ATP-ADP CYCLE

Objectives:
• explain coupled reaction processes and;
• describe the role of ATP in energy coupling and transfer

Overview

So as an overview for our topic, living cells require energy from outside sources.

Some animals obtain energy by eating plants and some animals feed on other organisms that eat plants.
So energy flows into an ecosystem, as sunlight, leaves, and heat, and photosynthesis generates oxygen
and organic molecules which are used in cellular respiration.

So basically, cells use chemical energy stored in organic molecules to regenerate ATP which powers
work.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

ATP acts as a cell’s storehouse of energy. It enables cells to store energy safely in small packets and
release the energy for use only as and when needed. In other words, ATP serves to close the gap
between energy-releasing reactions such as food breakdown and energy-requiring actions such as
synthesis.

ATP is the reason the energy from your food can be used to complete all the tasks performed by your
cells. This energy carrier is in every cell of your body—muscles, skin, brain, you name it. Basically, ATP is
what makes cellular energy happen.

Where does ATP come from?

ATP comes indirectly from the food that we eat. The food we eat is digested into small subunits of
macronutrients. The carbohydrates in your diet are all converted to a simple sugar called glucose.

This simple sugar has the power to “buy” a lot of cellular energy. But your cells don’t accept glucose as a
method of payment. You need to convert your glucose into currency that will work in the cell.

ATP is that accepted currency. Through an intricate chain of chemical reactions—your body’s currency
exchange—glucose is converted into ATP. This conversion process is called cellular respiration or
metabolism.

So as I’ve said earlier, ATP is what makes cellular energy happen.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate): The Cell’s Currency

ATP is often called the cell’s “energy currency.” Like money can buy any item in a store, this one
molecule can power almost any process in a cell. ATP then serves as a shuttle, delivering energy to
places within the cell where energy-consuming activities are taking place.
Functions/Importance of ATP

This smart work by the cell ensures that the cellular reactions never run out of the energy source i.e.,
ATP. This “reactions linking or coupling” is a vital mechanism that ensures that the cellular machinery
never grinds down to a halt and the cell remains alive.

A molecule of ATP holds a little bit of chemical energy, and it can power something within the cell. This
single molecule can power a motor protein that makes a muscle contract, a transport protein that
makes a nerve cell fire, a ribosome (the molecular machine that can build these and other proteins), and
much more.

ATP also plays a critical role in maintaining the cell’s structure by facilitating the assembly of the
cytoskeletal components. All of these key processes as well as several other associated reactions create
a high demand for ATP.

Even if they would not be energetically favorable (energy-releasing, or exergonic) in isolation, these
processes will continue merrily along if there is energy available to power them (much as business will
continue to be done in a town as long as there is money flowing in). However, if the energy runs out, the
reactions will grind to a halt, and the cell will begin to die.

Cellular Work

Now all of the work in the cell, all of the thousands or hundreds of thousands of reactions that
go on in there can be put into one of three categories.

The first category of cell work is gonna be chemical work and this is going to be any sort of building or
breaking down process that happens in the cell. So if it’s an actual chemical reaction that’s building or
breaking something, it goes into this category.

Cell work can also be classified as transport. Cell transport is movement of materials across cell
membranes. It includes passive and active transport.

The final one is going to be mechanical work or any physical movement in the cell. So it could be
rearrangement cytoskeleton or it could be the processes that help your muscles contract.

ATP Structure

The basic structure of ATP has 3 main components. They are adenine (this should look like a nucleotide
because you’ve got a nitrogenous base on here.), ribose (the sugar) and three phosphate groups bonded
one after another (labeled as alpha, beta, and gamma from point of attachment to end).

The important piece of ATP that’s gonna do most of the work are these three phosphate groups. These
phosphates, if you notice, each of them has a negative electrical charge. All these negative charges don’t
like to be next to each other, if you’ve ever tried to put two magnets next to one another with the same
pole facing each other, they try to spring apart, the same thing happens here with our ATP. These
phosphates are trying to spring apart from one another which made them unstable. This means they’re
always on the lookout for a positively charged molecule to pair off with.
So, a lot of energy is needed to keep the negatively charged phosphate chain intact. Because when the
chain is broken by a positively charged force, that big store of energy is released inside the cell.

