Pump Up the Potassium

The element potassium plays a pivotal role in our bodies. It’s found in all our cells, where it regulates their volume and pressure. To do this, our bodies carefully control potassium levels so that the concentration is about 30 times higher inside cells than outside. Potassium works closely with sodium, which regulates the extracellular fluid volume and has a higher concentration outside cells than inside. These concentration differences create an electrochemical gradient, or a membrane potential. Potassium is the primary regulator of the pressure and volume inside cells, and it’s important for nerve transmission, muscle contraction, and more. Credit: Compound Interest CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Click to enlarge. Pump Up the Pressure Structure of a human sodium/potassium ATPase, with the intracellular side open. Credit: PDB 8D3V. Special proteins called sodium-potassium ATPase transporters maintain the concentration balance between the inside and outside of the cell. These membrane-bound proteins use energy from ATP to pump sodium out of the cell and potassium in, creating the membrane potential that, in turn, allows potassium to regulate the volume and pressure of cells as well as transmit nerve cell impulses, contract muscle tissue, and maintain proper kidney and heart function. In fact, they’re so important to life that scientists estimate we spend about 20 to 40 percent of our resting energy maintaining membrane potentials through ATPase transporters! ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Molecular Structures Cellular Processes Element Proteins Source Type: blogs