The Rate of Ion Flow into or Out of a Cell

Essay

The rate of ion flow into or out of a cell is affected by the number of ion channels present in the cell membrane and by the concentrations of small molecules that open and close the channels.Consider that there are signal transduction pathways that stimulate expression of ion channel proteins to increase the number of ion channels in the membrane, and there are signal transduction pathways that stimulate production of small molecules that open or close channels.Which of these signal transduction mechanisms would be most effective for responses that need to change rapidly, and which would be most effective for responses that need to change slowly, and why?