Chapter 10: ATP and the Source of Energy for Biological Work Performance
From ATP to work and why the adsorption of ATP, not its hydrolysis, characterizes its energetic function.
As always, this is not medical advice, and reading this does not form a client relationship with me - your health is your responsibility.
I am decreasing consults as we get closer to September. However, I started a Discord server. If you have health and wellness questions, etc., please consider joining - this would be the best way to support my work! Many have asked for my “thoughts” on things. The best place to start would be some of my older Substacks - especially the ones on supplementation (1 and 2). Also, please check out my IG story highlights.
Today’s Substack will continue with Chapter 10, ATP and the Source of Energy for Biological Work Performance. Chapter 9 was a continuation of Ling’s argument that if K+ is in the adsorbed state in living cells, this necessitates water is as well. He argued this using numerous experimental techniques and data, including freezing points, spectra, etc.
Summary:
This is a more concise chapter.
The high potential energy resting state of the living cell is maintained by macromolecular sites with ions, water, and cardinal adsorbents like ATP. Cellular work occurs when a cell or one of its parts is “triggered to drop to a lower energy state” - a phase transition if you will. “One way to do this is to remove ATP” (e.g., via hydrolysis - water molecules are used to cleave the phosphate bond, leading to the formation of ADP and inorganic phosphate). “Cyclic work performance [(e.g., muscle contractions)] requires reestablishment of the high-potential-energy resting state, and this often requires resynthesis of ATP” - why I focus on TCA and ETC. Where Ling differs from the mainstream view of ATP is - “it is the adsorption of ATP, not its hydrolysis, that characterizes its energetic function.” In upcoming chapters we will look at examples of biological work performance under his theory.
10.1. The General Question of the Energization of Biological Work
“The cell behaves like a reversible cyclic machine and performs work.”
A reversible cyclic machine, also known as a reversible engine or reversible heat engine, converts heat energy into mechanical work and vice versa (the reversible aspect). Cyclic because the system operates in a repeating cycle or sequence of operations. It typically involves converting or transferring energy from one form to another through a series of processes that eventually return the system to its initial state. During the forward operation, the reversible cyclic machine takes heat energy from a high-temperature reservoir, performs mechanical work, and rejects waste heat to a low-temperature reservoir. This is a typical heat engine operation, where heat is converted into work. The reversible cyclic machine can act as a heat pump or refrigerator during the reverse process. It takes in work from an external source and transfers heat energy from a low-temperature reservoir to a high-temperature reservoir. Cyclic cellular functions are seen with the Ca oscillations I always discuss, “repeated contraction of muscles, trains of action potentials, or steady solute transport across intestinal epithelium.” Action potentials are used during nerve impulses, muscle contraction, and secretion in endocrine and exocrine cells (all those with “hormonal, enzyme, etc. issues”)
“The ultimate source of energy for most living cells is solar radiant energy.”
Mini-rant: Many ask me about my thoughts on IR saunas and lights, UVB devices, light bulbs, etc. My primary issue with these things is most are using them in replace of sunlight. We have lived bathed in sunlight and moonlight for generations - there are some who argue Saturn was our original protosun. I would rather people spend the 20m outside in the sun instead of in their IR sauna, etc. Yes, we spend more time inside, and using these other things as tools can be helpful. However, this assumes they are following the solar diurnal rhythm - IR and visible light in the morning, adding on the UVA rise, then UVB, then the drop off in UVB, followed by UVA, and lastly, IR and vis. There is also some reason to follow a similar lunar monthly cycle - IR and vis. Like supplements, though, I would look at these things as tools vs. standard practice. You still receive immense benefits from being outside when it’s cloudy as light rays penetrate. Understandably, it gets cold, etc. In that case, I highly recommend external sources of warmth, and the most important thing seems to be the light rays entering one’s eyes - why removing contacts and glasses can be helpful (assuming you are safe to do so). DO NOT look at the sun - some do when only IR and vis are available. Your time outside can be great for getting steps in, fresh air, seeing nature/ green (incredibly helpful for the nervous system), etc. - I highly recommend oscillating through periods of focusing on the furthest away object and allowing your vision to go panoramic/ unfocused.
10.2. The Heat Engine Theory
A 1906 theory suggested heat produced via food combustion is what runs “the biological machine.” However, this idea was dropped given the high temperature “would denature and kill the cells.”
Exogenous heat sources are an essential tool when people are not feeling well. Given my history of rhabdo, I utilize hot baths whenever I have a cold coming on or am more stressed. The external heat source takes the load off my body by raising its temperature. Also, Pollack showed IR (heat) increases the water structure of the cell. This helps the body rid itself of what is causing the symptoms - this is assuming your excretion pathways are open, so some caution is needed. Caution is necessary if you aren’t pooping, urinating, breathing well, or sweating. Also, if you have POTs/ dysautonomia, hypotension, etc., caution is advised too.
I frequently utilize hand and foot baths - I discuss some of the reasons in my sleep substack - also clothing and foods that make me feel warm - hands, feet, cheeks, and mental ability being my biggest indicators, followed by body temperature.
10.3. The High-Energy Phosphate Bond Concept
The original understanding of ATP and creatine phosphate (CrP) was that “certain phosphate bonds contain an unusually large amount of energy and that by hydrolysis of these bonds this energy is tapped for biological work performance.” This became known as the “high-energy phosphate bond” denoted ~P. Rutman’s 1960 paper (“The High-Energy Phosphate Bond Concept”) elucidated the doubt that there is any difference between ~P and -P (low-energy phosphate bond).
This does not mean ATP does not play a role in biological work performance or phosphate group transfers. “In most living cells the main metabolic pathway utilizes phosphate groups” - e.g., P5P, R5P, TPP, etc. The lower a compound’s phosphate group transfer potential, the more energy ATP imparts. ADP can receive a phosphate to return to ATP when the standard free energy of hydrolysis is more negative. In hydrolysis, a chemical compound reacts with water, resulting in the cleavage of a covalent bond and the formation of new products. The standard free energy of hydrolysis quantifies the energy change associated with this reaction. A negative value of ΔG° indicates that the hydrolysis reaction is thermodynamically favorable, meaning that it releases free energy and is likely to occur spontaneously under standard conditions. Conversely, a positive value of ΔG° indicates that the hydrolysis reaction is thermodynamically unfavorable, and it would require an input of energy to proceed.
10.4. The Energy Source for Biological Work Performance According to the AI Hypothesis
The association-induction hypothesis for a living cell presupposes “that the living state is a temporary reprieve in the trend toward randomness and increasing entropy [(negentropy)]; second, that only the entire assembly of associated cellular components can be designated as being in a “high” or a “low” energy state; and third, that the coherence of the cell mirrors cooperative behavior resulting from short-range, nearest-neighbor interactions between macromolecular sites that adsorb ions and water.” High-level, adsorb means to accumulate.
“The resting state of the cell is a metastable, high-energy state.” Metastable means the dynamic system is in some intermediate state that is not at its lowest energy - here lowest energy would be death. See my first supplement Substack article for more discussion on equilibrium. “Among the key elements that help maintain this state are cardinal adsorbents that in small quantities control the properties of a large number of macromolecular sites in their interactions with ions, water, and other components. ATP is one of these cardinal adsorbents.” The high-energy potential energy is then used as “the immediate source of energy for biological work performance.” This potential energy is “transformed into work when a key ingredient, ATP, is removed or otherwise destroyed.” That means this high-energy resting state needs to be restored after a “single muscle contraction or a single nerve action potential.” The issue is many do not have sufficient micro- and macronutrients, sunlight, etc., to accomplish this.