Transport Proteins

Transport protein regulate the flow of substance including nutrient into and out of the cell. Transport proteins may function by acting as carrier or they may provide protein lined passages through which water soluble materials of small molecular weight may diffuse.

Other transport proteins move about in the body fluids, carrying nutrients and other molecules form one organ to another. Those that carry in the lipoproteins are examples.

Special proteins also can carry fat soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins and minerals.

One of the important transport proteins is hemoglobin, the iron-containing protein of blood, transport oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body.

What is hemoglobin? Hemoglobin is the protein molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs.

More than 98% of the oxygen in the blood is bound to hemoglobin molecules.

The iron contained in hemoglobin is responsible for the red color of blood. Hemoglobin is composed of a protein component called ‘globin’ and a red pigment component called ‘heme.’

What mean low or high hemoglobin? Low hemoglobin is referred to as being anemic.

There are many reasons for anemia. Some of the more common reasons are loss of blood (traumatic injury, surgery, bleeding colon cancer), nutritional deficiency (iron, vitamin B12, folate acid), bone marrow problems (replacement of bone marrow by cancer, suppression by chemotherapy drugs, kidney failure), and abnormal hemoglobin (sickle cell anemia).

Minerals deficiencies or imbalance in zinc, copper, vitamin A, B complex, and C cam also lead to anemia in females because of their diets or because of impaired absorption.

Anemia also can occur from poor red blood cell production. Such as when certain nutritional factors are missing, of I the bone marrow ahs been poisoned.

While for higher than normal hemoglobin levels can be seen in people living at high altitudes and also smokers.

Dehydration produces false high hemoglobin which disappears when proper fluid balance is restored.

That’s how important of transport protein to our body while other proteins transport molecules across cell membranes.
Transport Proteins