+1 862 207 3288 Essay, Biology
Mitochondrial Uncouplers
Project description
2,4dinitrophenol is a chemical that was introduced as a weight-loss drug named 281 (pronounced two-weighty-one) in the 1930s. However, concerns about dangerous side-effects resulted in the banning of this drug from the market. Recently, 2,4dinitrophenol has reappeared on the internet as a weight loss supplement used by body builders and athletes.
Read the review of 2,4-dinitrophenol attached and answer the following questions:
1. Using your knowledge of the processes of cellular respiration, describe the effect of 2,4-dinitrophenol on oxidative phosphorylation. (2.5 points)
2. Why does disruption of oxidative phosphorylation by 2,4-dinitrophenol cause an increase in glycolysis? What alternative pathway is being triggered here and why? What other chemical would you expect to see build-up in the cytoplasm of these cells? (2.5 points)
3. Why does 2,4-dinitrophenol cause hyperthermia? (2.5 points)
The newspaper headline reads, A new born infant miraculously survives a cold night in a dumpster! Older infants frequently cant survive the cold. How is this possible? In addition to lots of white fat cells, newborn mammals also have brown fat cells in their chest and neck. Brown fat cells are thermogenic (thermo = heat, genic = generating). Unlike white fat cells, brown fat cells are rich in mitochondria. You are interested in understanding the mechanism of brown fat thermogenesis. You decide to investigate the proteins in brown and white fat mitochondria. You identify a single difference; brown fat cells have a membrane protein that is absent from white fat cells.
4. Based on what you have learned of the function of 2,4-dinitrophenol, propose a model for how this protein could allow brown fat mitochondria to be thermogenic. Be specific. (2.5 points)