Energy Coupling

The basic idea between energy coupling is that an exergonic reaction is driving an endergonic
reaction.

An exergonic reaction is a reaction where something is being broken down and when that thing is
broken down, it releases energy. They give off energy as they are proceeding. An exergonic reaction is a
reaction that releases free energy.

Reactant Product

So you’ll see a big molecule, our reactant, it progresses through this reaction and ends up with smaller
molecules. These reactions usually do not require energy to proceed, and therefore occur
spontaneously. Exergonic reactions occur spontaneously (no outside energy is required to start them).

Big molecule less stable, smaller molecules more stable. The difference in energy between the unstable
molecule and the stable molecules is the energy that will be released.

Endergonic reactions are those where energy is being put in, in order to build something up. In this
case, the body is actually spending energy to make something happen so you’re going from three
smaller molecules to one larger molecule. Your body is having to put energy in to make these happen so
it took energy to get from here to there.

Energy coupling in sodium-potassium pumps

Here comes the role of ATP hydrolysis. For every three Na+ that are pumped out of the cell and for every
two K+ that are pumped into the cell, one ATP molecule is hydrolyzed. This hydrolysis ensures that the
conformation of the sodium-potassium pump changes in accordance with the transfer of the respective
molecules in and out of the cell.

This sodium-potassium pump (Na+/K+ pump) drives sodium out of the cell and potassium into the cell.
A large percentage of a cell’s ATP is spent powering this pump, because cellular processes bring a great
deal of sodium into the cell and potassium out of the cell. The pump works constantly to stabilize
cellular concentrations of sodium and potassium. In order for the pump to turn one cycle (exporting
three Na+ ions and importing two K+ ions), one molecule of ATP must be hydrolyzed. When ATP is
hydrolyzed, its gamma phosphate doesn’t simply float away, but is actually transferred onto the pump
protein. This process of a phosphate group binding to a molecule is called phosphorylation. As with most
cases of ATP hydrolysis, a phosphate from ATP is transferred onto another molecule. In a
phosphorylated state, the Na+/K+ pump has more free energy and is triggered to undergo a
conformational change. This change allows it to release Na+ to the outside of the cell. It then binds
extracellular K+, which, through another conformational change, causes the phosphate to detach from
the pump. This release of phosphate triggers the K+ to be released to the inside of the cell.

Essentially, the energy released from the hydrolysis of ATP is coupled with the energy required to
power the pump and transport Na+ and K+ ions. ATP performs cellular work using this basic form of
energy coupling through phosphorylation.

• We can define phosphorylation as a biochemical process in which a phosphate molecule is

added to some organic compound, such as glucose and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). It is the
most common mechanism of regulating protein function and transmitting signals throughout
the cell. Phosphorylation plays critical roles in the regulation of many cellular processes
including cell cycle, growth, apoptosis and signal transduction pathways.
• In biochemistry, a conformational change is a change in the shape of a macromolecule, often
induced by environmental factors.
• So a concentration gradient is a measurement of how the concentration of something changes
from one place to another.

The functioning of this pump is vital to maintain the membrane polarity and resting potential. It also
serves several other purposes inside a cell-like signal transducer, neuron activity state controller, cell
volume controller, transportation, etc.

ATP Hydrolysis (ATP to ADP)

The first thing to remember is that ATP Hydrolysis just means that you are adding water to break
something down.

Hydrolysis of ATP would look like taking a water molecule and forcing it in right there, when that
happens, you get ADP with two phosphates, and you get the extra phosphate that is left over, and you
get a whole bunch of energy released. The ATP releases -7.3 kcal, that’s how much you get for breaking
off one phosphate.

Now what happens in the body is when energy is needed to make a reaction happen, this reaction will
run, it will give off its -7.3 calories of energy and then that energy will be harnessed to do some work in
the cell.

The way that ATP makes that happen is through a phosphorylated intermediate. Our phosphate
molecule ATP will stick one of his phosphates onto this square.

The bonds between the phosphate groups of ATP stale can be broken by hydrolysis, the application of
water. So energy is released from ATP when the terminal phosphate bond is broken.

