TUTORIAL GROUPING WORK

BIO PRESENTATION TUTORIAL GROUPING WORK

QUESTION 1(a):
(a) In a healthy person the blood glucose level in the hepatic vein fluctuates much less than that in the hepatic portal vein.

Explain why is this so. (4marks)

 In order to help maintain blood sugar levels, the liver uses various processes that are regulated by various hormones, such as insulin and glucagon. These processes are: glycogen storage Lipogenesis glycogen breakdown Gluconeogenesis conversion of other sugars into glucose.

Answer:
During absorption and digestion, the carbohydrates contained in a meal are reduced to their simplest form, glucose. As nutrient-rich blood travels through the hepatic portal vein, the liver removes excess glucose from the blood, to process and store it. Hepatocytes use glycogenesis to convert most of the excess glucose into glycogen, the storage form of glucose. A smaller fraction of excess glucose is stored in the form of fats via lipogenesis. Blood glucose concentration sometimes drops, as in short-term fasts (24 to 48 hours). In such cases, the liver enters glycogenolysis. In this process, hepatocytes mobilize their stores of glycogen, reconvert them into glucose, and continually release them it into the blood, until levels approach normal range.

 When blood sugar drops because a persons diet does not meet the bodys needs in glucose, the liver may convert other sugars into glucose. Examples of such convertible sugars include sucrose, fructose, and galactose.
Long fasts deplete the body glycogen stores, and require additional sources of blood sugar. When blood glucose drops during a long fast, the liver enters gluconeogenesis. This is a mechanism whereby the liver, along with the kidneys, uses lactic acid, glycerol, and amino acids to make glucose.

QUESTION 1(b) Blood sugar level is more or less consistent. Explain why the blood glucose level of a person who is fasting does not show much decrease?

Blood sugar level in our body is controlled and maintained through homeostasis. The organs involved in the controlling and monitoring of the blood sugar level is the liver and pancreas. The liver is important in controlling the blood sugar level but it cannot detect fluctuation in the blood sugar level. The pancreas is important as the islet of Langerhans in the pancreas detects changes in the blood sugar level.

ANSWER: When a person is fasting, there is no sugar in the body. This is detected by the islet of Langerhans in the pancreas.

Then, the alpha cells in the islets of Langerhans will secrete the hormone glucagon.
When there is no sugar in the body, glucagon is produced to convert glycogen into glucose.

The stored glycogen actually comes from the excess glucose in the body.
The excess glucose is converted into glycogen by insulin for storage in the liver. This process is called glycogenesis and takes place via glucose phosphate. This stored glycogen is used when the blood sugar level drops or when the body is in need of energy.

 In conclusion, this is why the blood sugar level of a person fasting does not show much decrease.

QUESTION 1(b) HOW DOES GLYCOGENOLYSIS HELP TO MAINTAIN THIS CONSTANT BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL?

GLYCOGENOLYSIS
Glycogenolysis occurs primarily in the liver and is stimulated by the hormones glucagon.

GLYCOGENOLYSIS
A process by which glycogen, the primary carbohydrate stored in the liver and muscle cells of animals, is broken down into glucose to provide immediate energy and to maintain blood glucose levels.

GLYCOGENOLYSIS PATHWAY

PHOSPHORYLASE

GLUCOSE 1-PHOSPHATE

GLYCOGEN
PHOSPHOGLUCOMUTASE

GLUCOSE 6-PHOSPHATASE

GLUCOSE

GLUCOSE 6-PHOSPHATE

HOW GLYCOGENOLYSIS STIMULATE?

When blood glucose levels fall, as during fasting, there is an increase in glucagon secretion from the pancreas. This increase is accompanied by a decrease in insulin secretion.

 Following secretion, glucagon travels to the liver, where it stimulates glycogenolysis. The glucose that is formed as a result of this process is secreted into the blood, thereby restoring blood glucose levels to normal.

DEAMINATION

DEAMINATION takes place primarily

in the liver, however glutamate is also deaminated in the kidneys. Deamination is the process by which amino acids are broken down if there is an excess of protein intake.

The amino group is removed from the amino acid and converted to ammonia. The rest of the amino acid is made up of mostly carbon and hydrogen, and is recycled or oxidized for energy.
Ammonia is toxic to the human system, and enzymes convert it to urea or uric acid in the urea cycle, which also takes place in the liver. Urea and uric acid can safely diffuse into the blood and then be excreted in urine.

