Amino Acids

Question: amino acids? how can two protiens with the exact same number and type of amino acids have different primary structures?

Answer: Consider glycine (gly), alanine (ala), and valine (val). Four of the several possibilities are: Gly-Ala-Val Gly-Val-Ala Val-Ala-Gly Val-Gly-Ala But they're all different. Draw out the molecular structures and you'll see.

Question: Amino acids? Can someone please give me a summary comparing and contrasting the variety of amino acids with that of monosaccharides and fatty acids? Which group exhibits the greatest structural variability and why/how?

Answer: They truly all exhibit a great variety of structural variability. I think that your teacher wants you to say that amino acids give greatest variety, because there are 22 of them, and they can be combined in all combinations and permutations. Next, your teacher is cheating a little. S(he) specifies fatty acids, which are esterified with glycerol. But S(he) does not specify which fatty acids (there are many) nor does s(he) tell how many (there are several possibilities) are esterified with each glycerol. Next, your teacher cheats by specifying monosaccharides, like glucose, fructose, and galactose. This leaves out table sugar (glucose-fructose), milk sugar (glucose-galactose) and the kajillions of polysaccharides that coat the cell walls of bacteria that are recognized by antibodies in the immune system. It also leaves out the starch, glycogen, cellulose, cotton, linen, and wood that make up much else in the world.

Question: What role do amino acids play in reducing the body's sweat? The body has nutrients with specific functions and amino acids is one of them. Does taking amino acids and vitamins,s reduce profuse sweating, especially at night?Sports drink are said to replenish the liquid lost but some say they are not good for one's health? What can an individual do to reduce sweating and the amount of clothes changed frequently?

Answer: Hyperhidrosis can be caused by undiagnosed food intolerances or heavy metal poisoning. The two are not unrelated. It's interesting that you asked about amino acids, I tried those as well before finding the real cause. I had severe hyperhidrosis along with arhhythmia, migraines and muscle twitching. I went through all the regular treatments including robinul, klonopin, drysol, and finally ETS surgery. After 2-3 years the hyperhidrosis and Raynaud's syndrome began to return. My symptoms were caused by mercury toxicity from old fillings, which led to wheat and dairy intolerance (gluten and casein). After eliminating grains and dairy from my diet, the symptoms have gone away. I had all fillings replaced with composite material, and have been taking supplements for B vitamins, minerals (magnesium, zinc, etc.) and probiotics. If you search, there are several sources which mention hyperhidrosis as a symptom of mercury poisoning. This can be related to wheat and dairy intolerance because mercury inhibits DPP-IV, the main enzyme needed to digest these foods. Heavy metals don't show up on regular tests until it is provoked out of the body with a chelating agent. I wasted money on one blood test before finding another doctor who did a urine test properly. Sensitivity To Gluten May Result In Neurological Dysfunction; Gluten ataxia http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020424073708.htm http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=86 Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition "Sensitivity To Gluten May Result In Neurological Dysfunction" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020424073708.htm Gluten Sensitivity and Neurological Illness http://www.jpgn.org/pt/re/jpgn/fulltext.00005176-199700002-00004.htm;jsessionid=GKvXljGT1CpjQ61 QpwDT215JLGvyw6X1N1Tp1chnlTJKtPzR026r!-362743511!181195628!8091!-1 Advances in Clinical Neuroscience & Rehabilitation "Neurological associations of coeliac disease" http://www.acnr.co.uk/acnr%20july%20aug%202002.pdf (Hyperhidrosis is on page 24) Gluten In The Diet May Be The Cause Of Recurring Headaches http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/02/010213072604.htm Neurological Manifestations of Celiac Disease www.scielo.br/pdf/anp/v62n4/a07v62n4.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperhidrosis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning http://www.mercola.com/2004/aug/14/excessive_sweating.htm (Scroll about halfway down the page)

Question: What is the complete sequence of amino acids in this polypeptide? On complete hydrolysis a polypeptide gives 2 alanine, one leucine, one methionine, one phenylalanine and one valine residue. Partial hydrolysis gives the following fragments: Ala-P, Leu-Met, Val-Ala, Phe-Leu. It is known that the first amino acid in the sequence is V aline and the last one is Methionine. 1. What is the complete sequence of amino acids in the polypeptide? 2. If the first amino acid is alanine and the last one is also alanine, what is the complete sequence?