Inorganic phosphates can be created by the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate.

Why is it important that the phosphate is attached on the square?

- By sticking this phosphate on, this becomes destabilized, and if you remember, all molecules
wants to be stable. So because it is now unstable, it makes him want to hook up with this
triangle much more quickly.
In making this reaction happen, we are transitioning from something that is less stable and more
reactive to something that is more stable and less reactive so that’s the whole point of sticking that
phosphate group onto the square.

Another thing that can happen is sometimes when you phosphorylate something, the shape of that
molecule changes, this happens a lot with the protein pumps in the cell membrane.

They change shape when they either dump something into the cell or out of the cell, so phosphorylating
a molecule could destabilize it.

ATP Regeneration

Our body would run out of ATP really quickly if there was not a regeneration system.

When the cell has extra energy (gained from breaking down food that has been consumed or, in the
case of plants, made via photosynthesis), it stores that energy by reattaching a free phosphate
molecule to ADP, turning it back into ATP.

The ATP molecule is just like a rechargeable battery. When it’s fully charged, it’s ATP. When it’s run
down, it’s ADP. However, the battery doesn’t get thrown away when it’s run down–it just gets charged
up again. The ATP regeneration reaction is just the reverse of the hydrolysis reaction:

Energy + ADP + Pi ⇋ ATP + H2O

The muscles' limited ATP supply is used very quickly in muscle activity, so the need to regenerate ATP
is essential.

Why are the phosphoanhydride bonds considered high-energy? All this really means is that an
appreciable amount of energy is released when one of these bonds is broken in a hydrolysis (water-
mediated breakdown) reaction.

 ADP is continually converted to ATP by the addition of a phosphate during the process of
cellular respiration.

 ATP carries much more energy than ADP.

 As the cell requires more energy, it uses energy from the breakdown of food molecules to
attach a free phosphate group to an ADP molecule in order to make ATP.

ADP + phosphate + energy from breakdown of food molecules→ ATP

ATP to ADP – Energy Release

This is done by a simple process, in which one of the 2phosphate molecules is broken off, therefore
reducing the ATP from 3 phosphates to 2, forming ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate after removing one of
the phosphates {Pi}). This is commonly written as ADP + Pi.

When the bond connecting the phosphate is broken, energy is released.

If a cell needs to spend energy to accomplish a task, the ATP molecule splits off one of its three
phosphates, becoming ADP (Adenosine diphosphate) + phosphate. The energy holding that phosphate
molecule is now released and available to do work for the cell. When the cell has extra energy (gained
from breaking down food that has been consumed or, in the case of plants, made via photosynthesis), it
stores that energy by reattaching a free phosphate molecule to ADP, turning it back into ATP.

Question 1: What’s the role of ATP in energy coupling?

Answer: ATP is the molecule whose burst of energy is used to couple an exergonic reaction to power an
endergonic reaction in energy coupling. Without an input of energy, the Gibbs free energy of the
reactants in an endergonic reaction is “too low”. Only when supplemented with energy from ATP
hydrolysis, that the endergonic reaction can happen. Hence, the indispensable role an ATP molecule
plays in energy coupling is beyond comparison and invincible.

Question 2: Does hydrolysis release energy?

Answer: Yes, because hydrolysis reactions involve a water molecule addition to a large
molecule/polymer and its disintegration into smaller molecules/monomers. This is accompanied by the
release of energy.

Importance of Energy Coupling

Energy coupling of endergonic and exergonic reactions within cells ensures that whatever amount of
energy is produced in the first exergonic reaction does not dissipate as heat. Also, energy coupling
ensures that it’s properly directed within a biological system to a secondary reaction- the endergonic
one, where it can be used rather than getting wasted.

In short, energy coupling ensures that the energy from reaction-1 serves as a “FUEL” for reaction-2.

Where Does Cellular Energy Production Take Place?

The creation of ATP takes place throughout the body’s cells. The process begins when glucose is
digested in the intestines. Next, it’s taken up by cells and converted to pyruvate. It then travels to the
cells’ mitochondria. That’s ultimately where ATP is produced.

Do All Cells Use ATP?

