Biology Chapter on Macromolecules and Pharmacology

Important Organic Molecules Used by Cells

• Monosaccharides: These include glucose and fructose.
• Nucleotides: These include ATP (adenosine triphosphate), AMP (adenosine monophosphate), and GTP (guanosine triphosphate).
• Fatty Acids: These are a type of lipid and include Oleic Acid and Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
• Amino Acids: Examples are glutamate (glutamic acid), tryptophan, serine, and threonine.

Biological Macromolecules

• Polymerization: A key feature of macromolecules; effectively assembles building blocks into large complex molecules.
• Monomer: Each building block unit is called a monomer; this action is called polymerization.
• Dimer, Trimer, etc.: Combinations of monomers; two units make a dimer, three units a trimer, four a tetramer, etc. Oligomers consist of few monomers, polymers have many.
• Functions of Building Blocks: Building block units can have independent biological functions, separate from their role in polymerization. Examples: ATP (energy currency), glucose (nutrient), glutamic acid (nutrient and neurotransmitter).

Examples of Monomers/Polymers

• Carbohydrates: Glucose forms polymers like amylose (starch) through polymerization.
• Nucleic Acids: AMP (adenosine monophosphate) forms polymers like RNA through polymerization.

Examples of Lipid Monomers/Polymers

• Lipids: The general categories of monomers (e.g., methylene group, fatty acid palmitic acid). These monomers make triglycerides and phospholipids.

Peptides and Proteins

• Peptides/Proteins: Formed by the polymerization of amino acids.
• Oligopeptides/Polypeptides: Short or long chains of amino acids.
• Structure: Amino acid structure includes an amino group, hydrogen, a carboxyl group, and a variable "R-group", which dictate the structure.
• Protein Structures: Polypeptides: primary sequence, secondary (alpha helix, pleated sheet), tertiary, and quaternary structures.

Protein Folding

• Complex Structures: Polypeptides fold to create the protein's complex structures.

Protein Multimerization

• Functional Units: Proteins combine to form larger, more complex, functional units (heterotetrameric pore-forming and regulatory subunits -for example, voltage-gated potassium channels).

Protein Domains

• Structural Complexity: Repeating structural features (domains) within proteins build further structural complexity (e.g., transmembrane domains in G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)).

Protein Versatility

• Diverse Functions: Protein chemistry produces a vast array of structures and therefore diverse functions (e.g., bradykinin, a peptide hormone, involved in blood pressure regulation).

Definitions

• Ligand: A molecule that forms a complex (binds to) a biomolecule.
• Biomolecule: A molecule generated by a living organism, examples are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids.
• Agonist: A ligand that causes a physiological response (external chemical signal) by binding to a receptor.
• Receptor: A biomolecule that initiates a physiological function when it forms a complex with an agonist.
• Antagonist: A ligand that interferes with or blocks agonist-mediated receptor activation of physiology

Pharmacology

• Definition: Experimental study of chemical control of physiology.
• Knowledge Gain: Pharmacology gains knowledge by precisely controlling physiological functions via precise exogenous application of chemicals.
• Lawful Relationship: Pharmacology defines the lawful functional relationship between the concentration of a chemical and its physiological response (the concentration-response or dose-response function).
• Basic Science & Applications: Pharmacology is crucial in understanding drug interactions and developing medical treatments (pharmacy, modern therapeutics, pharmacognosy, experimental therapeutics, drug discovery).
• Pharmacodynamics: A subfield of pharmacology focusing on drug/receptor interactions, and how the drug works in the body.
• Pharmacokinetics: The actions that occur in the body to the drug. This includes ADME, and how the body metabolizes, distributes and removes drugs.