Faculty of Medical Sciences

Cell Biology (MDSC 1201)

Basic Concepts of
Metabolism

Dr Ojeh

Reading:
Chapter 8: Lippincott’s Illustrated Biochemistry
Chapter 11: Marks’ Basic Medical Biochemistry, A Clinical Approach
 Lecture Objectives:

By the end of this lecture, you should be

able to:
• Briefly explain the basic concepts of metabolism
• Briefly explain catabolism and anabolism
• Give an overview of the regulation of metabolism
• List and explain the various types of cellular signals
• Describe the 4 types of receptor-mediated signal transduction
pathways and give examples
Catabolic pathways are important because they capture energy in the form of ATP
Three Stages of Catabolism
Catabolism

• degradation
• convergent
• “oxidative”

• products:

ATP
FADH2
NADH
NADPH
Catabolism
•Catabolic reactions capture chemical energy (as ATP)
from the breakdown of complex energy-rich molecules

•Also provide the precursors needed for the synthesis of

complex molecules

• Occurs in three stages:

Stage 1 (hydrolysis)
Stage 2 (conversion)
Stage 3 (oxidation)

• The catabolic reaction is a convergent process (where

a wide variety of molecules are transformed into a few
common end products)
Anabolism

• synthesis
• “reductive”
• divergent
• uses ATP

• products:

NAD+
FAD
ADP
NADP+
Anabolism
•Anabolic reactions take small molecules and combine
them to form more complex molecules

•They require energy (usually supplied by adenosine

triphosphate-ATP)

•They also require reducing power ( as frequently provided

by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-
NADPH)

•The anabolic reaction is a divergent process (where a few

biosynthetic precursors form a variety of polymeric
compounds)
Regulation of Metabolism
The pathways of metabolism must be coordinated
so that the production of energy or the synthesis of
end products meets the needs of the cell.

An efficient communication system is necessary to

coordinate the function of the body.

Regulation depends on:

• intracellular signals- signal transduction

• intercellular signals
Intercellular signals
 Intercellular signalling
Chemical messengers (signalling molecules)
- Transmit messages between cells

- Secreted from one cell in response to a specific stimulus and

travel to a target cell where they bind to a specific receptor and
elicit a response.

- Neurotransmitters – nervous system

- Hormones – endocrine system
- Cytokines – immune system
- Others - retinoids, eicosanoids and cytokines

Can be classified as:

- endocrine (travel in the blood)
- paracrine (travel between nearby cells)
- autocrine (act on the same cell or nearby cells of the same type)
 Intercellular signalling
Characteristics of chemical messenger systems

Response:
1.Affect cellular ion
levels
2. Activation/inhibition
of enzymes
3.Change in gene
expression
 Receptor-mediated Signal Transduction
(Extracellular signals)

TWO Classes of receptors:

1. Intracellular receptors
2. Plasma membrane
receptors

Intracellular versus plasma membrane receptors

Receptor-mediated Signal Transduction
(Extracellular signals)
4 basic types of signal transduction
pathways:
1. Steroid receptor
2. Gated ion channel
3. Receptor enzyme (Catalytic receptor)
4. G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR)
produce intracellular 2nd messengers
Four general types of receptors
GPCR
G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR)
produce intracellular 2nd messengers
Adenylate cyclase system

• second messenger
is cAMP

• cAMP activates
protein kinase A

• protein kinase A
phosphorylates
target proteins

• phosphodiesterase
hydrolyzes cAMP to
5’-AMP
 G-protein coupled receptor (GPRC)
produce intracellular 2nd messengers

• Phosphoinositide system:
• 1,4,5-inositol triphosphate (IP3)
• Calcium
• Diacylglycerol (DAG)
• Protein kinase C
Phosphoinositide system

• second messengers are IP3,

DAG and Ca2+
PIP2
1. G protein activates
phospholipase C

2. PLC cleaves (phosphatidyl

inositol bis-phosphate) PIP2 to
IP3 and DAG

3. IP3 causes Ca2+ release from

ER
Phosphoinositide
system
4. DAG activates
membrane-bound
protein kinase C

5. protein kinase C PIP2

phosphorylates
substrate proteins
resulting in cellular
responses

Protein kinase C requires

DAG, Phospholipids and
Ca2+ for maximal activity.