Primary plasma-membrane

The primary plasma-membrane Ca2+ transporter (PMCA) is a P-type pump with high affinity for Ca2+ (Km = 100-200 nmol/1) but relatively low transport capacity [19]. The stoichiometry of PMCA is one Ca2+ transported for each ATP hydrolyzed. These pumps probably do not carry out bulk movements of Ca2+ but are most effective in maintaining very low concentrations of cytosolic Ca2+ in resting cells. A distinguishing characteristic of the PMCAs is that, in addition to binding Ca2+ as a substrate, they are further activated by binding... 

In this chapter, we have examined coupled transport systems that rely on ATP hydrolysis, on primary gradients of Na or Ff, and on phosphotransferase systems. Suppose you have just discovered an unusual strain of bacteria that transports rhamnose across its plasma membrane. Suggest experiments that would test whether it was linked to any of these other transport systems. 

The vesicular monoamine transporters (VMATs) were identified in a screen for genes that confer resistance to the parkinsonian neurotoxin MPP+ [2]. The resistance apparently results from sequestration of the toxin inside vesicles, away from its primary site of action in mitochondria. In addition to recognizing MPP+, the transporter s mediate the uptake of dopamine, ser otonin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine by neurons and endocrine cells. Structurally, the VMATs show no relationship to plasma membrane monoamine transporters. 

Fujikawa, S. Miura, K. (1986). Plasma membrane ultrastructural changes caused by mechanical stress in the formation of extracellular ice as a primary cause of slow freezing injury in fhiit-bodies of basidiomycetes (Lyophyllum ulmarium [Fr.J KOhner). Cryobiol. 23,371-382. 

Hypothermia slows down enzyme catalysis of enzymes in plasma membranes or organelle membranes, as well as enzymes floating around in the cytosol. The primary reason enzyme activity is decreased is related to the decrease in molecular motion by lowering the temperature as expressed in the Arrhenius relationship (k = where k is the rate constant of the reaction, Ea the activation energy,... 

One of the primary ways in which cold causes injury to cells is by the loss of the capability to regulate cellular volume. This occurs because of the decrease in the available energy (ATP) caused by hypothermia and ischemia which is needed by the membrane-bound ion pumps, the increased rate of leakage of ions through the plasma membrane, and the decreased activity of the membrane-bound ion pumps, especially the Na-pump. 

In suspension, plant cells are significantly larger than most microbial cells and are typically of the order of 10-100 pm in size. They vary in shape from cylindrical to spherical. The plasma membrane is surrounded by a primary cell wall which defines the cell size and shape. The robustness of plant cells, relative to mammalian cells or to plant protoplasts [18], is usually attributed to the pre-... 

Immunogold localization of the pectic epitope has been performed on different types of cells cell suspensions, roots, shoots, meristems, coleoptiles, pollen grains, protoplasts from different species carrot, sugar beet, tobacco, oat... The pattern of labeling was always the same polygalacturonic acid was essentially located on the material expanded at three-way junctions between cells or lining intercellular space, but was not found in primary walls. No epitope could be located close to the plasma membrane (Fig. lO.a). Middle lamellae far from junction zones and walls of meristematic cells were never labeled. 

The third mucosal layer is that lining the entire length of the small intestine and which represents a continuous sheet of epithelial cells. These epithelial cells (or enterocytes) are columnar in shape, and the luminal cell membrane, upon which the microvilli reside, is called the apical cell membrane. Opposite this membrane is the basal (or basolateral) plasma membrane, which is separated from the lamina propria by a basement membrane. A sketch of this cell is shown in Fig. 5. The primary function of the villi is absorption. 

Following the release of dopamine, the primary mode of removal from the synapse is reuptake into the presynaptic neuron via the dopamine transporter (DAT). DAT is dependent upon the energy created by the Na+/K+ pump and is a member of the Na+/Cl -dependent plasma membrane transporter family, as are the norepinephrine and 7-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporters. Imaging studies utilizing compounds with highly specific affinity for DAT... 

However, not all proteins proceed directly to their eventual destination. Some proteins relocate from one plasma membrane compartment to another by means of trans-cytosis. Transcytosis involves endocytosis of selected proteins in one membrane compartment, followed by subsequent transport through early endosomes to recycling endosomes and finally translocation to a different membrane compartment, for example from the apical to the basolateral surfaces. Sorting at the TGN and endo-some recycling steps appear to have a primary role in the steady state distribution of proteins in different plasma membrane domains [47], However, selective retention of proteins at the plasma membrane by scaffolding proteins or selective removal may also contribute to normal distributions. Finally, microtubule-motor regulatory mechanisms have been discovered that might explain the specific delivery of membrane proteins to discrete plasma membrane domains [48]. 

Injured axons may develop spontaneous and repetitive firing known as ectopic activity. Injured primary afferents develop spontaneous action potential discharges that occur uncoupled from receptor stimulation in the periphery (Fig. 57-5). These ectopic discharges can be evoked by protons, cytokines or mechanical stimulation of the injured nerve. Another source of ectopic activity are pacemaker currents produced in the plasma membrane... 

Fung and colleagues examined the metabolic conversion of organic nitrates in sub-cellular fractions of bovine coronary artery smooth muscle cells [66, 67]. They found NO-generating capacity to be present in membrane fractions and, with the use of marker enzymes, identified plasma membrane as the primary location. The enzyme involved in bioconversion was not glutathione-S-transferase [68] and differed from those that catalyse activation of organic nitrites [69]. Partial purification [70] established that the molecular sizes of the native enzyme and subunits were approximately 200 kDa and 58 kDa respectively, and that enzymic activity depends on the presence of a free thiol group. 

The plasmodesmata may be aggregated in primary pit fields or in the pit membranes between pit pahs. The plasmodesmata appear as narrow canals (2 pm) lined by a plasma membrane and are traversed by a des-motubule, a tubule of endoplasmic reticulum. The plasmodemata are dynamic altering their dimensions and are functionally diverse. For example, whereas some transport endogenous plant transcription factors, others transport numerous proteins from companion cells to enucleated sieve elements. 

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