Cell Specificity To Environment

J

jrc

Registered Member
Hi, My name is John and this is my first thread on this Forum. Biology is not my strongest area of Knowledge and the more i learn about Physics, the less i seem to understand. Perhaps someone who understands can help me with this.

Q. Is Cell Specificity to environment, in any way 'Informed' by the environment that is external to that of the Organism?

In other words, is their some mechanism in our Biochemistry, DNA - RNA - Protein Synthesis etc, that takes in information about the immediate environment of the Organism.

Would be grateful for any thoughts on this.
 
yes. Cells are covered with receptor proteins (and also there are internal receptors) who respond to specific ligands that come from the environment. The environment can be the cells surrounding the cells. The tissue surrounding the cells, the entire organism. And they can respond to ligands coming from outside the organism.
 
Thank you Spurious. You're answer has helped to clarify my question. Perhaps i could expand the question a bit more.

Would you say that Higher Organisms, 'such as Humans', or for that matter any of the Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes, are the product of thousands of years of this information gathering process. - Evolution.

e.g, Is the environment around us responsible for Human physiology? In other words, dose the environment inform DNA - RNA - Protein Syntheses and so Cell Specificity and thus an Organism Physiology, Va the Chemical process involving Protein receptors.
 
How do the cells behave/effected by extracellular acidic/alkaline envirionment?
 
Kumar: generally, beyond a certain pH (in both directions) enzymes stop functioning and the cell will die. That is one effect of altering pH!
 
As John has pointed out, Beyond a certain Ph level toward acidity are alkalinity, denaturing occurs. This is one example of how a Cell may be effected by Environment.

But are the 'Precursor's' of Biological Specificity in some way able to 'detect', the nature of an Environment and dose this 'Inform' the syntheses process, - DNA, RNA, - Protein Specificity, or even in the combination of A, G, C, T and 'in which ever order', this may be, Vi the exchange of chemical information from the environment?
 
spuriousmonkey said:
Which cells?
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All cells which are exposed to body pH. I just want to know some few basic effects in case of acidosis/alkalosis.

John, that is bit extreme you have told. Do all type of cells including stem cells will also die on altering pH reasonably on both sides?
 
Most enzymes have pH optimums in the range of 6.5 to 7.5, but some have adaptations to the environment in which they function. pepsin has a pH optimum somewhere around 2.0 i believe? This is necessary for its role in the digestion of Proteins in the stomach.

trypsin functions best around pH 8.5, or so i read. Its involved in protein digestion in the alkaline environment in the small intestine.
 
Ahh that age old problem.. We easily place a boundary around concepts but is there really a boundary. Every thing, including cells, is entirely dependent on the entire universe for its survival. Most terrestrial cells need the sun for power. The sun could not exist without universe. Even the deep sea sulfa eating blobs rely on the energy trapped in radioactive isotopes from supernovas.

You can say that the cells, bacterial and viruses of humans are strongly reliant on political and social abstract functionality. A political swing of just a few percent can spell the doom of an entire species.

So to the question.
Q. Is Cell Specificity to environment, in any way 'Informed' by the environment that is external to that of the Organism?
Click to expand...

Yes.. A big Yes. It is the environment that is responsible for the organism.
 
Thank you Blindman, this is what my question related to. It is 1 part of a question that i will be submitting to the Physics thread, but needed a biological perspective beforehand.

All replies have been of help and i would be interested in any other perspectives on this question.
 
I put this question an another thread, But i think it is applicable to my question Re: Cell specificity to Environment, as a whole.

Q. If it turned out that 'Nature' and I use the word lightly, had been responsible for the (intelligent) design of the first Cell to display all the signs of life, would this be considered as (Creationism) and would Nature itself be seen as a God?

Ie. Contuse design by nature as apposed to random events?

Perhaps Blindman has some thoughts on this.
 
Kumar said:
Do all type of cells including stem cells will also die on altering pH reasonably on both sides?
Click to expand...

Like I said it does not matter what the cell is, it affects enzymes primarily which then affect cell functioning. So small pH changes indirectly affect cells (in a way). ALL cells depend on enzymes.
 
It means pH effects the enzymes & which effects the cells. Btw, does this pH change also effect hormones & other body secretions?
 
Kumar said:
It means pH effects the enzymes & which effects the cells. Btw, does this pH change also effect hormones & other body secretions?
Click to expand...

Im not sure if it does directly (when altered over a very small range) but it will affect the whole endocrine process anyway because it too relies on enzymes!
 
John, thanks. Actually I want to know that as enzymes are activated by optimul pH & tempreture-- Do the hormones (sau insulin) also activated by this kind of stimulation?
 
John, thanks. Do you know how this optimal pH is formed? Is there also a optimul temperature link with insulin?
 
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