Lecturio

Amino Acid Metabolism

Lecturio

Amino Acid Metabolism

Kevin Ahern, PhD

Instructor: Kevin Ahern, PhD

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Describe the synthesis and breakdown pathways of the major amino acid families

  • Explain nitrogen metabolism and the reactions of the urea cycle

  • Describe heme synthesis and iron homeostasis

  • Explain bilirubin metabolism and its relationship to jaundice

Details to know

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Recently updated!

September 2026

Assessments

41 assignments

Taught in English

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This course is part of the Biochemistry for Science & Health Careers Specialization
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There are 5 modules in this course

This module surveys how amino acids are classified and biosynthesized by family, from the glutamate and aspartate families to the aromatic and branched-chain amino acids, and covers the inborn errors of metabolism, such as PKU and homocystinuria, that arise when these pathways are disrupted.

What's included

12 videos1 reading13 assignments

This module covers how amino acid catabolism generates nitrogen waste, the step-by-step enzymology of the urea cycle that detoxifies it, the disorders that result when that cycle fails, and the biology of reactive nitrogen compounds such as nitrites and nitrosamines.

What's included

9 videos2 readings10 assignments

This module covers the structure and synthesis of heme, the porphyrias that arise from disrupted heme synthesis, and the molecular mechanisms, including IRE/IRE-BP regulation, that maintain iron homeostasis in the body.

What's included

5 videos1 reading6 assignments

This module examines how hemoglobin's structure and cooperative oxygen binding differ from myoglobin's, how factors such as the Bohr effect, 2,3-BPG, and carbon dioxide shift its oxygen affinity, and how hemoglobin variants affect oxygen transport.

What's included

7 videos1 reading8 assignments

This module traces bilirubin from its formation through heme breakdown, through hepatic conjugation, to its enterohepatic circulation and the clinical presentation of jaundice.

What's included

3 videos1 reading4 assignments

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Instructor

Kevin Ahern, PhD
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