In bacteria, the rate of protein synthesis is determined by the number of ribosomes [12]. Cells coordinate ribosome production with ATP availability [13] because translation is an energy-consuming process [14,15]. In other words, there is a connection between ATP, ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis.

Protein from your diet is broken down into individual amino acids which are reassembled by your ribosomes into proteins that your cells need. Ribosomes do not produce energy. When viewed through an electron microscope, free ribosomes appear as either clusters or single tiny dots floating freely in the cytoplasm.

mitochondrion

ATP and ADP are composed of three components known as adenine base, ribose sugar and phosphate groups. ATP is a high energy molecule which has three phosphate groups attached to a ribose sugar. ADP is a somewhat similar molecule composed of the same adenine and ribose sugar with only two phosphate molecules.

ATP Hydrolysis and Synthesis The reverse reaction combines ADP + Pi to regenerate ATP from ADP. Since ATP hydrolysis releases energy, ATP synthesis must require an input of free energy. The phosphorylation (or condensation of phosphate groups onto AMP) is an endergonic process.

In the blood vessel lumen, ATP concentration has been shown to increase during periods of hypoxia and ischaemia. The source of this luminal ATP has been suggested to arise from liberation from circulating erythrocytes10,50 as well as the endothelial cells that line the vessel lumen.

Since we only have a small amount of ATP in our body, we need to remake it from the spent product ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and phosphate using an enzyme complex, called ATP synthase, which is located in mitochondria. In this way, every molecule of ATP is recycled roughly 1300 times a day.

The archetypal member of the family, the ADP/ATP carrier, performs the vital role of transporting ADP into the mitochondrial matrix and ATP out of the mitochondrion to maintain high cytosolic ATP concentrations for energy-requiring reactions (Kunji et al., 2016).

In most animal cells, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a compound with high potential energy, works as the main carrier of chemical energy. Over a hundred ATP molecules are synthesized from the complete oxidation of one molecule of fatty acid, and almost forty ATP molecules result from amino acid and pyruvate oxidation.

ATP is how cells store energy. These storage molecules are produced in the mitochondria, tiny organelles found in eukaryotic cells sometimes called the “powerhouse” of the cell.

Karl Lohmann