Diffusion extracellular

As the discussion above implies, there are several different types of enzymatic attack on solid polymers. The simplest case in concept is attack on the polymer by a soluble, freely diffusing, extracellular enzyme which degrades the polymer to form water soluble, low molecular weight fragments that dissolve and diffuse through the aqueous environment until they are taken up by the microorganisms that produced and secreted the depolymerase enzyme. A more complex case is that in which the enzyme is associated with or bound to the outer wall or cell surface of the microorganism, which must attach itself to the polymer surface to permit the immobilized enzyme to seek out the section of the polymer... 

Active Transport. Maintenance of the appropriate concentrations of K" and Na" in the intra- and extracellular fluids involves active transport, ie, a process requiring energy (53). Sodium ion in the extracellular fluid (0.136—0.145 AfNa" ) diffuses passively and continuously into the intracellular fluid (<0.01 M Na" ) and must be removed. This sodium ion is pumped from the intracellular to the extracellular fluid, while K" is pumped from the extracellular (ca 0.004 M K" ) to the intracellular fluid (ca 0.14 M K" ) (53—55). The energy for these processes is provided by hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and requires the enzyme Na" -K" ATPase, a membrane-bound enzyme which is widely distributed in the body. In some cells, eg, brain and kidney, 60—70 wt % of the ATP is used to maintain the required Na" -K" distribution. 

AletabolicFunctions. The chlorides are essential in the homeostatic processes maintaining fluid volume, osmotic pressure, and acid—base equihbria (11). Most chloride is present in body fluids a Htde is in bone salts. Chloride is the principal anion accompanying Na" in the extracellular fluid. Less than 15 wt % of the CF is associated with K" in the intracellular fluid. Chloride passively and freely diffuses between intra- and extracellular fluids through the cell membrane. If chloride diffuses freely, but most CF remains in the extracellular fluid, it follows that there is some restriction on the diffusion of phosphate. As of this writing (ca 1994), the nature of this restriction has not been conclusively estabUshed. There may be a transport device (60), or cell membranes may not be very permeable to phosphate ions minimising the loss of HPO from intracellular fluid (61). 

Slime is a network of secreted strands (extracellular polymers) intermixed with bacteria, water, gases, and extraneous matter. Slime layers occlude surfaces—the biological mat tends to form on and stick to surfaces. Surface shielding is further accelerated by the gathering of dirt, silt, sand, and other materials into the layer. Slime layers produce a stagnant zone next to surfaces that retards convective oxygen transport and increases diffusion distances. These properties naturally promote oxygen concentration cell formation. 

Neurotransmitter Transporters. Figure 3 Dopamine turnover at a presynaptic nerve terminal, (a) Dopamine is produced by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). When secretory vesicles are filled, they join the releasable pool of vesicles at the presynaptic membrane. Upon exocytosis, the diffusion of released dopamine is limited by reuptake via DAT. (b) If DAT is inactive, dopamine spreads in the cerebrospinal fluid but cannot accumulate in secretory vesicles. This results in a compensatory increase of dopamine hydroxylase activity and a higher extracellular dopamine level mice with inactive DAT are hyperactive. 

Once released, transmitters are inactivated by diffusion into the neighbouring extracellular space, combined with one of two specific pathways either extracellular degradation by enzymes that face the extracellular space, or uptake into cells. 

The membranes of nerve cells contain well-studied ion channels that are responsible for the action potentials generated across the membrane. The activity of some of these channels is controlled by neurotransmitters hence, channel activity can be regulated. One ion can regulate the activity of the channel of another ion. For example, a decrease of Ca + concentration in the extracellular fluid increases membrane permeability and increases the diffusion of Na+. This depolarizes the membrane and triggers nerve discharge, which may explain the numbness, tinghng, and muscle cramps symptomatic of a low level of plasma Ca. ... 

Sykova E, Vargova L (2008) Extrasynaptic transmission and the diffusion parameters of the extracellular space. Neurochem Int 52 5-13... 

A pemB mutant showed a reduced growth on methylated oligogalacturonides as the sole carbon source, indicating the possible role of PemB in pectin catabolism. The action of extracellular pectinases on pectin may liberate small methylated oligogalacturonides that can enter by diffusion into the periplasm. PemB could demethylate these molecules in the periplasm or during their passage to periplasm. 

Masuda, A., Ushdia, K and Okamoto, T. (2005) New fluorescence correlation spectroscopy enabbng direct observation of spatiotemporal dependence of diffusion constants as an evidence of anomalous transport in extracellular matrices. Biophys.J., 88, 3584—3591. 

Neuritic or senile plaques are extracellular protein deposits of fibrils and amorphous aggregates of P-amyloid protein.11 This formed protein is central to the pathogenesis of AD. The P-amyloid protein is present in a non-toxic, soluble form in human brains. In AD, conformational changes occur that render it insoluble and cause it to deposit into amorphous diffuse plaques associated with dystrophic neuritis.14 Over time, these deposits become compacted into plaques and the P-amyloid protein becomes fibrillar and neurotoxic. Inflammation occurs secondary to clusters of astrocytes and microglia surrounding these plaques. 

The sterile peritoneal dialysis solutions are infused continuously into the abdominal cavity, bathing the peritoneum, and are then continuously withdrawn. The purpose of peritoneal dialysis is to remove toxic substances from the body or to aid and accelerate the excretion function normal to the kidneys. The process is employed to counteract some forms of drug or chemical toxicity as well as to treat acute renal insufficiency. Peritoneal dialysis solutions contain glucose and have an ionic content similar to normal extracellular fluid. Toxins and metabolites diffuse into the circulating dialysis... 

One of the key parameters for correlating molecular structure and chemical properties with bioavailability has been transcorneal flux or, alternatively, the corneal permeability coefficient. The epithelium has been modeled as a lipid barrier (possibly with a limited number of aqueous pores that, for this physical model, serve as the equivalent of the extracellular space in a more physiological description) and the stroma as an aqueous barrier (Fig. 11). The endothelium is very thin and porous compared with the epithelium [189] and often has been ignored in the analysis, although mathematically it can be included as part of the lipid barrier. Diffusion through bilayer membranes of various structures has been modeled for some time [202] and adapted to ophthalmic applications more recently [203,204]. For a series of molecules of similar size, it was shown that the permeability increases with octa-nol/water distribution (or partition) coefficient until a plateau is reached. Modeling of this type of data has led to the earlier statement that drugs need to be both... 

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