Membrane potential origin

The ionic sites [tetrakis (p-chlorophenyl) borate. TpClPB ] work to reject counterions from being coextracted into the organic phase and are, therefore, requisite for the generation of analyte-ion activity (concentration)-dependent membrane potential changes. This molecular mechanism for the potential response process of ISEs was recently revealed experimentally by simultaneous measurements of laser-induced second-harmonic generation (SHG) and membrane potentials, in which it was found that the observed membrane potentials originate from the SHG-active surface-oriented charged chemical species of the order of a few molecular layers (Fig. 

ATP certainly fulfils the criteria for a NT. It is mostly synthesised by mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation using glucose taken up by the nerve terminal. Much of that ATP is, of course, required to help maintain Na+/K+ ATPase activity and the resting membrane potential as well as a Ca +ATPase, protein kinases and the vesicular binding and release of various NTs. But that leaves some for release as a NT. This has been shown in many peripheral tissues and organs with sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation as well as in brain slices, synaptosomes and from in vivo studies with microdialysis and the cortical cup. There is also evidence that in sympathetically innervated tissue some extracellular ATP originates from the activated postsynaptic cell. While most of the released ATP comes from vesicles containing other NTs, some... 

When the original compositions of the outer phases are different, the permselective membrane will prevent the complete leveling of these compositions. Some equilibrium component distribution between phases (a) and (p) will be established, and between points A and B a potential difference called the membrane potential (or transmembrane potential) (p will develop. This potential difference is determined by... 

Ordinarily, when the current pulse is over, the excess charges will be drained through the passive transport channels, and by operation of the sodium-potassium pumps the original values of membrane potential and of the concentration gradients will be reestablished. However, when in the case of depolarization the negative value of cp has dropped below a certain threshold value, which is about -50 mV, the picture changes drastically Excitation of the membrane occurs. When the current is turned off, the membrane potential not only fails to be restored but continues to... 

The membrane potential expressed by Eqs (6.1.3) and (6.1.4) is termed the Nernst membrane potential as it originates from the analogous ideas as the Nernst equation of the electrode potential (p. 165) and the equation of the Nernst potential at ITIES (Eq. (3.3.50)). 

A number of substances have been discovered in the last thirty years with a macrocyclic structure (i.e. with ten or more ring members), polar ring interior and non-polar exterior. These substances form complexes with univalent (sometimes divalent) cations, especially with alkali metal ions, with a stability that is very dependent on the individual ionic sort. They mediate transport of ions through the lipid membranes of cells and cell organelles, whence the origin of the term ion-carrier (ionophore). They ion-specifically uncouple oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria, which led to their discovery in the 1950s. This property is also connected with their antibiotic action. Furthermore, they produce a membrane potential on both thin lipid and thick membranes. 

The action potential generated in the ventricular muscle is very different from that originating in the SA node. The resting membrane potential is not only stable it is much more negative than that of the SA node. Second, the slope of the depolarization phase of the action potential is much steeper. Finally, there is a lengthy plateau phase of the action potential in which the muscle cells remain depolarized for approximately 300 msec. The physiological significance of this sustained depolarization is that it leads to sustained contraction (also about 300 msec), which facilitates ejection of blood. These disparities in the action potentials are explained by differences in ion channel activity in ventricular muscle compared to the SA node. 

Fig. 14.18 Cell potential at a current density of 350 mA cm 2 for a carbon-supported PtRu, a PtMo and a PtRu/PtMo bilayer anode. In the bilayer, PtRu is on the membrane side. (Originally published in C. J. M.

ATP is used not only to power muscle contraction, but also to re-establish the resting state of the cell. At the end of the contraction cycle, calcium must be transported back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum, a process which is ATP driven by an active pump mechanism. Additionally, an active sodium-potassium ATPase pump is required to reset the membrane potential by extruding sodium from the sarcoplasm after each wave of depolarization. When cytoplasmic Ca2- falls, tropomyosin takes up its original position on the actin and prevents myosin binding and the muscle relaxes. Once back in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, calcium binds with a protein called calsequestrin, where it remains until the muscle is again stimulated by a neural impulse leading to calcium release into the cytosol and the cycle repeats. 

Due to the presence of interactions, the apparent redox potential of a redox couple inside a polyelectrolyte film can differ from that of the isolated redox couple in solution (i.e. the standard formal redox potential) [121]. In other words, the free energy required to oxidize a mole of redox sites in the film differs from that needed in solution. One particular case is when these interations have an origin in the presence of immobile electrostatically charged groups in the polymer phase. Under such conditions, there is a potential difference between this phase and the solution (reference electrode in the electrolyte), knovm as the Donnan or membrane potential that contributes to the apparent potential of the redox couple. The presence of the Donnan potential in redox polyelectrolyte systems was demonstrated for the first time by Anson [24, 122]. Considering only this contribution to peak position, we can vwite ... 

Some of the main types of cellular regulation associated with rhythmic behavior are listed in Table III. Regulation of ion channels gives rise to the periodic variation of the membrane potential in nerve and cardiac cells [27, 28 for a recent review of neural rhythms see, for example, Ref. 29]. Regulation of enzyme activity is associated with metabolic oscillations, such as those that occur in glycolysis in yeast and muscle cells. Calcium oscillations originate... 

The electrical potential across a LB film of dioleoyl-lecithin deposited onto a fine-pore membrane, imposed between equimolar aqueous solutions of NaCl and KC1, was reported to exhibit rhythmic and sustained pulsing or oscillations of electrical potential between the two solutions. These oscillations were attributed to the change of permeability of Na+ and K+ ions across the membrane, which originated from the phase transition of lecithin. 

Faist M, Dietz V, Pierrot-Deseilligny E (1996) Modulation, probably presynaptic in origin, of monosynaptic la excitation during human gait. Exp Brain Res 109 441-9 Felmy F, Neher E, Schneggenburger R (2003) The timing of phasic transmitter release is Ca2+-dependent and lacks a direct influence of presynaptic membrane potential. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100 15200-5... 

The origin of the frequency dependent membrane capacitance is not well understood, although it is likely to be due to membrane proteins. However, there are a variety of proteinous components in the membrane and most of them are not directly related to ionic channels. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to physically separate the capacitance due to gating proteins from capacitances due to other proteins. However, if the frequency dependent capacitance is related to gate proteins, the capacitance must change with an increase or decrease in the membrane potential. It is known that ionic channels are not tightly closed at the resting state (membrane potential near -60 mV). 

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