osmosensor activity

Definition

Target type: molecularfunction

Sensing extracellular osmolarity to initiate a change in cell activity, and spanning the membrane of the cell. [GOC:dph, GOC:tb]

Osmosensor activity is a molecular function that enables cells to sense and respond to changes in osmotic pressure, which is the pressure exerted by a solution due to the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane. Osmosensors are typically transmembrane proteins that detect changes in water potential, which is a measure of the free energy of water in a system. When the water potential outside the cell changes, the osmosensor protein undergoes a conformational change that triggers a signal transduction cascade leading to the activation of downstream effectors. These effectors may include genes involved in the regulation of water transport, solute transport, or cell growth. The molecular mechanism of osmosensor activity can vary depending on the specific osmosensor protein. However, most osmosensors share a common feature of being able to detect changes in the physical state of the cell membrane, such as changes in membrane fluidity or curvature. This allows them to sense changes in osmotic pressure and initiate appropriate responses to maintain cellular homeostasis. Examples of osmosensor proteins include mechanosensitive channels, which open and close in response to changes in membrane tension, and osmosensing kinases, which are activated by changes in osmotic pressure and phosphorylate downstream targets.'
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Proteins (1)

Compounds (9)