Glucose equilibrium within a cell

[Splendiferous]

Glucose equilibrium within a cell

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Post by Splendiferous » Mon Dec 29, 2008 4:46 pm

Why doesn't glucose ever reach equilibrium between the cell and extracellular matrix?; glucose moleculse constantly diffuse into the cell along the concentration gradient, but something happens to counteract that so that the cell and the surroundings are never isotonic.
I'm pretty sure it's either because of the "rapid of glucose metabolism within the cell",
or
the "continuous intracellular formation of glucose-6-p"

for the first option, would you call the rate of glucose metabolism "rapid"?
and for the second option, would making glucose-6-p make it not "count" as glucose, so more glucose would diffuse into the cell? and is that formation "rapid and continuous"?

(other options I eliminated were: *the continuous excretion of glucose from other parts of the cell
*the active transport of glucose out of the cell)

Thanks in advance for your help!

[MrMistery]

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Post by MrMistery » Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:36 pm

it's both, but I guess the correct option is the formation of g-6-p, since that is also the first stage of glycolysis. and of course, the equilibrium of glucose and g-6-p do not influence one another

[canan5000]

Re: Glucose equilibrium within a cell

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Post by canan5000 » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:51 pm

You never want a isotonic equilibrium of glucose in the body because in all reality extracellular glucose is a poison an the quicker the body can produce insulin to stimulate GLUTs to uptake glucose the better. You say a poison, yes, the majority of bacteria do not possess the enzymes to digest g-6-p but they readily use glucose as an energy source. Also glucose increases the osmotic pressure of extracellular fluid dehydrating the body that's why diabetics drink so much water. With that said the most devastating of all glucose instabilities can be seen in diabetes glucose rains hell on the body if it is not properly dealt with in the end it will cause death.

[bradencrockett22]

Re: Glucose equilibrium within a cell

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Post by bradencrockett22 » Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:19 pm

you guys sound smart everyone on here does

[JackBean]

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Post by JackBean » Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:50 am

You were actually right, with the active transport, but it's into the cell
Also, Glc metabolism and formation of Glc-6-P is actually the same

It's similar like loading of the phloem, glucose is connected to fructose, what decreases the level of Glc in that cell, and it still goes in. In the next cell, the sucrose is connected to another sugar, so its level is again decreased and it again goes to the cell all the time. In the next cell, everything happens again and so it goes and goes again untill the phloem