extracellular

Examples of extracellular in the following topics:

• Extracellular Matrix of Animal Cells

  • Most animal cells release materials into the extracellular space.
  • Collectively, these materials are called the extracellular matrix .
  • Cells have protein receptors on the extracellular surfaces of their plasma membranes.
  • An example of the role of the extracellular matrix in cell communication can be seen in blood clotting.
  • The extracellular matrix consists of a network of proteins and carbohydrates.

• Fluid Compartments

  • Extracellular fluid (ECF) or extracellular fluid volume (ECFV) usually denotes all body fluid outside of cells .
  • The extracellular fluid also includes the transcellular fluid; making up only about 2.5% of the ECF.
  • The pH of extracellular fluid is tightly regulated by buffers and maintained around 7.4.
  • It is the intravascular fluid part of extracellular fluid (all body fluid outside of cells).
  • It is the smallest component of extracellular fluid, which also includes interstitial fluid and plasma.

• Extracellular Immune Avoidance

  • These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS).
  • Biofilm EPS, which is also referred to as slime, is a polymeric conglomeration generally composed of extracellular DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides.

• Exocytosis

  • Exocytosis is the process by which cells release particles from within the cell into the extracellular space.
  • Exocytosis' main purpose is to expel material from the cell into the extracellular fluid; this is the opposite of what occurs in endocytosis.
  • This fusion opens the membranous envelope on the exterior of the cell and the waste material is expelled into the extracellular space .
  • Some examples of cells releasing molecules via exocytosis include the secretion of proteins of the extracellular matrix and secretion of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft by synaptic vesicles.

• Invertebrate Digestive Systems

  • Invertebrates can be classified as those that use intracellular digestion and those with extracellular digestion.
  • The alimentary canal is a more advanced digestive system than a gastrovascular cavity and carries out extracellular digestion.
  • Because the food has been broken down exterior to the cells, this type of digestion is called extracellular digestion.
  • Most invertebrates use some form of extracellular digestion to break down their food.
  • Their food is broken down in their digestive tract (extracellular digestion), rather than inside their individual cells (intracellular digestion).

• Body Fluid Composition

  • The concentrations of the other ions in cytosol or intracellular fluid are quite different from those in extracellular fluid.
  • In contrast to extracellular fluid, cytosol has a high concentration of potassium ions and a low concentration of sodium ions.
  • The extracellular fluid is mainly cations and anions.
  • Describe the composition of intracellular and extracellular fluid in the body

• Adherens Junctions

  • These are transmembrane adhesion proteins, whose main portions are located in the extracellular space.
  • The extracellular part of one cell’s cadherin binds to the extracellular part of the adjacent cell’s cadherin in the space between the two cells. 
  • The extracellular portions of the cadherin molecules of adjacent cells are bonded together by calcium ions (or another protein in some cases). 

• Water Content in the Body

  • A significant percentage of the human body is water, which includes intracellular and extracellular fluids.
  • Body water is broken down into the two compartments: Intracellular fluid (2/3 of body water) and Extracellular fluid (1/3 of body water).
  • Extracellular fluid includes: plasma (1/5), interstitial fluid (4/5) and transcellular fluid (inside organs, such as the gastrointestinal, cerebrospinal, peritoneal, and ocular fluids).

• Tonicity

  • Tonicity describes how an extracellular solution can change the volume of a cell by affecting osmosis.
  • Three terms—hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic—are used to relate the osmolarity of a cell to the osmolarity of the extracellular fluid that contains the cells .
  • In a hypotonic situation, the extracellular fluid has lower osmolarity than the fluid inside the cell, and water enters the cell.
  • (In living systems, the point of reference is always the cytoplasm, so the prefix hypo- means that the extracellular fluid has a lower concentration of solutes, or a lower osmolarity, than the cell cytoplasm. ) It also means that the extracellular fluid has a higher concentration of water in the solution than does the cell.
  • In an isotonic solution, the extracellular fluid has the same osmolarity as the cell.

• Hemidesmosomes

  • Hemidesmosomes are asymmetrical and connect the basal face of the expressing cell to the extracellular matrix or to other cells.
  • While desmosomes link two cells together, hemidesmosomes attach one cell to the extracellular matrix.
  • The integrin might then attach to one of many multi-adhesive proteins such as laminin, resident within the extracellular matrix, thereby forming one of many potential adhesions between cell and matrix.
  • Thin, extracellular, electron-dense lines, parallel to the plasma membrane, subjacent to the outer plaque are visible in one third of HDs and are termed sub-basal dense plates (SBDPs).