Sodium-potassium Pump | Biology - Britannica

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External Websites

• Khan Academy - Sodium-potassium pump
• University of Kentucky - College of Arts and Sciences - The Identification of the Sodium Pump (PDF)
• PNAS - Biochemistry - Crystal structure of the sodium-potassium pump (Na+,K+-ATPase) with bound potassium and ouabain
• Nature - Nature Communications - Structural basis for gating mechanism of the human sodium-potassium pump
• National Center for Biotechnology Information - Physiology, Sodium Potassium Pump
• Biology LibreTexts - Sodium-Potassium Pump
• Frontiers - The sodium-potassium pump is an information processing element in brain computation
• CiteSeerX - Doubts About the Sodium-Potassium Pumpare Not Permissible in Modern Bioscience

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sodium-potassium pump, in cellular physiology, a protein that has been identified in many cells that maintains the internal concentration of potassium ions [K+] higher than that in the surrounding medium (blood, body fluid, water) and maintains the internal concentration of sodium ions [Na+] lower than that of the surrounding medium. The pump, which has adenosine-triphosphatase (ATPase) activity, traverses the cell membrane and is activated by external [K+] and internal [Na+]. This enzyme uses metabolic energy to transport (pump) Na+ outward and K+ inward. The resting potential of cells and related bioelectric phenomena such as the action potential depend on the steady state difference in concentrations of Na+ and K+ maintained by the pump. Other ion pumps, transporting different ions, have also been identified.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.