TCA cycle essentially involves the oxidation of acetyl CoA to CO2 and H2O. TCA cycle –the central metabolic pathway The TCA cycle is the final common oxidative pathway for carbohydrates, fats, amino acids. TCA cycle supplies energy & also provides many intermediates required for the synthesis of amino acids, glucose, heme etc. TCA cycle is the most important central pathway connecting almost all the individual metabolic pathways. Definition Citric acid cycle or TCA cycle or tricarboxylic acid cycle essentially involves the oxidation of acetyl CoA to CO2 & H2O. Location of the TCA cycle Reactions of occur in mitochondrial matrix, in close proximity to the ETC. Reactions of TCA cycle
Oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to
acetyl CoA by PDH complex. This step is connecting link between glycolysis and TCA cycle. Reactions of TCA Cycle Step:1 Formation of citrate Oxaloacetate condenses with acetyl CoA to form Citrate, catalysed by the enzyme citrate synthase Inhibited by: ATP, NADH, Citrate - competitive inhibitor of oxaloacetate. Steps 2 & 3 Citrate is isomerized to isocitrate Citrate is isomerized to isocitrate by the enzyme aconitase This is achieved in a two stage reaction of dehydration followed by hydration through the formation of an intermediate -cis- aconiase Steps 4 & 5 Formation of -ketoglutarate Isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH) catalyses the conversion of (oxidative decarboxylation) of isocitrate to oxalosuccinate & then to - ketoglutarate. The formation of NADH & the liberation of CO2 occure at this stage. Stimulated (cooperative) by isocitrate, NAD+, Mg2+, ADP, Ca2+ (links with contraction). Inhibited by NADH & ATP Step: 6 Conversion of -ketoglutarate to succinyl CoA Occurs through oxidative decarboxylation, catalysed by -ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex. -ketoglutarate dehydrogenase is an multienzyme complex. At this stage of TCA cycle, second NADH is produced & the second CO2 is liberated. Step: 7 Formation of succinate
Succinyl CoA is converted to succinate by
succinate thiokinase. This reaction is coupled with the phosphorylation of GDP to GTP. This is a substrate level phosphorylation. GTP is converted to ATP by the enzyme nucleoside diphosphate kinase. Step: 8 Conversion of succinate to fumarate Succinate is oxidized by succinate dehydrogenase to fumarate. This reaction results in the production of FADH2. Step: 9 Formation of malate: The enzyme fumarase catalyses the conversion of fumarate to malate with the addition of H2O. Step:10 Conversion of malate to oxaloacetate Malate is then oxidized to oxaloacetate by malate dehydrogenase. The third & final synthesis of NADH occurs at this stage. The oxaloacetate is regenerated which can combine with another molecule of acetyl CoA & continue the cycle. Pyruvate NAD+ PDH CO2, NADH + H+ Acetyl CoA
Oxaloacatete Citrate Citrate
NAD+ synthase Aconitase NADH + H+ Malate Cis-Aconitase - H2O Fumarase Aconitase Fumarate TCA FAD Iso-citrate SDH FADH2 NAD+ Succinate NADH + H+ GTP Oxalosuccinate GDP+Pi Succinyl CoA ɑ-Ketoglutarate CO2, NADH + H+ NAD+ From: Summerlin LR (1981) Chemistry for the Life Sciences. New York: Random House p 550. Regeneration of oxaloacetate
The TCA cycle basically involves the
oxidation of acetyl CoA to CO2 with the simultaneous regeneration of oxaloacetate. There is no net consumption of oxaloacetate or any other intermediate in the cycle. Significance of TCA cycle Complete oxidation of acetyl CoA. ATP generation. Final common oxidative pathway. Integration of major metabolic pathways. Fat is burned on the wick of carbohydrates. Excess carbohydrates are converted as neutral fat No net synthesis of carbohydrates from fat. Carbon skeleton of amino acids finally enter the TCA cycle. Requirement of O2 by TCA cycle There is no direct participation of O2 in TCA
cycle. Operates only under aerobic conditions.
This is due to, NAD+ & FAD required for the
operation of the cycle can be regenerated in
the respiratory chain only in presence of O2. Therefore, citric acid cycle is strictly aerobic. Energetics of TCA Cycle
Oxidation of 3 NADH by ETC coupled with
oxidative phosphorylation results in the synthesis of 9ATP. FADH2 leads to the formation of 2ATP. One substrate level phosphorylation. Thus, a total of 12 ATP are produced from one acetyl CoA. Regulation of TCA Cycle
Three regulatory enzymes
1. Citrate synthase 2. Isocitrate dehydrogenase 3.α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase Citrate synthase is inhibited by ATP, NADH, acyl CoA & succinyl CoA. Isocitrate dehydrogenase is activated by ADP & inhibited by ATP and NADH α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase is inhibited by succinyl CoA & NADH. Availability of ADP is very important for TCA cycle to proceed. Inhibitors of TCA Cycle Aconitase is inhibited by fluoro-acetate. This is a non-competitive inhibition. Alpha ketoglutarate is inhibited by Arsenite. This is also a non-competitive. Succinate dehydrogenase is inhibited by malonate. This is competitive inhibition. Amphibolic nature of the TCA cycle
TCA cycle is both catabolic & anabolic in
nature, called as amphibolic. Since various compounds enter into or leave from TCA cycle, it is sometimes called as metabolic traffic circle. Important anabolic reactions of TCA cycle Oxaloacetate is precursor for aspartate. α-ketoglutarate can be transaminated to glutamate. Succinyl CoA is used for synthesis of heme. Mitochondrial citrate is transported to cytoplasm & it is cleaved into acetyl CoA to provide substrate for fatty acid synthesis. Anaplerosis or anaplerotic reactions
The reactions concerned to replenish or to
fill up the intermediates of citric acid cycle are called anaplerotic reactions or Anaplerosis Important anaplerotic reactions Pyruvate carboxylase catalyses conversion of pyruvate to oxaloacetate. This is an ATP dependent carboxylation reaction. Pyruvate+CO2+ATP Oxaloacetate + ADP + Pi • Pyruvate is converted to malate by NADP+ dependent malate dehydrogenase (malic enzyme). Pyruvate + CO2 + NADPH + H+ malate + NADPH + H2O α- ketoglutarate can also be synthesized from glutamate by glutamate dehydrogenase. Glutamate + NAD(P) + H2O α- ketoglutarate +NAD(P)H + H+ + NH4+ Transamination
Transamination is a process where an
amino acid transfers its amino group to a keto group and itself gets converted to a keto acid. The formation of Alpha ketoglutarate & oxaloacetate occures by this mechanism. References
Textbook of Biochemistry-U Satyanarayana
Textbook of Biochemistry- DM Vasudevan Thank You