Answer: I suppose that the first dipeptide from partial hydrolysis is Ala-Phe. One problem is that you don't know yet whether Val-Ala is the same Ala as that in Ala-Phe, so leave that for a moment. You have Phe-Leu, so part of the sequence must be Ala-Phe-Leu. You have Leu-Met, so that makes it Ala-Phe-Leu-Met. So you go on until you build up the whole sequence of six.

Question: How are amino acids connected in a lab? I want to do a little science experiment and make my own complex molecules at home. Amino acids are readily available as vitamin supplements (all 20 of them). What I need to know is what chemicals to use to make chains with them. Any help is greatly appreciated. Also, if you didn't know, all amino acids have a carboxylic acid group and a primary amine group, if this helps with an answer.

Answer: the subject of protein synthesis is very extensive to dicuss in this forum. There are many chemicals used, like boc and fmoc, Sanger's reagent, etc. So, I strongly suggest reading any good biochem book or online resource. In any case, general method of synthesis requires the following general, non-exclusive steps. Bind the starting or chosen "left end amino acid" to a particular inert substrate. This leaves the other part of the amino acid to react. Then "deactivate' with a number of chemicals reagents, the N terminal of the amino acid. After the formation of the peptide bonds, the peptide is treated with another set of chemicals like TFA(triflouroacetic acid) to remove the "deactivators". It is worth mentioning that the synthesis is pH dependent. Also check in what form ( as chloride, tartrate, succinate, etc) the amino acids are in your vitamin bottle.

Question: Are all of the Amino acids found in some kind of food? If your vegetarian and you want Amino Acids? Are these Amino Acids the same as the general term "Protein" ? And when you buy bottles of Amino Acids, can you take these or find these in foods? Are some Amino Acids found in no foods? Are Amino Acids found in Plants as often as animal products, if you are vegetarian?

Answer: Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Of the 22 or so amino acids that your body needs to function, all but 8-10 are created by the body. The ones that are not are called essential amino acids and have to be gotten from the diet. ALL essential amino acids are provided by plant foods. The ONLY difference between animal proteins and plant proteins is the concept of completeness. Meat has all the essential amino acids in one food; plant foods are rarely* complete, so you have to eat a variety of them to get all your requirements. This is a moot point, though, because EVERYONE (meat eaters included) needs to be eating a variety of plant foods for all of their other nutritional requirements anyway. You do not need to buy bottles of amino acids and you do not need to take protein supplements; just eat a balanced, varied diet and get enough calories to meet your energy needs and you will have plenty of protein. It is never recommended to take individual amino acids unless you've been diagnosed with a deficiency. *Soybeans and quinoa are complete plant proteins.

Question: How many different kinds of amino acid sequences can you make if you have 10 amino acids in a chain? I need help. I forget the formula I need to convert this. So if there are to be 10 acids in a chain and there are 20 amino acids in the human body, how many combinations can one make? Please show formula and work. Thanks.

Answer: 20^10 or 10.24 trillion different peptides.10240000000000 combinations. Wobble effect doesn't play into this because you are starting with amino acids, not mRNA..

Question: What happens if the amino acids that are found in the interior of a protein? What happens if the amino acids that are found in the interior of a protein are forced to be exposed to the the surface of the protein? These interior protiens are hydrophobic amino acids.

Answer: If the protein is in an aqueous (polar) solution, the protein will automatically refold so that the hydrophobic amino acids are not in contact with the polar environment.

Question: What are amino acids and how are they created? Are amino acids just protein that hasn't been wound yet? Or are amino acids the RNA chains that are created in protein synthesis? How do they relate to the creation of proteins in protein synthesis?

