Investigation (3)

                                                                       Cholera


                       During the last couple of class periods in my Cell and Molecular class, we have talked about various channels and pumps that are located on the lipid bilayer. It made me start to think about what might happen when something goes wrong with the membrane itself. I started to research about various malfunctions that can occur at the membrane. One that I came across was quite familiar to me but I did not fully understand the concept of what it does. Cholera is a disease that is caused by Vibrio cholerae. This bacteria produces a toxin that attaches to the cell membrane and activates cyclic AMP. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a type of chloride ion channel that pumps chloride ions out of cells. It is activated by the cyclic AMP. When there is a large amount of cyclic AMP, it triggers the channel to open and the channel stays open. This all occurs in the small intestines. Now, there is a lot of chloride ions in the lumen of the intestines. The sodium ions are attracted to them so they leave the cell as well. Now that there are many ions present in the lumen, the water leaves the cell through osmosis. The cells lose so much water that it causes an individual with this disease to feel dehydrated. The large amount of water in the lumen causes the individual to vomit or feel nauseous. This can be treated by oral rehydration solutions. This is just one type of disease that relates to cell but when we start to learn, we discover that there are many things we still do not know.




                                                                      Works Cited Page

http://bigpictureeducation.com/biology-behind-cholera