CH 27 (1): Fatty Acid Degradation

These flashcards cover key concepts and steps in fatty acid degradation as outlined in the lecture notes.

1. Degradation of TAG to release fatty acids and glycerol.

2. Activation of fatty acids and transport into mitochondria.

3. Degradation of fatty acids to acetyl CoA.

What are the three stages of fatty acid degradation?

Fatty acids are stored in adipose tissue as triacylglycerols (TAG).

Where are fatty acids stored in the body?

TAG is a molecule where three fatty acids are linked to glycerol with ester linkages.

What is a triacylglycerol (TAG)?

Epinephrine.

What hormone initiates the degradation of TAG in adipose tissue?

Protein Kinase A.

What does PKA stand for?

Lipase converts TAG into free fatty acids and glycerol.

What role does lipase play in lipid degradation?

Albumin binds to fatty acids to transport them in the blood.

What is the function of albumin in fatty acid transport?

Glycerol is absorbed by the liver for use in glycolysis or gluconeogenesis.

What happens to glycerol released during lipolysis?

Fatty acid mobilization.

What is the process called when fatty acids and glycerol are transported to target tissues?

Fatty acids react with ATP to form acyl adenylate, which is then converted to acyl CoA.

How is fatty acid activated for oxidation?

Carnitine.

What transfers fatty acids into the mitochondria?

Acetyl CoA, NADH, and FADH2.

What is generated during the oxidation of fatty acids?

The process of fatty acid degradation to produce acetyl CoA.

What is β-oxidation?

Oxidation of β-carbon catalyzed by acyl CoA dehydrogenase.

What is the first step of β-oxidation?

It takes 7 rounds of β-oxidation to fully degrade palmitate.

How many rounds of β-oxidation are required to fully degrade palmitate?

Fuel sources derived from fats that serve as alternative energy substrates.

What are ketone bodies?

Acetyl CoA and a fatty acid chain that is two carbons shorter.

What is formed during the cleavage of 3-ketoacyl CoA?

Hydration of trans-Δ2-enoyl CoA yields L-3-hydroxyacyl CoA.

What occurs during the hydration step of β-oxidation?

Acyl CoA dehydrogenases.

What enzyme catalyzes the conversion of acyl CoA to trans-Δ2-enoyl CoA?

The complete oxidation of palmitate yields 106 molecules of ATP.

What is the total ATP yield from the complete oxidation of palmitate?

It renders the reaction forming acyl CoA irreversible.

What is the role of pyrophosphatase in the activation of fatty acids?

Ester linkages.

What type of bond is formed between the fatty acids and glycerol in TAG?

It catalyzes the transfer of fatty acids to carnitine for mitochondrial transport.

What is the function of carnitine acyltransferase I?

It is converted back to acyl CoA by carnitine acyltransferase II.

What happens to acyl carnitine in the mitochondria?

Reactions required for the degradation of fatty acids prior to their oxidation.

What type of reaction do the enzymes in the table for fatty acid degradation facilitate?