Answer: Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. They band together in chains to form the stuff from which your life is born. Think of amino acids as Legos for your life. It's a two-step process: Amino acids get together and form peptides or polypeptides. It is from these groupings that proteins are made. And there's not just one kind of amino acid. total of 20 different kinds of amino acids form proteins. The kinds of amino acids determine the shape of the proteins formed. Commonly recognized amino acids include glutamine, glycine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and valine. Three of those — phenylalanine, tryptophan, and valine — are essential amino acids for humans; the others are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, and threonine. The essential amino acids cannot be synthesized by the body; instead, they must be ingested through food. One of the best-known essential amino acids is tryptophan, which performs several critical functions for people. Tryptophan helps induce normal sleep; helps reduce anxiety, depression, and artery spasm risk; and helps produce a stronger immune system. Tryptophan is perhaps most well-known for its role in producing serotonin, which is what gets all the press at Thanksgiving time for putting you to sleep after the big holiday feast. Amino acids make up 75% of the human body. They are essential to nearly every bodily function. Every chemical reaction that takes place in your body depends on amino acids and the proteins that they build. Essential fatty acids and amino acids are two different things. Fatty acids are the basic building blocks of fats (or lipids) while amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. The essential amino acids must be ingested every day. Failure to get enough of even one of the 10 essential amino acids can result in protein degradation. The human body simply does not store amino acids for later use, as it does with fats and starches. You can find amino acids many places in nature. In fact, more than 300 have been found in the natural world, from such diverse sources as microorganisms and meteorites.

Question: If a patient is given amino acids, what might this be for?What are amino acids made of? In the hospital if a patient is given amino acids through an IV what might this be for, and what are the amino acids synthesized from or procured from?

Answer: Like some of the other answerers I agree. Aminoacids are part of proteins and they are needed to produce them. Let's not forget that some aminoacids like glutamate and glycine are also neurotransmitters, and there are multiple examples of uses of the aminoacids per se (not as proteins or peptides) The number of types of aminoacids has relative value. There's some controversy as to how many of each the human body can produce. 20 is the number of aminoacids that are coded in DNA. There are almost 300 in nature and more than those 20 aminoacids within our body (derived from other aminoacids, like those in the urea cycle). In Harper's biochemistry there are 11 quoted as essential aminoacids (meaning we need to ingest them, because we can't produce them, or we produce very little, not enough according to our needs), but in different text they explain much more that some of them are required in different stages in our lives more than others. As one of the answerers said, the IV use of aminoacids could be to supplement a deficiency in diet or nutrition of the patient. Those aminoacids can be obtained artificially or from different organic products. It's not the best way to supply aminoacids, unless the patient can't ingest proper food.

Question: When a patient is given amino acids through IV in the hospital, which amino acids are in the solution? Is Cysteine or, n-acetyl l-cysteine one of them? && are there different sets of solutions of amino acids the hospital might administer to various patients on amino acids?

Answer: Interesting question! Yes, there are different solutions depending on what we are treating and why. The requirements vary overall for children as opposed to adults, and there are also specific amino acid solutions for people who have genetic issues with the ingestion of certain amino acids. There are ten amino acids that are generally considered to be "essential": Phenyalanine, histadine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, tryptophan, arginine, threonine and valine. Those would be necessary unless contraindicated for medical reasons. Children are also considered to require cysteine, glycine, glutamine, serine and tyrosine. N-acetyl-cysteine (a derivative of cysteine with an acetyl group attached to the nitrogen) is also used as an antidote for acetominophen poisoning. We wouldn't use that for nutrition. We also give it to kids with cystic fibrosis to help break up the phlegm in the lungs and respiratory tract. You can Google Aminosyn or Travasol if you want specifics on particular formularies; those are the two I'm familiar with. ETA: Just to clarify what the next poster said, cystic fibrosis is most commonly caused by a mutation that involves a three-nucleotide deletion on a particular gene (named the CFTR gene, for cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator). The job of any gene is to make a protein, in this case CFTR, which happens to be a chloride channel found in the lungs and the GI tract. Nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and there are four of them (guanine, adenosine, thymine and cytosine--G, A, T and C). In genetic terms, each amino acid that is added to a protein is coded for by a "word" made by three nucleotides on a gene. So if you delete those three nucleotides, you lose that one amino acid being added and in the case of CF, that makes that chloride channel not work properly and that causes the symptoms of CF, because part of its normal job is to make the secretions in the lungs more liquid and easily expelled. CF patients have very thick mucus that is difficult to cough out, which leads to lots of infections in the lungs. (This is HUGELY oversimplified, of course.) However--and I do have a point here, I promise--that has nothing at all to do with dietary phenylalanine and giving CF patients phenylalanine will not correct the problem. Phenyalanine will never be added to that protein in the correct position unless we come up with a way of doing it genetically (and we're trying). The fact that we give NAC to CF patients is just because it happens to act as an enzyme to help break down secretions in the lungs--it's incidental that it also happens to be an amino acid.

