Biochemistry 2280A Study Guide - Pentose Phosphate Pathway, Oxidative Phosphorylation, Blood Sugar

• School: Western University
• Department: Biochemistry
• Course: Biochemistry 2280A
• Professor: Christopher Brandl

Document Summary

By the end of this topic, you should be able to: Carbohydrates are an important source of energy and reducing power for the cell. In this topic we will consider the fates of glucose, an important monosaccharide, and more particularly its phosphorylated form, glucose-6-phosphate. Glucose is absorbed from the digestive tract and circulates in the blood, from which it can enter cells via glucose-specific transport proteins. These proteins move glucose passively (i. e. , without input of energy) across the membrane from the side of higher glucose concentration to the side of lower concentration. Inside the cell, glucose is converted to glucose 6-phosphate, which can be used in several different ways. Glucose is oxidized by glycolysis to provide energy to the cell (glycolysis is discussed later in this topic). When the available energy is sufficient to meet an animal"s needs, some glucose is stored as glycogen, a polysaccharide composed of glucose monomers (see topic 9).