The concentration of potassium in human blood is extremely important for a huge array of functions that are vital to survival, and research has found that individuals whose potassium levels are regularly too high or too low have a higher mortality rate than individuals with normal levels. Given this finding, which feedback mechanism is most likely involved with potassium homeostasis

The ability that cells have to adapt to their environmental conditions is fundamental for their survival. In cell biology, negative feedback is considered to be the predominant feedback mechanism. Negative feedback occurs when the increase in the concentration of a particular molecule leads to its subsequent decrease (or the decrease of another molecule), therefore bringing the system to the initial state. Thus, negative feedback leads the output of the system (in this case, the cell) to be lessened in order to stabilize the system (i.e., previous homeostasis or equilibrium of the system). Potassium is the most abundant positive ion (proton) in any type of cell, being fundamental for many diverse cellular processes such as, for example, regulation of the cell volume and protein synthesis. Potassium homeostasis is controlled by a negative feedback loop in which participate proton transport proteins and a bicarbonate buffer system that serves to counteract low external potassium levels.