Glycogenesis, Glycogenolysis and Gluconeogenesis - Essay Example

"Glycogenesis, Glycogenolysis and Gluconeogenesis" is a great example of a paper on metabolic problems
The reason why Pyruvate is situated at a crossroad of various metabolic processes in a human being is to act as a centre for modulating metabolic process that takes place in the human body. The central location of Pyruvate plays a significant role in ensuring that the reoxygenation takes place after and hypoxia adaptive process had occurred. Further, the location of Pyruvate at the crossroad of the metabolic process helps to protect DNA cells and from the destruction that could be brought about by metabolic process. This is because Pyruvate reduces the number of DNA breakdown, as it tends to ensure that DNA has been repaired. In addition, the location of pyruvate at the crossroad ensures that glutathione effects are reduced during hypoxia process. For a patient with a tumour, the location of Pyruvate at the centre might be important because it may help to inhibit the production of more cancerous tissues by regulating metabolic process (Denis, 2013).

Based on the diagram the type of cells or tissues where the particular pathway occurs can be observed. For example, Pyruvate may be utilized in the red blood cells to fuel mitochondria by converting acetyl to lactate. Further, it can be used in the skeletal muscles to make amino acids, also applied in the liver to produce glucose. Therefore, the location of Pyruvate at the crossroad is important for the human metabolic process to take place efficiently and effectively as discussed (Denis, 2013).

On the other hand, hormones contribute to the control of the metabolic process in numerous ways. For instance, insulin hormones control the metabolic process by regulating glucose absorption in numerous body tissues and skeletal muscles. It further stops the production of glucagon in order to prevent the utilization of fats as an energy source. The other hormone that contributes to the control of the metabolic process is leptin. The hormone reduces human appetite to take food by inducing some parts of the brain. Fats normally secrete this hormone (Denis, 2013).

The three metabolic process namely; Glycogenesis, glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis may be compared. Glycogenesis entails the process by which glucose molecules in the human body are converted into glycogen to enable its storage into the liver. This process involves two steps namely; synthesizing glucose to UDP while the second step entails catalyzing glucose produced. On the other hand, glycogenolysis is a process that takes place in the liver. This process entails the conversion of glycogen into glucose which intern leads to the release of energy into the human body. This process occurs when blood sugar levels are substantially low. In the above connection, gluconeogenesis is another metabolic pathway that takes place in the liver. The process that leads to the production of glucose from substrates such as lactase, pyruvate, glycerol, and amino acids (Stoker, 2013).

The significant differences between Glycogenesis and glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis are that Glycogenesis involves the production of glucose molecules while on the contrary, glycogenolysis is the process of breaking down glucose molecules. On the other hand, gluconeogenesis is a pathway that consists of 11 enzyme reactions that begin either in the cytoplasm or in the mitochondrion. Unlike the other two metabolic processes that occur only in the liver, gluconeogenesis takes place not only in the liver but also in the intestines and in the kidneys (Chatterjea & Shinde, 2012).