Membrane homeostasis

The major location of calcium in the body is in the skeleton, which contains more than 90% of the body calcium as phosphate and carbonate. Bone resorption and formation keeps this calcium in dynamic equilibrium with ionized and complexed calcium in blood, cellular fluids and membranes. Homeostasis is mainly regulated by the parathyroid hormone and vitamin D which lead to increased blood calcium levels, and by a thyroid hormone, calcitonin, which controls the plasma calcium concentration J5 Increasing the concentration of calcitonin decreases the blood calcium level, hence injections of calcitonin are used to treat severe hyperalcaemia arising from hyperparathyroidism, vitamin D intoxication or the injection of too high a level of parathyroid extract. High levels of calcitonin also decrease resorption of calcium from bone. Hypocalcaemia stimulates parathyroid activity, leading to increased release of calcium from bone, reduction in urinary excretion of calcium and increased absorption of calcium from the intestine. Urinary excretion of phosphate is enhanced. 

Bcl-2, the prototype family member, is found in perinuclear membranes, mitochondria, and endoplasmic reticulum (Korsmeyer et al., 1995). It has important functions in controlling both calcium and mitochondrial membrane homeostasis (Danial and Korsmeyer, 2004). 

Subbaiah PV, Sargis RM. Sphingomyelin a natural modulator of membrane homeostasis and inflammation. Med. Hypotheses 2001 572 135-138. 

Several changes in ion membrane homeostasis also occur from fatty acid and long chain acylcamitines (LCAC) accumulation or from the formation of lysophosphadyl-choline (LPC) and arachidonic acid (AA) due to phospholipid breakdown by lipases. In fact, fatty acids and AA favor activation of K+ outward current while LCAC and LPC favor inward over outward current, reviewed by Carmeliet.55... 

Ovide-Bordeaux, S., Bescond-Jacquet, A. and Grynberg, A. (2005) Cardiac mitochondrial alterations induced by insulin deficiency and hyperinsuhnaenria in rats targeting membrane homeostasis with trimetazidine. Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. 32,1061-1070. 

The steroid hormone 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 (calcitriol) slowly increases both intestinal calcium absorption and bone resorption, and is also stimulated through low calcium levels. In contrast, calcitonin rapidly inhibits osteoclast activity and thus decreases serum calcium levels. Calcitonin is secreted by the clear cells of the thyroid and inhibits osteoclast activity by increasing the intracellular cyclic AMP content via binding to a specific cell surface receptor, thus causing a contraction of the resorbing cell membrane. The biological relevance of calcitonin in human calcium homeostasis is not well established. 

DMD and BMD DMD and BMD are caused by the absence or deficiency of dystrophin a membrane-associated protein, resulting in increased Ca2+ concentration in muscle, loss of Ca2+ homeostasis, and inappropriate calpain activity36... 

K Channels belong to a class of membrane proteins that form highly K-selective pores in membranes. All known K Channels are composed of several (usually four) pore forming alpha subunits and auxiliary beta subunits. K Channels play an essential role in cellular excitability, being involved in repolarization of Action Potentials and setting the cell resting potential as well as contributing to potassium homeostasis. 

Because of their strategic localization, astrocytes play a crucial role in maintaining the extracellular ionic homeostasis, provide energetic metabolites to neurons and remove excess of neurotransmitter in schedule with synaptic activity. In addition, the strategic location of astrocytes allows them to carefully monitor and control the level of synaptic activity. Indeed, number of papers during the last 15 years have shown that cultured astrocytes can respond to a variety of neurotransmitters with a variety of different patterns of intracellular calcium increases (Verkhratsky et al. 1998). Later on, studies performed in intact tissue preparations (acute brain slices) further established that the plasma membrane receptors can sense external inputs (such as the spillover of neurotransmitters during intense synaptic activity) and transduce them as intracellular calcium elevations, mostly via release of calcium from internal stores (Dani et al. 1992 Murphy et al. 1993 Porter and McCarthy... 

Electrolytes are involved in many metabolic and homeostatic functions, including enzymatic and biochemical reactions, maintenance of cell membrane structure and function, neurotransmission, hormone function, muscle contraction, cardiovascular function, bone composition, and fluid homeostasis. The causes of electrolyte abnormalities in patients receiving PN may be multifactorial, including altered absorption and distribution excessive or inadequate intake altered hormonal, neurologic, and homeostatic mechanisms altered excretion via gastrointestinal and renal losses changes in fluid status and fluid shifts and medications. 

Figure 11 Schematic of mucosal membrane sodium-proton exchanger and chloride-bicarbonate exchanger responsible for pH homeostasis in enterocyte cytosol. Microclimate pH is maintained by mucosal slowing of proton diffusion away from the lumenal membrane.

Unsaturations of lipids play a key role in lipid homeostasis, where organisms adapt to temperature variations of the environment. Plants and animals maintain physiological functions by reversibly altering the composition and conformation of lipid molecules of the cell membrane. To achieve this, they extensively and elegantly use the unsaturations (double bonds) present in their side chains. This is the process by which cell membranes adjust their flexibility (fluidity) of the bilayer and adapt themselves to perturbations in temperature, pressure, and other variations in the natural environment [11-14]. They remain indispensable for the poikilothermism exhibited by fishes, invertebrates, and amphibians [15, 16]. Commercially,... 

Zhang, Y.-M. and Rock, C.O. (2008) Membrane lipid homeostasis in bacteria. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 6, 222-233. 

Phospholamban (PLB or PLN) is a single-pass, 52-residue integral membrane protein that regulates myocardial contractility by direct physical interaction with sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase (SERCA), a 110-kDa enzyme that maintains calcium homeostasis in the sarcoplasmic... 

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