Na+/K+ ATPase pump
The Na+/K+ ATPase pump is a pump found in the membrane of animal cell which uses the hydrolysis of ATP to pump 3Na+ out of the cell and 2K+ into the cell. It is a primary active transport and belongs to the family of P-type ATPases. It regulates the osmolarity of the cytosol by controlling the solute concentration inside the cell[1].The main function of the N+/K+ ATPase pump is to maintain resting potential so that the cells will be keeping in a state of a low concentration of sodium ions and high levels of potassium ions within the cell (intracellular).
The sodium-potassium pump is an antiporter transport protein[2]. This pump is responsible for the usage of almost 30% of the body's ATP, this is due to 1 molecule of ATP being hydrolysed as three molecules of Na+ are pumped out of the cell and two molecules of K+ are pumped into the cell[3]. The sodium-potassium pump is a very important protein in our cell membranes. The pump can be used to generate ATP when supplies are low by working in the opposite way[4]. The pump is also used to control the osmolarity of the cell, by pumping the Na+ out that have diffused into the cell down their high electrochemical gradient the cell can be kept at osmotic equilibrium[5]. The pump plays a large role in nerve cells and initiating action potentials. Action potentials could not occur without these cells. They initiate the first part of the depolarisation before the voltage-gated channels come into play. The sodium-potassium pumps also recover the axon to its resting state of -60mV after an action potential has passed.
