Urea cycle (main aspects)

Urea cycle

- Type of metabolic pathway: anabolic, cyclic

- Main goal: production of urea from ammonium ion, bicarbonate and the amine group of aspartate

- Subcellular localization: mitochondria and cytosol

- Number of biochemical reactions: 4

- Energetic outcome (per cycle): -1 ATP (it is hydrolyzed to AMP, that means, 2 phosphate bonds are spent) and -2 ATP (spent in the reaction of synthesis of carbamoyl phosphate, the substrate of urea cycle)

- Final product (per ciclo): 1 urea