Cell membrane consequences

The levels of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors are physiologically low in neonates. Absence of vitamin K impairs y-carboxylation, and the inactive precursors of factors II, VII, IX, and X accumulate in the plasma, unable to bind calcium and cell membranes. Consequently, the precursor levels may decline further, impairing coagulation and potentially leading to VKDB. 

While Davis and his colleagues illustrated the significance of soil metal speciation in risk assessment, Morrison et al. (1989) pointed out that the toxicity of metals is related to the forms in which they exist in the aqueous phase. This is because the interaction of metals with intracellular compartments is highly dependent on chemical speciation. Some species may be able to bind chemically with extracellular proteins and other biological molecules, some may adsorb onto cell walls, and others may diffuse through cell membranes. Consequently, toxicity is more related to the concentrations of metals in a particular species, than to the total concentrations. Geochemical modeling... 

A FIGURE 20-24 Cooperation of myosin and kinesin at the cell cortex. Microtubules approach the actin-rich cell membrane. Consequently, some cargoes are transported to the cell periphery by kinesin motor proteins on microtubules but complete the journey on microfilaments under the power of myosin motor proteins. 

We modified polyanionic polymers by use of a grafting reaction of hydrophobic groups onto the polymers. After an extensive evaluation for the affinity of the hy-drophobically modified (hydrophobized) polymers to cell membrane, the immuno-stimulating activity of polymers was investigated by in vitro or ex vivo experiments. Consequently, the increased biological activity was found in the hydrophobized polymer, indicating that... 

If a sample of red blood cells is added to pure water, osmosis carries water into the cells. This process would continue until the internal pressure of the cell was 6.9 atm higher than the pressure on the outside of the cell. However, 6.9 atm is much more than the cell membrane can tolerate. Consequently, red blood cells burst when immersed in pure water. 

The electricity-producing system of electric fishes is built as follows. A large number of flat cells (about 0.1 mm thick) are stacked like the flat unit cells connected in series in a battery. Each cell has two membranes facing each other. The membrane potentials of the two membranes compensate for each other. In a state of rest, no electrostatic potential difference can be noticed between the two sides of any cell or, consequently, between the ends of the stack. The ends of nerve cells come up to one of the membranes of each cell. When a nervous impulse is applied from outside, this membrane is excited, its membrane potential changes, and its permeability for ions also changes. Thus, the electrical symmetry of the cell is perturbed and a potential difference of about 0.1 V develops between the two sides. Since nervous impulses are applied simultaneously to one of the membranes in each cell, these small potential differences add up, and an appreciable voltage arises between the ends of the stack. 

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infection [41]. Some antibiotics act directly on cell membranes of micro-organisms, with consequent alteration of permeability and leakage of intracellular components. Antibiotics affect cell membranes and thus also the liquid membrane, with the possibility of change in oscillation. 

Mammalian intestinal absorption requires the presence of two receptors and two transporters, which is itself a unique feature. Specific transporters such as intrinsic factor, transcobalamin, and haptocorrin have been characterized,1113 as well as a number of receptors for passage across cell membranes. A number of biochemical studies on cell uptake1114 and receptors1115,1116 of cobala-mins have been reported. Genetic disorders that impair the synthesis, transport, or transmembrane passage of cobalamins and their consequences have been reviewed.1117,1118... 

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