d) The free energy change (ΔG) of the catalyzed reaction is the same as for the uncatalyzed reaction.
Enzymes catalyze reactions by lowering their activation energy, and are not changed or consumed during the course of the reaction. While the activation energy is lowered, the free energy of the reaction, ΔG, remains unchanged in the presence of an enzyme. A reaction will continue to occur in the presence or absence of an enzyme; it simply runs slower without the enzyme, eliminating choice (A). Most physiological reactions are optimized at body temperature, 37 °C, eliminating choice (B). Finally, dehydrogenases catalyze oxidation-reduction reactions, not transfer reactions, eliminating choice (C). d) Enzyme phosphorylation and dephosphorylation.
A prolonged fast is characterized by an increase in glucagon, which accomplishes its cellular activity by phosphorylating and dephosphorylating metabolic enzymes. Glycogen storage, choice (B), is then halted, but this requires enzyme regulation by glucagon to occur. Later in the postabsorptive state, protein breakdown, choice (C), begins. Eventually, in starvation, ketone bodies, choice (A), are used by the brain for its main energy source.