sodium-coupled transport The entry of a metabolite into a cell against a concentration gradient, where this entry is coupled to the movement of sodium across the cell membrane. Sodium readily enters cells because of the concentration of its ions outside the cell membrane which is high compared with that inside. It is thought that carriers exist that can bind to sodium, so exploiting this feature, and also to a metabolite (such as glucose), which is thereby carried across the membrane.

sodium-coupled transport The entry of a metabolite into a cell against a concentration gradient, where this entry is coupled to the movement of sodium across the membrane. Sodium readily enters cells because of the concentration of its ions outside the cell membrane which is high compared with that inside. It is thought that carriers exist that can bind to sodium, so exploiting this feature, and also to a metabolite (such as glucose), which is thereby carried across the membrane.