Question

A 58 year old man is taken to the emergency room after being poisoned with arsenic. Arsenic forms an inactivated complex with alpha-lipoid acid in PDH. As a result of this poisoning, how many ATP equivalents will the oxidation of glucose yield? (Assuming the glycerol phosphate shuttle?)

a. 1

b. 2.

c. 4

d. 5

e. 6

Answer 1

Answer is option d that is total 5 molecules of ATP generated from the oxidation of one molecules of glucose. Because as the arsenic forms an inactivated complex with alpha lipoid acid in PDH, it halts transfer of pyruvate to acetyl coA hence the next TCA cycle is halted, due to this only two molecules of ATP are generated in glycolysis, but as the glycerol phosphate shuttle it help to convert NADH molecules to ATP hence there are two molecules of NADH are generated and one molecules yields 1.5 ATP and hence two molecules of NADH yields 3 molecules of ATP , hence total 3+2=5 ATP molecules are formed.