Ever wonder why we breath in and breath out!!!! Yeah I know you think I'm crazy asking this stupid question!! Yes my question seems stupid but actually it is not!! Recently I came across an interesting calculation about what if we would have purchased oxygen (O2) to breath in to survive!!! Just like we buy gasoline for our cars or cooking gas or electricity for daily needs, just in case if we would have purchased O2 for our daily needs, it would have costed 1 million US $ from birth to 65 years of age!!! Interesting is it!!! Fortunately we are getting it for free!! We owe much to Mother Nature!! Any how, I will get back to my today's topic.
From the time we took our first breath till the time we stop breathing we continue to consume O2. Do you know why we breath and where this O2 goes??!!! Let me explain. The O2 we inspire from atmosphere is carried from our lungs alveoli and delivered to billions and billions of cells in our body!! What these cells will do from this O2??
The O2 delivered will be used by these cells in what is known as "electron transport chain" which is located in the inner mitochondrial membrane of the cells which contain mitochondria. This means some of our cells do not contain mitochondria and do not run electron transport chain. Why most of our cells run electron transport chain in mitochondria?? This is because by running electron transport chain they synthesis what is known as "ATPs" in mitochondria. ATPs are "energy currency" in our body and our cells will trade ATPs for some of the process that they conduct. This is the reason why mitochondria in our cells are referred as "power house" of our cells.
Now who will deliver O2 from the lungs to the peripheral cells (to cells out side the lungs)? The transporter of this O2 from the lungs to the peripheral cells is "hemoglobin" which is present in red blood cells (RBC). Hemoglobin is a tetramer composed of four subunits (two alpha and two beta) and each subunit has one heme group and hence hemoglobin molecule has four heme groups. Each heme group in hemoglobin will bind to one O2 molecule and hence one hemoglobin molecule will bind four O2 molecules.
When our RBCs present in pulmonary vasculature (lung blood vessels), because lungs have higher partial pressure of O2 (PO2) hence O2 loads on to heme groups of hemoglobin. While loading of O2 on to hemoglobin, each subunits in hemoglobin will exhibit a phenomenon referred as "cooperativity"!! Means each subunit will help each other to load O2!!
The hemoglobin loaded with O2 will leave the lungs and run across the vasculature of the peripheral tissue where the PO2 is less and concentration of proton (H+) is more. This leads to unloading of O2 in the peripheral tissue and the O2 is taken up by the peripheral cells to run the electron transport chain to produce ATPs!!
Now imagine what will happen if hemoglobin stops bringing O2 from the lungs!!! The peripheral cells will not get O2 to run the electron transport chain to make ATPs. This lack of ATPs will make these cells to unable to trade some of these process which needs ATPs. Hence the cellular process will be affected and that ends the life of the cell as well as the human body!!!
I tried to explain the complicated process of O2 transport in our body in simple words. There is much molecular details for O2 transport and delivery to the peripheral tissues but at the end the result is what I have explained above.
For more details from me on oxygen transport function of hemoglobin and on electron transport chain you can visit my YouTube channel from the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/user/pmungli
You are most welcome to leave your thoughts, comments, questions or any other thing that you would like to express.
From the time we took our first breath till the time we stop breathing we continue to consume O2. Do you know why we breath and where this O2 goes??!!! Let me explain. The O2 we inspire from atmosphere is carried from our lungs alveoli and delivered to billions and billions of cells in our body!! What these cells will do from this O2??
The O2 delivered will be used by these cells in what is known as "electron transport chain" which is located in the inner mitochondrial membrane of the cells which contain mitochondria. This means some of our cells do not contain mitochondria and do not run electron transport chain. Why most of our cells run electron transport chain in mitochondria?? This is because by running electron transport chain they synthesis what is known as "ATPs" in mitochondria. ATPs are "energy currency" in our body and our cells will trade ATPs for some of the process that they conduct. This is the reason why mitochondria in our cells are referred as "power house" of our cells.
Now who will deliver O2 from the lungs to the peripheral cells (to cells out side the lungs)? The transporter of this O2 from the lungs to the peripheral cells is "hemoglobin" which is present in red blood cells (RBC). Hemoglobin is a tetramer composed of four subunits (two alpha and two beta) and each subunit has one heme group and hence hemoglobin molecule has four heme groups. Each heme group in hemoglobin will bind to one O2 molecule and hence one hemoglobin molecule will bind four O2 molecules.
When our RBCs present in pulmonary vasculature (lung blood vessels), because lungs have higher partial pressure of O2 (PO2) hence O2 loads on to heme groups of hemoglobin. While loading of O2 on to hemoglobin, each subunits in hemoglobin will exhibit a phenomenon referred as "cooperativity"!! Means each subunit will help each other to load O2!!
The hemoglobin loaded with O2 will leave the lungs and run across the vasculature of the peripheral tissue where the PO2 is less and concentration of proton (H+) is more. This leads to unloading of O2 in the peripheral tissue and the O2 is taken up by the peripheral cells to run the electron transport chain to produce ATPs!!
Now imagine what will happen if hemoglobin stops bringing O2 from the lungs!!! The peripheral cells will not get O2 to run the electron transport chain to make ATPs. This lack of ATPs will make these cells to unable to trade some of these process which needs ATPs. Hence the cellular process will be affected and that ends the life of the cell as well as the human body!!!
I tried to explain the complicated process of O2 transport in our body in simple words. There is much molecular details for O2 transport and delivery to the peripheral tissues but at the end the result is what I have explained above.
For more details from me on oxygen transport function of hemoglobin and on electron transport chain you can visit my YouTube channel from the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/user/pmungli
You are most welcome to leave your thoughts, comments, questions or any other thing that you would like to express.
2 comments:
Nice
nice explanation Prakash.
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