DETOXIFICATION

DETOXIFICATION will allow the liver to detect and

dissolve toxins from a wide variety of sources with the help of enzymes. These detoxification enzymes are the catalysts that serve to transform toxins into recyclable substances that are eliminated in a process known as Phase I and Phase II detoxification.
In Phase I the liver distributes enzymes that break down toxins into intermediate forms to be eliminated. Phase II deals with the more dangerous toxins that were too stubborn to be eliminated in Phase 1. These toxins must be attached to protein molecules that serve to 'usher' them out of the body.

TRANSAMINATION

TRANSAMINATION reactions are readily

reversible, and the equilibrium constant is close to 1. One of the two substrate pairs is usually glutamate and its corresponding keto acid a-oxoglutarate. All transaminases require pyridoxal phosphate or pyridoxamine phosphate (both derived from vitamin b6) as an essential cofactor.

The substrates bind to the enzyme active centre one at a time, and the function of the pyridoxal phosphate is to act as a temporary store of amino groups until the next substrate comes along. In the process the pyridoxal phosphate is converted into pyridoxamine phosphate, and then back again. The pyridoxal form of the coenzyme condenses with the epsilon amino group of a lysine residue in the enzyme protein when no amino acid is bound, and the free aldehyde form of the coenzyme has only a transitory existence. Many of the enyzmes that metabolise amino acids require pyridoxal phosphate as a cofactor.

QUESTION 1(D) Why does drinking alcohol cause a person to urinate more?

Urination can be induced 20 minutes after a person consumes alcohol due to alcohol affecting the availability of ADH. The Anti-Diuretic Hormone(ADH) controls the permeability of the distal convuluted tubule and the collecting duct depending on the osmotic pressure of the body.

When alcohol is consumed, the release of ADH by the posterior pituitary gland is inhibited.

Thus,less water is reabsorbed by the body through the distal convuluted tubule and collecting duct. This causes more water to travel through the ureters to the bladder. The urine becomes more dilute as it contains more water than salt and other solutes. Hence, more urine is formes, causing the person to urinate more times than usual.

More water leaving the body affects all the concentrations of the ions in the body, negatively affecting many metabolic processes. Experimental results indicate that older people overcome this suppression of ADH more quickly than younger people do. So younger drinkers can lose more water in their urine than older people do.

Question (e)...

Explain how drinking distilled water results in the increase in volume of urine.

Our urine is made up of:

1 .0.05% Ammonia 2. 0.18% Sulphate 3. 0.12% Phosphate 4. 0.6% Chloride 5. 0. 01% Magnesium 6. 0.015% Calcium 7. 0.6% Potassium 8. 0.1% Sodium 9. 0.1% Creatanin 10. 0.03% Uric Acid 11. 2% Urea 95% water!!!

Urine is produced in order to: 1.Eliminate many of the cellular waste products

2. Control both the amount and the composition of the extracellular fluid in the body.
*Controlling the amount of water and chemicals in the body is essential to life, and our body does so by producing various amounts of urine so that we can either excrete the "extra" water and chemicals (mainly sodium) or conserve the water and chemicals when they are in short supply. *Therefore, the volume of urine that we excrete everyday is a reflection of how much extracellular fluid and sodium our bodies have to spare.

The kidney tubule regulation of the salt and water in our bodies is the most important factor in determining urine volume. Too much water and salt in our bodies is dangerous and too little water and salt in our bodies is dangerous. Therefore, the level of water and salts excreted in urine - the urine volume - is adjusted to the needs of the body. As a general rule, however, and under optimum conditions, the body produces urine at a rate of about 1 ml/min
In conclusion,drinking distilled water results in the increase in the volume of urine.

Another substance that increases the production of urine is...

A diuretic is a substance that acts to increase urine production. Sometimes when a person is feeling "bloated" (which often occurs when a woman is about to begin menstruation), it usually means that she is retaining water.

If the condition is extremely uncomfortable to the woman, a doctor may prescribe a diuretic to eliminate extra water and reduce the bloating.
An anti- diuretic, on the other hand, is a chemical that inhibits urine formation. ADH produces its anti-diuretic effect by acting on the kidneys and causing them to reduce the amount of water they excrete.

In this way, ADH is important in regulating the water concentration of body fluids, which ultimately helps to maintain an appropriate sodium concentration in the body. In fact, the sodium concentration in the extracellular fluid is the factor that either stimulates the pituitary to release ADH or to inhibit the release of ADH. This process operates as one of our "famous" negative feedback loops. Let's take a look at how this loop operates.

PRESENTED BY: SHARMILA GHOKULAGAYATHRI MUKUNDAN PRASHANA KANCHANA SHAEREEN