Question: How important are amino acids in weight lifting? I am looking to gain muscle mass and gain weight. I take supplements like whey, creatine and NO and i was just wondering how important amino acids are in order to acheive my goal of gaining weight and muscle mass. Basicly im wondering whether or not to buy amino acid capsules along and add them with the other supplements i take. Thanks

Answer: Exactly as stated before - Proteins are made of chains of amino acids. Our bodies break down foreign proteins into Amino Acids and use them to build the proteins that make up our lean body mass. So giving your body Amino Acids just takes out the breaking down step that your body has to do. What I would suggest is that you take Optimum Nutrition (ON) whey protein which has BCAA's (a type of amino acid) in its formula already as your whey supplement. I wouldn't worry about the capsules. Plus any stand alone Amino Acids taste horrible. BTW I love Gaspari Nutrition products, they have helped me yield significant gains. You should look them up. Super pump 250 + Size On

Question: When writing an amino acid sequence for a protein do you use the abbreviation of the amino acids or the codons? I have a project in which I have to create a hypothetical protein with 100 amino acids. I'm not sure how to write an amino acid sequence.

Answer: Amino acid sequence of a protein is written in the ONE letter code for each amino acid. For example, if you have a sequence like: Methionine Leucine Isoleucine Tryptophan Cysteine.... The sequence should be written in the following manner: MLIWC

Question: What amino acids are essential to most protein folds? Also, what amino acids are not essential to a significant number of protein folds?

Answer: > What amino acids are essential to most protein folds? Cysteine can form disulfide bonds, and thus dramatically constrain a protein's form. Proline makes a bend in a protein. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proline#Structural_properties

Question: What amino acids stay in the wort for the yeast to use? You know what, amino acids are needed by yeast just for normal health and stuff which ones are in the wort. So are the ones which are needed by yeast in the wort? Wort is a sweet solution made from steeping grain in hot water, washing it with fresh hot water, and collecting it. Later it is fermented by yeast.

Answer: Nineteen that I know of with eight being essential amino acids. I will list the essential AA only. Isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threinine, tryptophane, valine The benefit for use of a nutrient is a faster onset fermentation {reduced lag phase}, more vigorous fermentations and improved and reliable attenuation rates. You are right that yeast needs nitrogen in the form of amino acids (AA). The yeast will use AA for building strong membranes and helps it to reproduce (budding) at greater rates. Lipids (fats), in the form of sterols, are also critical to yeast’s outer cell wall. {This does NOT mean that beer contains fat.} The result is a better ferment and thus a better beer or wine. They will also help in enzymatic activity*. The enzymes produced by yeast are used for nutrient uptake once again aiding yeast health. The kicker for you big beer buffs is that good AA levels help yeast stand up to higher levels of alcohol. Go health yeast then helps it to produce higher level of alcohol [yeaA!]. Yeast nutrient delivers the AA via phosphate. Nutrient mixes in addition to AA’s should also contain an assortment of vitamins, minerals like zinc and trace elements. Yeast energizer may be a good choice in certain situations. The difference between yeast nutrient and yeast energizer is the nitrogen or AA source. With the nutrient the AA usually comes from one source while the energizer has many AA contributors. The nutrient should only be needed if making a high adjunct brew and sometimes with extract brews. Yeast nutrient is more commonly used in certain nutrient deficient wines. Keep in mind that many suppliers use the terms nutrient and energizer interchangeably so if your need for accuracy is high be sure to get clarity. The Technuical Fluff *Yeast produced enzymes also contribute to the clarity of beer and wine. DAP (Diammonium Phosphate, {NH4) 2HPO4.} - 1 g/L is about 258 mg/L free use N. ** Wine makers it is important to use a good yeast nutrient. Yeast Energizer contains yeast natual products/extracts in the form of proteins, B1 Vitamin (B’s), and di-ammonium phosphate. Each are AA sources.

Question: How do vegetarians get enough amino acids to build muscle? I'm trying to make sure that i get enough amino acids to build muscle after i work out, but i don't know which vegetarian foods have enough amino acids to do this. Any insights?

Answer: they eat nuts. it doesn't work on most people because i know a girl who was vegetarian but later turned vegan and from the lack of vitamins, she now has a blood disorder. she sings good, though.