Examples of Electrochemical Phenomena in Living Systems

There is now general agreement that the synthesis of ATP in the transducing membranes of mitochondria, chloroplasts, and bacteria is an 

MICHAEL N. BERRY, ANTHONY R. GRIVELL, and PATRICIA G. WALLACE 

Electrochemical phenomena are by no means confined to reactions involving the synthesis of ATP within transducing membranes. In recent years electrical changes within cells have been observed in processes as diverse as differentiation and exocrine secretion. It is now appreciated that so-called non-excitable cells respond to certain stimuli, often hormonal in nature, with a transient alteration in the polarity of their plasma membrane. This event invariably precedes any measurable chemical change. Indeed for both the catecholamines and for insulin a case has been made that an alteration of membrane polarity is an initial and essential step in their cellular action.  

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