Sodium-calcium exchanger Totally Explained

Everything about The Sodium-calcium Exchanger totally explained

The sodium-calcium exchanger (often denoted Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger, NCX, or exchange protein) is an antiporter membrane protein which removes calcium from cells. It uses the energy that's stored in the electrochemical gradient of sodium (Na⁺) by allowing Na⁺ to flow down its gradient across the plasma membrane in exchange for the countertransport of calcium ions (Ca²⁺). The NCX removes a single calcium ion in exchange for the import of three sodium ions. The exchanger exists in many different cell types and animal species. The NCX is considered one of the most important cellular mechanisms for removing Ca²⁺.

Function

The Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger doesn't bind very tightly to Ca²⁺ (has a low affinity), but it can transport the ions rapidly (has a high capacity), transporting up to five thousand Ca2+ ions per second. Therefore it requires large concentrations of Ca²⁺ to be effective, but is useful for ridding the cell of large amounts of Ca²⁺ in a short time, as is needed in a neuron after an action potential. Thus the exchanger also likely plays an important role in regaining the cell's normal calcium concentrations after an excitotoxic insult. Therefore the activities of the NCX and the PMCA complement each other.
The exchanger is involved in a variety of cell functions including the following: The NCX may operate in both forward and reverse directions simultaneously in different areas of the cell, depending on the combined effects of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ gradients. In 1969, a group led by PF Baker that was experimenting using squid axons published a finding that there existed a means of Na⁺ exit from cells other than the sodium-potassium pump.

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