Consider a Liver Cell Carrying Out the Oxidation of Glucose

question 47

Essay

Consider a liver cell carrying out the oxidation of glucose under aerobic conditions. Suppose that we added a very potent and specific inhibitor of the mitochondrial ATP synthase, completely inhibiting this enzyme. Indicate whether each of the following statements about the effect of this inhibitor is true or false; if false, explain in a sentence or two why it is false.
____ (a) ATP production in the cell will quickly drop to zero.
____ (b) The rate of glucose consumption by this cell will decrease sharply.
____ (c) The rate of oxygen consumption will increase.
____ (d) The citric acid cycle will speed up to compensate.
____ (e) The cell will switch to fatty acid oxidation as an alternative to glucose oxidation, and the inhibitor will therefore have no effect on ATP production.

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