Cardiac muscle cells need to generate significant amounts of ATP to allow for constant contractile activity.As a result, they primarily depend upon beta-oxidation of fatty acids, which has a higher energy yield than the catabolism of glucose.What would be the ATP yield for beta-oxidation of a hypothetical 10-carbon fatty acid?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The beta-oxidation of a 10-carbon fatty acid involves 4 cycles of beta-oxidation, producing 5 acetyl-CoA, 4 NADH, and 4 FADH2. Each acetyl-CoA enters the citric acid cycle, yielding 10 ATP per acetyl-CoA (5 x 10 = 50 ATP). The 4 NADH and 4 FADH2 from beta-oxidation yield an additional 14 ATP (4 x 2.5 + 4 x 1.5 = 14 ATP). The total ATP yield is 50 + 14 = 64 ATP, but accounting for the initial activation cost of 2 ATP, the net yield is 62 ATP.

Cardiac Muscle Cells Need to Generate Significant Amounts of ATP