NUTRTION 445
EXAM 3 - STUDY GUIDE
Know the different categories of lipids important in human nutrition.
Know the basic structures of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, triacylglycerol, cholesterol and
phospholipid. (Be able to recognize them if given a diagram).
What is the difference between cholesterol and a cholesterol ester?
Know fatty acid nomenclature (delta and omega system).
What 3 desaturases do humans have?
What are the primary saturated fatty acids that can increase CVD risk?
Know major polyunsaturated fatty acids and their main functions.
Know the essential fatty acids and the fatty acids that can be derived from essential fatty acids.
What are the dietary sources of SFA, MUFA and PUFA?
What are the main functions of cholesterol?
Know the 4 different kinds of phospholipids based on their base group.
What is the relationship between fatty acid content and membrane fluidity?
What is lecithin?
What is the function of the following phospholipases: PLA, PLA2, PLC or PLD?
Know the major apolipoproteins (A1, A2, A4, B100, B48, C2, E) and their functions.
Describe the role of the liver and adipose tissues in lipid metabolism
What lipid profiles are positively or negatively correlated with CVD?
What are the mechanisms by which saturated and unsaturated fatty acids influence CVD?
What are the mechanisms by which trans fatty acids impact CVD risk?
What are the mechanisms by which n3 fatty acids affect CVD?
Understand chylomicron and VLDL metabolism.
Understand LDL metabolism, LDL-receptor functioning and the fate of lipids that get internalized in
LDL particles.
Understand the formation and metabolism of HDL and reverse cholesterol transport.
What is cholesterol ester transport protein (CETP) and what does it do?
What is ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and what does it do?
What is Class B scavenger receptor B1 (SR-B1) and what does it do?
What is lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and what does it do? What apoplipoprotein
activates LCAT?
What is hepatic lipase and what does it do?
What is the LDL receptor-related protein (LRP) and what does it do?
What is HMG CoA reductase and what does it do?
What is acyl CoA: cholesteryl acyl transferase (ACAT) and what does it do?
How are fatty acids activated? And why is this important? Where does this occur in a cell?
Know the starting and end products of fatty acid metabolism and in what tissue this occurs.
Understand the process of beta-oxidation of fatty acids - what enzymes are involved, what tissues this
occurs in, and what mediators regulate the process.
What are acyl-CoA synthetase, CPT1, CPTII, carnitine-acyl carnitine translocase? where are they
located and what do they do?
What is ketosis? ketonemia? ketonuria? ketoacidosis?
Where are ketone bodies formed and from what precursor? Why are they important? And under what
physiologic conditions would you be making ketone bodies?
Understand the process of de novo lipogenesis - what enzymes are involved, what tissues this occurs
in, and what mediators regulate the process.
How can different dietary components affect lipogenesis? (For example: how can high simple
carbohydrate diet impact lipogenesis?)
What are the categories of eicosanoids? Understand the main pathways in eicosanoid metabolism and
their major physiological functions.
Understand the process of triacylglycerol and cholesterol synthesis – in what tissues does this occur?
and what mediators regulate these processes?
Know the feature of brown adipose tissue, and how it relates to thermogenesis
Know the therapeutic approaches to inhibit fat absorption.
Know the biochemical and metabolic impact of alcohol.
Understand the alcohol dehydrogenase pathway.
What is MEOS and why is this important in metabolism?
Things to know in more detail to answer short answer or essay type questions.
Understand the digestion and absorption of dietary triacylglycerol (know the important digestive
enzymes, tissues, products of digestion, how the products enter enterocytes, fate of different digestion
products).
Know the lipoproteins discussed in class (chylomicron, chylomicron remnant, VLDL, IDL, LDL,
HDL), and understand their function with respect to transportation of lipids. Know where they come
from (tissue or site of origin), what they transport, what apolipoproteins they contain, and what they
do with the lipids and proteins that they are carrying.
Understand the roles of immune cells, lipids and lipoproteins in atherosclerosis.
Describe the process of fat storage (triacylglycerol synthesis) AND mobilization (triacylglycerol
lipolysis) in adipose tissue – make sure to include the enzymes involved, where the enzymes are
located and what mediators regulate the process.
If you are given a fatty acid produced from de novo lipogenesis, you should know how to elongate and
desaturate it to other fatty acids. (For example, how can you make AA from linoleate?)
If I give you one example fatty acids, know ALL of the end products of one cycle of beta oxidation?
What are the biochemical and metabolic alterations that occur with excessive consumption of alcohol
or alcoholism? Be able to discuss acetaldehyde toxicity, the metabolic consequences of a shift in the
NAD+/NADH+ ratio, substrate competition and metabolic tolerance.
