The Plasma Membrane Na+ -K+ Pump Is an ATPase (sodium-potasium pump)

This carrier protein actively pumps Na+ out of and K+ into a cell against their electrochemical
gradients. For every molecule of ATP hydrolyzed inside the cell, three Na+ are pumped out and two K+
are pumped in.
A model of the pumping cycle of the Na+ -K+pump.
In the real pump there are thought to be three Na+ - and two K+ -binding sites.
(1) The pump binds of three intracellular Na+ ions.
(2) ATP is hydrolyzed, leading to phosphorylation of the pump, and subsequent release of ADP induce
the protein to undergo a conformational change
(3) The conformational change in the pump transfers the three Na+ across the membrane and releases it
on the outside. The phosphorylated form of the pump has a low affinity for Na+ ions, so they are
released
(4) Then, the pump binds on two K+ on the extracellular surface and this causes the dephosphorylation
of the pump, reverting it to its previous conformational state, transporting the two K+ ions into the cell
(5) The return of the protein to its original conformation, transfers the two K+ across the membrane and
releases it into the cytosol.
6) The unphosphorylated form of the pump has a higher affinity for Na+ ions than K+ ions, so the two
bound K+ ions are released. ATP binds, and the process starts again.

Importance of active transport:

used to establish and maintain gradients i.e., to create differential between intra- and
extracellular concentrations of transported components
play a role in osmotic balance of cells
ion gradients are ultimately responsible for electrical polarity of membranes
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANNEL PROTEINS
Channel proteins form transmembrane aqueous pores that allow the passive movement of small watersoluble molecules into or put of the cell or organelle. A few channel proteins form relatively large
pores, for example gap junctions between two adjacent cells, and the porins that form channels in the
outer membrane of mitochondria. But such large channels would lead to disastrous leaks if they are not
regulated.
Most of the channel proteins of animal and plant cell membranes:

are ion channels, concerned exclusively with the transport of inorganic ions, mainly Na +, K+,
Ca2+, Cl- .
differ from each other according to the purposes they carry
have narrow, highly selective pores: specificity based on size and charge.

function is to allow for rapid diffusion of specific ions across the lipid bilayer of membranes.

Direction of transport is down electrochemical gradient - passive transport only.

EXAMPLES OF ION CHANNELS
(1) ion selectivity the type of ions they allow to pass,
and
(2) gating the condition that influence their opening and closing.
leakage (ion) channel = nongated (ion) channel
unregulated; open at all times
gated (ion) channel
regulated; only open when appropriate
signal is r eceived
leakage (ion) channel = nongated (ion) channel - an ion channel which is always open and permits
the diffusion of one or more ions in the direction which is in accord with their concentration and
charge gradients.
gated (ion) channel - an ion channel which opens and closes in response to some stimulus.
Four types of gated channels: voltage gated, chemically gated, mechanically gated, light-gated.
Voltage-gated: which opens and closes in response to a stimulus which is a change in membrane
potential (voltage) [i.e., a change in local membrane charge from negative to positive or vice versa].
Ligand-gated, chemically-gated: which opens and closes in response to a stimulus which is the
arrival and binding of a specific ligand or signal molecule (hormone, neurotransmitter, local hormone);
Stress-activated, mechanically-gated: which opens and closes in response to a stimulus which is a
mechanical pressure or vibration;
Light-gated: which opens in response to a stimulus which is the arrival of a photon of light energy; (a
photoreceptor sensory cells, rods and cones responding to light in the retina of the eye).
Vesicular transport
Many of cells biochemical reactions take place in membrane-enclosed compartments, called
organelles. Although molecules can be produced in one organelle of a cell, they are often destined to
reside within other organelles, or to be released outside the cell. Vesicles are tiny, bubble-like
membrane-enclosed structures called sacs that transport large molecules such as polypeptides,
polysaccharides, polynucleotides that cannot pass through a membrane by diffusion or by using protein
channels or carrier proteins. There are two basic types of vesicular transport - endocytosis and
exocytosis.
4. Endocytosis : Endocytosis is the process in which cells absorb molecules by engulfing them. The
plasma membrane creates a small deformation inward, called an invagination, in which the substance
to be transported is captured. The deformation then pinches off from the membrane on the inside of the
cell, creating a vesicle containing the captured substance. Endocytosis requires energy and is a form of
active transport.
Endocytosis pathways subdivided into three categories: receptor mediated endocytosis, phagocytosis
and pinocytosis.
1) receptor-mediated or clathrin-mediated endocytosis.

Vesicles that bud from membranes usually have a distinctive protein coat on their cytosolic surface and
are called coated vesicles. The best studied are clathrin-coated vesicles. They bud:
a) from the Golgi aparatus on the outward secretory pathway,
b) from the plasma membrane on the inward endocytic pathway.
Clatrin molecules assemble into basketlike network on the cytosolic surface of the membrane, and this
process starts shaping the membrane into vesicle. The protein called adaptin helps to capture the
clathrin molecules and to bind the coat to the vesicle membrane and help select cargo molecules for
transport. A small protein dynamin assembles as a ring around the neck of each deeply invaginated
coated pit and pinches off the vesicle from membrane. After budding is complete, the coat proteins are
removed and the naked vesicle can fuse with its target membrane.
2) phagocytosis
It is the process by which cells bind and internalize the matter much larger, such as dust particle, cell
debris, microorganisms and even apoptotic cells. Examples of phagocytosis are free living amoebas,
the single-celled organisms, which capture food by stretching out pseudopodia and encircle any food
they find in their paths thus forming digestive vacuoles. Leucocytes in the human body often
phagocytose protozoa, bacteria, dead cell, and similar materials in order to help stave off infections or
other problems.
3) pinocytosis
By means of pinocytosis, a cell is able to ingest droplets of liquid from the extracellular fluid. All
solutes found in the droplets outside of the cell may become encased (supakuotos) in the vesicles
formed via this process. Pinocytic vesicles tend to be smaller than vesicles produced by other
endocytic processes.
5. Exocytosis : The exocytosis process is the opposite of endocytosis, during which a cell directs the
contents of secretory vesicles out of the cell membrane to the extracellular environment. Exocytosis
occurs in various cells to remove undigested residues of substances brought in by endocytosis, to
secrete substances such as hormones and enzymes, and to transport a substance completely across a
cellular barrier. The vesicle membrane comes in contact with the plasma membrane. The lipid
molecules of the two bilayers rearrange themselves and the two membranes fuse.