on
platelets to prevent clot formation in blood
vessels. Other drugs that can be used for pain
management by their effects on ATP receptors
are in various stages of development.
SALAMAT!
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