V is for Vesicle
A vesicle is something that is used to carry molecules through the body. Since the body consists of mostly water, these vesicles need to be hydrophilic on the outside, but most molecules in need of transport are hydrophobic, so the inside of the vesicle must be hydrophobic. This means that they can be made from phospholipids. Phospholipids have a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic body (and they look like sperm).
This is a picture of a liposome. It has a phospholipid bilayer to accommodate hydrophilic molecules.
Since there are so many molecules that need to be transported in the body there are many, many vesicles. The ones that I am most familiar with are those that carry neurotransmitters because that is what I am currently learning about in my psychopharmacology class. In our neurons we have vesicles that take our neurotransmitters to the presynaptic part of the nerve. Once the vesicles reach the destination they push the molecules through their membrane and out into the cytoplasm or cell body (wherever they are, really).
A vesicle is something that is used to carry molecules through the body. Since the body consists of mostly water, these vesicles need to be hydrophilic on the outside, but most molecules in need of transport are hydrophobic, so the inside of the vesicle must be hydrophobic. This means that they can be made from phospholipids. Phospholipids have a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic body (and they look like sperm).
This is a picture of a liposome. It has a phospholipid bilayer to accommodate hydrophilic molecules.
Since there are so many molecules that need to be transported in the body there are many, many vesicles. The ones that I am most familiar with are those that carry neurotransmitters because that is what I am currently learning about in my psychopharmacology class. In our neurons we have vesicles that take our neurotransmitters to the presynaptic part of the nerve. Once the vesicles reach the destination they push the molecules through their membrane and out into the cytoplasm or cell body (wherever they are, really).
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