Question

An investigator wants to understand whether a newly found membrane protein is involved in membrane transport of a certain particle. Which investigation will help determine whether the new membrane protein is a channel protein involved in membrane transport?

Answer 1

Complete Question:

Figure 1 shows a model of how a channel protein influences the movement of a particle across a cell's plasma membrane.

Figure 1. A section of a cell's plasma membrane, showing a channel protein and a concentration gradient across the membrane

An investigator wants to understand whether a newly found membrane protein is involved in membrane transport of a certain particle. Which investigation will help determine whether the new membrane protein is a channel protein involved in membrane transport?

(A) Add small non polar molecules to the extracellular space and measure the direction of particle movement of the molecules.

(B) Measure the rate of extracellular fluid movement into the intracellular space.

(C) Add more of the proteins to the plasma membrane and measure the rate of the particle movement.

(D) Remove ATP from the intracellular space and measure the rate of particle movement into the intracellular space.

Answer:

(C) Add more of the proteins to the plasma membrane and measure the rate of the particle movement.

Explanation:

Membrane proteins are proteins that play a very important part in the function of biological processes in the body.

Membrane proteins acts receptors for receiving signals in a membrane, channels through which ions can move freely and as a means off transport of molecules from one place to the other in living organisms.

Membrane proteins can be classified based on their structure as:

a. Integral membrane proteins

b. Peripheral membrane proteins

c. Lipid anchored proteins.

Membrane transport proteins or transport proteins are proteins that in used in the transportation of molecules (either big or small), ions, across the plasma membrane.

We have two types of transport proteins and they are :

a. Channel proteins

b. Carrier proteins

Channel proteins are protein that serve as a way in or means of transport through the plasma membrane and into the cell. Channel proteins are proteins that permit the movement of ions and molecules(small ones) into the cell using passive transportation and a process called facilitated diffusion.

Channel proteins very specific proteins which can only serve as a way in for a specific molecule. We various channel proteins in an organism. For example, we have a specific channel protein for water, we have one for sodium e.t.c. It is specific

In order to be able to determine if the new membrane protein is a channel protein involved in membrane transport we increase the number of the protein in the plasma membrane and then we monitor the rate at which the proteins diffuses or moves through the membrane.