Cellular Transport

Intracellular transport
• Intracellular transport is the movement of vesicles and
substances within the cell.
•  Eukaryotic cells transport packets of components
(membrane‐bound vesicles and organelles, protein rafts,
mRNA, chromosomes) to particular intracellular locations
• the cytoskeleton plays a key role in intracellular transport
by providing the mechanical support necessary for the
cell to divide and facilitates movement.
• It is composed of actin, intermediate filaments and
microtubules which each have a role in locomotion,
intracellular transport of organelles, cell shape and
chromosome separation.
• intracellular transport heavily relies on microtubules for
movement, the components of the cytoskeleton play a vital
role in trafficking vesicles between organelles and the
plasma membrane.
• Intracellular transport is unique to eukaryotic cells because
they possess organelles enclosed in membranes that need
to be mediated for exchange of cargo to take place.
• Conversely, in prokaryotic cells there is no need for this
specialized transport mechanism - via simple diffusion.
• Intracellular transport is more specialized than diffusion, it
is a multifaceted process which utilizes transport vesicles.
• Transport vesicles are small structures within the cell
consisting of a fluid enclosed by a lipid bilayer, that have the
capacity to hold cargo.
These vesicles will typically execute
 cargo loading and vesicle budding,
 vesicle transport,
 the binding of the vesicle to a target membrane and the
fusion of the vesicle membranes to target membrane.
• To ensure that these vesicles will move in the right
direction - special motor proteins attach to cargo-filled
vesicles and carry them along the cytoskeleton.
• The selectivity of these vesicles is a key component in
keeping the cell organized,
• for example they have to ensure that lysosomal enzymes
are transferred specifically to the Golgi apparatus not to
another part of the cell which could lead to deleterious
effects.
 Intercellular transport
• Deals solely with the movement of molecules
between cells not the net movement within a
cell.
Cell junctions
• Gap junctions
• Desmosomes
• Tight junctions
 Gap Junctions
• Gap junctions are a specialized intercellular
connection between a multitude of animal cell-types. 
• They directly connect the cytoplasm of two cells,
which allows various molecules, ions and electrical
impulses to directly pass through a regulated gate
between cells
• Adjacent cells sometimes communicate directly with
each other via gap junctions, specialized protein
channels made of the protein connexin .
• Six connexins form a half-channel called a connexon.
Two connexons join end to end to form an
intercellular channel between adjacent cells.
• Gap junctions allow the flow of ions (hence, electrical
current) and small molecules between the cytosol of
neighboring cells .
• Function
• Gap junctions appear to be important in the
transmission of electrical signals between neighboring
cardiac muscle cells, smooth muscle cells, and some
nerve cells
 Desmosomes
•  are a second type of cell
connection.
• They physically connect
cells like the gap junction,
but no opening is created.
• Proteins that bond the
membrane of one cell to
its neighbor create
the desmosomes.
 Tight junctions
• also known as occluding
junctions or zonulae
occludentes 
• are the closely associated
areas of two cells whose 
membranes  join together
forming a barrier virtually
impermeable to fluid. 
Function
• They hold cells together.
• Barrier function,
• Refer Ebook
• Human Physiology The Mechanisms of Body
Function
• Membrane junctions - Gap junctions,
Desmosomes, Tight junctions
• Page 57-58