Take two components of the cell from the list below, describe their cellular function and determine their metabolic processes (e.g. glycolysis, glycosylation, mRNA synthesis, fatty acid breakdown etc..).

Mitochondria: It is also called as the powerhouse of the cell, mitochondria is the part that provides enough of the energy that is important or necessary for the survival of cell along with its proper functioning. Through number of different chemical reactions, mitochondria help to break down the glucose into one of the energy molecules that is Adenosine Triphosphate ATP. This is further used to fuel many other different cellular processes.

Lysosome: Lysosome is the part that functions as the digestive system of the complete cell. It also serves in two different ways, to degrade all of the material that is taken up from any of the outside platform of the cell and then digest it into small components of the cell on its own. It breaks down those particles that are dangerous for the cell so digestion of foreign particles takes here.

Question #2 (10 pts): From Chapter 1 - What is free energy? Where do the components come from or mean in the standard free energy equation: G0 = -2.3RTlogKeq? The equilibrium constant of a reaction helps determine what in a reaction? What does a negative or positive G0 indicate and how is it related to Keq? What is added when G0’ is part of the equation? Most important of all, what happens in nonstandard physiological conditions?

Free energy is the term of physics or the physical chemistry, this term free energy simply refers to the certain amount of the internal energy for the thermodynamic system which is present to perform out the work at certain level. Gibbs free energy is also the energy that may be easily converted into the work in a complete system that remains at constant pressure and temperature as well. Positive or the negative GO indicates that in – sign it shows less of the energy while for the positive it shows more energy.

Question #3 (10 pts): From Chapter 2 – Take one part of the digestive tract (not esophagus) or a major accessory gland (liver or pancreas), describe its structure and makeup (diagrams are helpful), cell types that are important for digestion (excretions etc..) and what happens within this part of the digestive tract or the purpose of the accessory organ?

Pancreas is the part that almost 95% consists of the exocrine tissue which produces the pancreatic enzyme and this helps to digest the components easily in no time. Remaining part of the tissue consists of the endocrine cells which are being called as the islets of Langerhans. The clusters here completely seems like to be grapes and they also produce the hormones which helpsto regulate the blood sugar and then regulate the pancreatic solutions as well. (Cai, 2017)

 Image shows the complete structure of Pancreas.

The pancreas is the part that produces enzymes which have been discussed earlier, it also release bio-carbonate rich pancreatic juice and the n further delivers it to the small intestine with the help of ducts. Pancreatic juice helps to buffer all of the gastric juice in the chyme, inactivates the pepsin from the stomach and then further enables the optimal functioning of all the digestive enzymes in the small intestine of human body.

Question #4 (10 pts): Chapter 3 – Take one of the following grouped metabolic pathways: Glycolysis/Gluconeogenesis, Glycogenolysis/Glycogenesis or Oxidative Phosphorylation (TCA, ETC and ATP synthase) and describe if present the allosteric, covalent, and genetic regulation and any directional shifts in reversible reactions.

Glycolysis is a complete set of different reactions which metabolizes the one molecule of the glucose to further two different molecules of the pyruvate with the net production of two different molecules of ATP. Glucose can easily be synthesized by the process called as Gluconeogenesis by the help of lactic acid or even pyruvate as well. This process of Gluconeogenesis along with the glycolysis are being regulated in the reciprocal manner. When energy charge is much high, there is no need for the cell to produce any further amount of the ATP and then the glycolysis gets further turned off through the allosteric inhibition through the help of particular effectors. (Kornberg, 2018)

Question #5 (10 pts): Chapter 2 and 4 – Describe what happens to nonfermentable and fermentable fiber in the colon. What do the breakdown products produced from the fermentable fiber physiologically do within and outside of the colon?

Polysaccharides are the ones that can’t penetrate in the bacterial cells at all. They first get hydrolyzed in the form of monosaccharides through the membranous of extracellular enzymes which are being secreted by the bacteria. Colonic fermentation is considered to be one of the most effective and efficient process for digestion since as the starch has been degraded almost completely along with the lactose, alcohol sugars along with the fructans as well if intake of all such sugars is not much high.

Question # 6: Describe in detail the different effects insulin has on the metabolic and physiological processes within the body?

Insulin is the hormone that plays one major role on the metabolic system of the body. Insulin helps to regulate that how the body use and then stores the glucose along with the fat as well. There are different cells in the body that completely rely upon an insulin to take up the glucose from the blood in a body for the sake of energy. Physiological role of the insulin is that it helps out to control the level of glucose in blood through the signaling of liver along with the muscle and fat cells to take in the glucose from the blood. This is the other reason that insulin helps the cells to use glucose for the sake of energy. If the body has sufficient energy, insulin signals the liver to take up glucose and store it as glycogen 

References:

Cai, J. L. (2017). Improving deep pancreas segmentation in CT and MRI images via recurrent neural contextual learning and direct loss function.

Kornberg, M. D. (2018). Dimethyl fumarate targets GAPDH and aerobic glycolysis to modulate immunity. Science, . 449-453.