Editing Metabolism (section)

===Mineral and cofactors===
{{further||Bioinorganic chemistry}}
Inorganic elements play critical roles in metabolism; some are abundant (e.g. [[sodium]] and [[potassium]]) while others function at minute concentrations. About 99% of a human's body weight is made up of the elements [[carbon]], [[nitrogen]], [[calcium]], [[sodium]], [[chlorine]], [[potassium]], [[hydrogen]], [[phosphorus]], [[oxygen]] and [[sulfur]]. [[Organic compound]]s (proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) contain the majority of the carbon and nitrogen; most of the oxygen and hydrogen is present as water.<ref name="Heymsfield-1991">{{cite journal | vauthors = Heymsfield SB, Waki M, Kehayias J, Lichtman S, Dilmanian FA, Kamen Y, Wang J, Pierson RN | display-authors = 6 | title = Chemical and elemental analysis of humans in vivo using improved body composition models | journal = The American Journal of Physiology | volume = 261 | issue = 2 Pt 1 | pages = E190-8 | date = August 1991 | pmid = 1872381 | doi = 10.1152/ajpendo.1991.261.2.E190 }}</ref>

The abundant inorganic elements act as [[electrolyte]]s. The most important ions are [[sodium]], [[potassium]], [[calcium]], [[magnesium]], [[chloride]], [[phosphate]] and the organic ion [[bicarbonate]]. The maintenance of precise [[ion gradient]]s across [[cell membrane]]s maintains [[osmotic pressure]] and [[pH]].<ref>{{cite book | chapter = Electrolyte Balance | chapter-url = https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/26-3-electrolyte-balance/ | title = Anatomy and Physiology | publisher = OpenStax | access-date = 23 June 2020 | archive-date = 2 June 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200602222138/https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/26-3-electrolyte-balance/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> Ions are also critical for [[nerve]] and [[muscle]] function, as [[action potential]]s in these tissues are produced by the exchange of electrolytes between the [[extracellular fluid]] and the cell's fluid, the [[cytosol]].<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Lodish H, Berk A, Zipursky SL, Matsudaira P, Baltimore D, Darnell J |date=2000 |chapter=The Action Potential and Conduction of Electric Impulses |chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21668/ |title=Molecular Cell Biology |edition=4th |language=en |via=NCBI |access-date=23 June 2020 |archive-date=30 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530112637/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21668/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Electrolytes enter and leave cells through proteins in the cell membrane called [[ion channel]]s. For example, [[muscle contraction]] depends upon the movement of calcium, sodium and potassium through ion channels in the cell membrane and [[T-tubule]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dulhunty AF | title = Excitation-contraction coupling from the 1950s into the new millennium | journal = Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology & Physiology | volume = 33 | issue = 9 | pages = 763–72 | date = September 2006 | pmid = 16922804 | doi = 10.1111/j.1440-1681.2006.04441.x | s2cid = 37462321 }}</ref>

[[Transition metal]]s are usually present as [[trace element]]s in organisms, with [[zinc]] and [[iron]] being most abundant of those.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Torres-Romero JC, Alvarez-Sánchez ME, Fernández-Martín K, Alvarez-Sánchez LC, Arana-Argáez V, Ramírez-Camacho M, Lara-Riegos J | chapter=Zinc Efflux in Trichomonas vaginalis: In Silico Identification and Expression Analysis of CDF-Like Genes|date=2018| title =Quantitative Models for Microscopic to Macroscopic Biological Macromolecules and Tissues|pages=149–168| veditors = Olivares-Quiroz L, Resendis-Antonio O |place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-73975-5_8|isbn=978-3-319-73975-5 }}</ref> Metal cofactors are bound tightly to specific sites in proteins; although enzyme cofactors can be modified during catalysis, they always return to their original state by the end of the reaction catalyzed. Metal micronutrients are taken up into organisms by specific transporters and bind to storage proteins such as [[ferritin]] or [[metallothionein]] when not in use.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cousins RJ, Liuzzi JP, Lichten LA | title = Mammalian zinc transport, trafficking, and signals | journal = The Journal of Biological Chemistry | volume = 281 | issue = 34 | pages = 24085–9 | date = August 2006 | pmid = 16793761 | doi = 10.1074/jbc.R600011200 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dunn LL, Suryo Rahmanto Y, Richardson DR | title = Iron uptake and metabolism in the new millennium | journal = Trends in Cell Biology | volume = 17 | issue = 2 | pages = 93–100 | date = February 2007 | pmid = 17194590 | doi = 10.1016/j.tcb.2006.12.003 }}</ref>