The Cellular Level of Organization

B- Assuming Joseph’s heart has stopped, what cellular processes and membrane functions are going to be affected by the loss of oxygen, blood glucose, and waste removal?
Since Joseph’s heart has stopped oxygen, glucose, and other essential ions that were required for the heart to pump slowed, but the cells continued working using the supply of ATP rapidly. The Carbon dioxide levels inside of the cell rose, and the pH began to drop. The mitochondria no longer had the required oxygen and glucose to make the essential ATP energy. Eventually the cell began to die. The active transport pumps shut down the plasma membranes of Joseph’s heart. The cells became leaky and sodium slowly began to leak into the cells; and potassium leaked out. As the chemical gradients diminished, Joseph’s heart convulsed in an uncontrolled spasm of arrhythmic electrical activity.
C- Which intracellular organelles have membranes as part of their structure? How would the breakdown of the membranes of these structures affect the function of Joseph’s heart cells? The intracellular organelles that have membranes as a part of their structure include; mitochondrion, the Golgi complex, and the endoplasmic reticulum. The mitochondrion is the site of aerobic cellular respiration reactions that produce most of the cell’s ATP. The entry face of the Golgi complex accepts proteins from the rough ER. The medial cisternae form glycoproteins, glycolipids, and lipoproteins. The exit face modifies the molecules further, then sorts and packages them for transport to their destination. In the endoplasmic reticulum the rough ER synthesizes glycoproteins and phospholipids that are transferred to cellular organelles. They are inserted into the plasma membrane or secreted during exocytosis. The smooth ER synthesizes fatty acids and steroids; it inactivates or detoxifies drugs; removes the phosphate group from glucose 6-phophate; and stores and releases calcium ions in muscle cells.

D- Two important pieces of information-the instructions Joseph’s body needs to repair itself and his predisposition for vascular disease-are both contained within the cell on which structures? The structures are the plasma membrane, proteasome, and the nucleus.

E- Joseph’s heart attack has caused the function of his cells to change. What types of proteins in the cell membrane were involved in the homeostatic imbalances of his heart cells? ATP affects the pumping into the membrane by opening ion channels, ATPases would affect it in the opposite way because of the lack of ATPases the ATP wouldn’t be taken away.
F- Why was reestablishing oxygen flow to Joseph’s body so important? What processes would be affected by lack of oxygen?
ATP is one of the roots of the body’s production and regulation. Cell mitosis would also be affected, along with homeostasis.
H- Explain why Joseph’s heart failed based on what you have learned so far about the function of cells in the human body. Joseph’s heart failed because he was a smoker with a history of hypertension. He had several risk factors including a family history of heart disease, hypertension, and poor diet. It has developed over time as the heart’s pumping action has grown slower. The stress and long hours he had went through at the time was the last straw.