Not only do all your cells use it, all living organisms use ATP as their energy currency. ATP is found in the
cytoplasm of all cells. The cytoplasm is the space at the center of the cell. It is filled with a substance
called cytosol. All the different pieces of cellular equipment (organelles) are housed in the cytoplasm,
including the mitochondria. After it’s produced, ATP leaves the mitochondria to travel throughout the
cell to perform its assigned tasks.

Are All Foods Converted Into ATP?

Eventually fats, protein, and carbohydrates can all become cellular energy. The process is not the same
for each macronutrient, but the end results does yield power for the cell. It just isn’t as straightforward
and direct for fats and proteins to turn into ATP.

Sugars and simple carbohydrates are easy. Chemical bonds are pulled apart to reduce all sugars from
your diet into glucose. And you already know that glucose kicks off ATP production.

Fats and proteins need to be broken down into simpler subunits before they can participate in cellular
energy production. Fats are chemically converted into fatty acids and glycerol. Proteins are slimmed
down to amino acids—their building blocks.

Amino acids, fatty acids, and glycerol join up with glucose on the road to ATP production. They help
supply the cell with other intermediate chemical compounds along the way.

There are nutrients you eat that don’t get digested or used for ATP production, like fiber. Your body isn’t
equipped with the right enzymes to fully break down fiber. So, that material passes through the
digestive system and leaves the body as waste.

Two Ways for Making ATP

If ATP is like a battery, then cellular respiration is like a battery charger.

Our cells have two ways to make ATP: substrate-level phosphorylation and oxidative phosphorylation.
Plants have a third. During photosynthesis, they use energy from sunlight to make ATP.

Functions of ATP in cells

ATP finds use in several cellular processes. Some important functions of ATP in the cell are briefly
discussed below:

Active Transport

ATP plays a critical role in the transport of macromolecules such as proteins and lipids into and out of
the cell. The hydrolysis of ATP provides the required energy for active transport mechanisms to carry
such molecules across a concentration gradient. Transport of molecules into the cell is called
endocytosis whilst transport out of the cell is known as exocytosis.

Cell Signaling

ATP has key functions both in intracellular and extracellular signaling. It is easily recognized by purinergic
receptors in mammalian tissues - its release from synapses and axons activates purinergic receptors that
modulate calcium and cyclic AMP levels inside the cell.

In the central nervous system, adenosine modulates neural development, the control of immune
systems, and of neuron/glial signaling.
ATP is also involved in signal transduction - its phosphate groups are used up by kinases in phosphate
transfer reactions which activate a cascade of protein kinase reactions.

Structural Maintenance

ATP plays a very important role in preserving the structure of the cell by helping the assembly of the
cytoskeletal elements. It also supplies energy to the flagella and chromosomes to maintain their
appropriate functioning.

Muscle contraction

ATP is critical for the contraction of muscles; it binds to myosin to provide energy and facilitate its
binding to actin to form a cross-bridge. ADP and phosphate are then released and a new ATP molecule
binds to myosin. This breaks the cross-bridge between myosin and actin filaments, thereby releasing
myosin for the next contraction.

Synthesis of DNA and RNA

During DNA synthesis, ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) reduces the sugar residue from ribonucleoside
diphosphates to form deoxyribonucleoside diphosphates such as dADP.

Thus, RNR regulation helps keep the balance of deoxynucleotides (dNTPs) in the cell. Low
concentrations of dNTPs inhibit DNA synthesis and repair whilst high levels are shown to be mutagenic
because DNA polymerase tends to add the wrong dNTP during DNA synthesis.

The adenosine from ATP is a building block of RNA and is directly added to RNA molecules during RNA
synthesis by RNA polymerases. The removal of pyrophosphate provides the energy required for this
reaction.

Significance of ATP Hydrolysis

Energy is stored in the form of ATP in living organisms. Most ATP is produced during respiration. The
energy released by the oxidation of carbohydrates and respiratory substrates is trapped and stored in
the form of ATP, which can later be utilized as and when the requirement arises.

The energy released during ATP hydrolysis is utilized to power the cellular processes. There are many
processes that require energy, such as muscle contraction, active transport, cell signaling, DNA RNA
synthesis, etc.