Amino-acid carbon
Amino-acid-specific transformations that connect carbon skeletons to central metabolism while preserving nitrogen handling as a separate question.
Amino-acid catabolism begins by redistributing or removing nitrogen, then channels the remaining carbon skeleton into a smaller set of metabolic entry points. Those products include pyruvate, acetyl-CoA, acetoacetate, 2-oxoglutarate, succinyl-CoA, fumarate and oxaloacetate.
Branched-chain amino acids share an initial transamination and oxidative-decarboxylation logic but then diverge into chain-specific reactions. Phenylalanine and tyrosine retain aromatic chemistry much longer, while tryptophan follows the chemically diverse kynurenine route.
The familiar labels glucogenic and ketogenic summarize possible carbon destinations; they do not specify a measured whole-body flux. Reaction-level detail is needed to see where cofactors, organelles and irreversible steps constrain each route.
Ideas to carry into the map
- Nitrogen handling precedes many carbon-skeleton routes.
- Several amino acids converge on a small set of central intermediates.
- Glucogenic and ketogenic labels summarize destinations, not flux.
Pathways in this field note
Mitochondrial catabolism of valine, leucine and isoleucine into acetyl-, acetoacetyl-, propionyl- and succinyl-linked products.
Interconversion of major amino-nitrogen carriers and their links to 2-oxoglutarate.
Hydroxylation and downstream cleavage chemistry connecting aromatic amino acids to fumarate and acetoacetate.
Kynurenine-pathway and related reactions that distribute tryptophan carbon and nitrogen among several products.
Source-linked human lysine catabolism.
Source-linked human histidine catabolism.
Source-linked human proline catabolism.
Source-linked human threonine catabolism.