Membranes mike extra facts

Question 1

What happens when aquaporin-2 gene is mutated?

Answer 1

Diabetes insipidus caused, where kidney is unable to concentrate urine

Question 2

Where is patch clamp technique used?

Answer 2

To look at heart attacks in mice, and what happens to the polarisation of neurons in the brain when starved of oxygen

Question 3

How is membrane potential important to macrophages?

Answer 3

Determine state which macrophages exist in –> in response to damage membrane potential changes and they become activated
-30 mV regulatory wound healing state
-70 mV phagocytic activated stage
Scientists observed when lipopolysccharide ( component of bacterial cell wall) is added to macrophage, cell potential shifts and is measured by patch clamp

Question 4

GLUT 1 in cancer?

Answer 4

Some cancer cells take up lots of glucose, have shifted metabolism and rely a lot more on glyclolysis than oxidative phosphorylation like most body cells to obatin ATP; cells in tumour likely to be oxygen deprived and tumours grow very quickly (called the Warburg effect)
The Warburg effect means glucose transporters could be used as a biomarker eg GLUT 1
Drug that could inhibit GLUT 1 in these cells could kill cancer cells

Question 5

Ionophore extra facts?

Answer 5

Binds to ions and masks charge, allowing them to behave as if hydrophobic, lots of antibiotics are ionophores, causes loss of membrane potential, water enters cytoplasm with ions and cells pop
Scientists trying to use this targeted at cancer cells

Question 6

How can liposomes be exploited?

Answer 6

For drug targeting, homing peptide recognises surface protein on target cell, drug could be targeted very specifically for cancer cell