Everything about The Cytosol totally explained
The
cytosol (
cf. cytoplasm, (often abbreviated ICF [intracellularfluid]) which also includes the
organelles) is the internal fluid of the
cell, and where a portion of cell
metabolism occurs.
Proteins within the cytosol play an important role in
signal transduction pathways and
glycolysis. They also act as intracellular
receptors and form part of the
ribosomes, enabling protein
synthesis.
In
prokaryotes, all chemical reactions take place in the cytosol. In
eukaryotes, the cytosol surrounds the cell
organelles; this is collectively called the
cytoplasm. In plants, the amount of cytosol can be reduced because of the large
tonoplast (central
vacuole) that takes up most of the cell interior volume. The portion of cytosol in the nucleus is called
nucleohyaloplasm.
The cytosol also surrounds the
cytoskeleton, which is made of fibrous proteins (for example,
microfilaments,
microtubules, and
intermediate filaments). In many organisms, the cytoskeleton maintains the shape of the cell, anchors organelles, and controls internal movement of structures (for example, transport
vesicles).
The cytosol appears to be composed of free-floating particles, but is highly organized on the molecular level. As the concentration of
soluble molecules increases within the cytosol, an
osmotic gradient builds up toward the outside of the cell. Water flows into the cell, making the cell bigger. To prevent the cell from bursting apart, molecular pumps in the
plasma membrane, the cytoskeleton, the tonoplast or the
cell wall (if present), are used to counteract the
osmotic pressure.
Cytosol consists mostly of water, dissolved ions, small molecules, and large water-soluble molecules (such as protein). Cytosol has a high concentration of K+ ions and a low concentration of Na+ ions.
Normal human cytosolic
pH is (roughly) 7.0 (for example, neutral), whereas the
pH of the
extracellular fluid is 7.4.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cytosol'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://cytosol.totallyexplained.com">Cytosol Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
