Answer:
- To pump glucose up its concentration gradient, sodium is moving down its concentration gradient and the sodium forms an electrochemical gradient in this mechanism.
Explanation:
Glucose is transported into most cells against a large concentration gradient, meaning the amount of glucose inside the cell is different outside the cell. The carrier protein responsible for glucose transport has two attachment sites on its outer side, one for sodium and one for glucose.
A special property of the protein responsible for transport is the change in conformation that allows sodium to move inward only after a glucose molecule has been fixed. This mechanism occurs being regulated by the concentration of the two molecules itself, in this case, to increase glucose in the concentration gradient, sodium is decreasing and sodium forms an electrochemical gradient in this mechanism.