BIOC 300B Chapter Notes - Chapter 16.3 and 16.4: Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase, Pyruvate Carboxylase, Malate Dehydrogenase
16 Mar 2018
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16. 3 glucose can be synthesized from noncarbohydrate precursors (gluconeogenesis): Maintaining glucose levels is important because the brain requires glucose as it"s primary eld and rbcs use glucose as their only fuel. Glucose stores are su cient in supplying these areas for about a day, and glucose genesis is important during longer periods of fasting/starvation. The gluconeogenic pathway works by converting pyruvate into glucose. Non-carb precursors are rst converted to pyruvate or enter the pathway as later intermediates (ie. as oxaloacetate and dhap). Major non-carbohydrate precursors include: lactate, amino acids, and glycerol. Lactate = formed when the rate of glycolysis exceeds the rate of oxidative metabolism in the muscles. Amino acids = formed from the breakdown of proteins in the diet and from the breakdown of skeletal proteins during starvation. Glycerol = formed from the hydrolysis of triacylglycerols in fat cells (may enter the gluconeogenic or the glycolytic pathway as dhap)
