Potassium ions, nerve cells

In a neuron (a nerve cell), the concentration of K ions inside the cell is about 20 to 30 times as great as that outside. What potential difference between the inside and the outside of the cell would you expect to measure if the difference is due only to the imbalance of potassium ions ... 

Table 8 5 shows that each of the four common s-block ions is abundant not only in seawater but also in body fluids, where these ions play essential biochemical roles. Sodium is the most abundant cation in fluids that are outside of cells, and proper functioning of body cells requires that sodium concentrations be maintained within a narrow range. One of the main functions of the kidneys is to control the excretion of sodium. Whereas sodium cations are abundant in the fluids outside of cells, potassium cations are the most abundant ions in the fluids inside cells. The difference in ion concentration across cell walls is responsible for the generation of nerve impulses that drive muscle contraction. If the difference in potassium ion concentration across cell walls deteriorates, muscular activity, including the regular muscle contractions of the heart, can be seriously disrupted. 

Fig. 6.24 A hypothetic scheme of the time behaviour of the spike linked to the opening and closing of sodium and potassium channels. After longer time intervals a temporary hyperpolarization of the membrane is induced by reversed transport of potassium ions inside the nerve cell. Nernst potentials for Na+ and K+ are also indicated in the figure. 

An intracellular to extracellular difference in sodium and potassium ion concentrations is essential to the function of nerves, transport of important nutrients into the cell, and maintenance of proper cell volume. 

Fundamentally, the eel is simply a living battery. The tips of its head and tail represent the poles of the eel s battery . As much as 80 per cent of its body is an electric organ, made up of many thousands of small platelets, which are alternately super-abundant in potassium or sodium ions, in a similar manner to the potentials formed across axon membranes in nerve cells (see p. 339). In effect, the voltage comprises thousands of concentration cells, each cell contributing a potential of about 160 mV. It is probable that the overall eel potential is augmented with junction potentials between the mini-cells. 

Potassium, like sodium, is involved in ionic equilibria, and the opening and closing of sodium and potassium ion channels create the electrochemical gradients across cell membranes that transmit nerve impulses and other information and regulate cellular function. 

Cell membranes contain selective ion channels that are highly discriminatory for potassium ions, sodium ions, calcium ions, and the proton. For instance, the highly selective potassium channels of nerves show selectivity for ions as Li < Na K > Rb > Cs, and calcium channels show selectivity as Mg Ca > Sr > Ba. Ion selection operates on the basis of size and repulsion, not... 

Potassium channels are part of a complex system that helps maintain the normal ionic balance across the cell membrane. In excitable cells, like those in nerves and muscles, the channels also help reestablish the electrical difference between the inside and outside of the cells after excitation. In the case of neuron firing, potassium ions, and thus positive charge, builds up inside the... 

Neurotransmitters can either excite or inhibit the activity of a cell with which they are in contact. When an excitatory transmitter such as acetylcholine, or an inhibitory transmitter such as GABA, is released from a nerve terminal it diffuses across the synaptic cleft to the postsynaptic membrane, where it activates the receptor site. Some receptors, such as the nicotinic receptor, are directly linked to sodium ion channels, so that when acetylcholine stimulates the nicotinic receptor, the ion channel opens to allow an exchange of sodium and potassium ions across the nerve membrane. Such receptors are called ionotropic receptors. 

In simple terms, messages travel along neurons (nerve cells) in the form of an electrical current that moves from one end of the neuron to its opposite end. The electric current is produced by a flow of sodium ions (Na ") and potassium ions (K ) across the nerve membrane, as shown in the diagram on page 11. When the electrical current reaches the end of the neuron, it causes the release of a chemical known as a neurotransmitter. Some examples of neurotransmitters are acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), and norepinephrine. 

In a resting condition, there is a specific rest potential between the axoplasm and the inner parts of the cell. This rest potential is maintained by relative concentration of sodium and potassium ions along the membrane of the nerve. During nerve stimulation, the membrane is depolarized and sodium channels in that area are opened, allowing sodium ions to rush into the cell. At the peak of depolarization potassium channels are opened. The last ones leave the cell and the cell is repolarized. 

Sodium and potassium are not the only ions which can participate in pumps and channels. Calcium is also pumped, channeled, exhanged,and stored. See Figure 23. Calcium concentration within the cell cytoplasm is very low. This allows the calcium to play a pivotal role in cellular activity. The cytoplasmic protein calmodulin binds and stores calcium ion. Various intracellular structures and organelles such as the mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum also store calcium. Calcium is vital to such functions as the release of neurotransmitters from nerve cells. There are at least seven known modes of biochemical action for this ion, one of the most important of which involves stimulation of cardiac muscle protein (actin-myosin). Certain types of angina (heart pain) are believed to be caused by abnormal stimulation of cardiac arteries and muscle (coronary spasm) A relatively new class of drugs, known as the calcium channel blockers, has brought relief from pain and arrhythmias (irregular heart beats). 

Sixliultt ion acts in concert with other electrolytes, in particular K. to regulate the osmotic pressure and to maintain the appropriate water and pi I balance ot the body. Homeostatic control of these functions is accomplished by the lungs and kidneys inlereciing by way of the blood. Sodium is essential for glucose absorption and transport of other substances across cell membranes. It is also involved, as is KJ. ill transmitting nerve impulses and in muscle relaxation. Potassium ion acts as a catalyst in the intracellular fluid, in energy metabolism, and is required for carbohydrate and protein metabolism. 

We may now assemble the foregoing information into a molecular description of a few biological processes in which the interaction between water and metal ions plays an important role. First some problems related to signal transfer in nerve cells are discussed. This is followed by some comments on the mechanism operating at nerve synapses in which, in addition to the sodium and potassium ions, a specific transmitter substance and calcium ions take part. 

Sodium and potassium ions are vital to the normal functioning of the nerve cell. The ions are separated by the cell membrane with sodium on the outside and potassium on the inside of the resting cell. A model of the basic membrane, which in principle was built as a bilayer according to the well known Davson-Danielli-Robertson scheme but which... 

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