MEMBRANE

TRANSPORT
Membrane Transport
• Passive transport : Transport across cell membranes governed only by
physical processes, the membrane acting like any non living semi
permeable structure without the expenditure of biological energy.

• Active transport: Active transport means movement of ions or other

substances across the membrane in combination with a carrier
protein in such a way that the carrier protein causes the substance to
move against an energy gradient, such as from a low-concentration
state to a high-concentration state.
Transport Pathways
Passive Transport
• Simple diffusion
• Facilitated diffusion
• Osmosis
Simple diffusion can occur through the cell membrane by two pathways:
(1) through the interstices of the lipid bilayer if the diffusing substance is
lipid soluble and
(2) through channels that penetrate all the way through the cell membrane.
Diffusion
Fick’s First Law of Diffusion
• The diffusion rate across a membrane is proportional to the area of the membrane and to the
difference in concentration of the diffusing substance on the two sides of the membrane.

• J = net rate of diffusion in moles

• D = diffusion coefficient of the diffusing solute in the membrane
• A = area of the membrane
• Δc = concentration difference across the membrane
• Δx = thickness of the membrane.
• The minus sign indicates the direction of diffusion. When considering movement of molecules from a higher to a lower
concentration, Δc/Δx is negative, so multiplying by -DA gives a positive value.
Simple Diffusion Through Lipid
Membrane
Simple Diffusion

• The lipid solubilities of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and alcohols

are high, so that all these can dissolve directly in the lipid bilayer and
diffuse through the cell membrane in the same manner that diffusion
of water solutes occurs in a watery solution.
Simple Diffusion Through Protein
Channels
Diffusion of Water and Other Lipid-Insoluble
Molecules Through Protein Channels

• Even though water is highly insoluble in the membrane lipids, it

readily passes through channels in protein molecules that penetrate
all the way through the membrane.
Facilitated Diffusion
Facilitated Diffusion

• Facilitated diffusion : Carrier mediated process that is only capable of

transferring a substance from a region of higher concentration to one
of lower concentration.
Facilitated Diffusion
Facilitated Diffusion
• The classic example of facilitated diffusion is glucose transport across
the membranes surrounding many animal cells, such as erythrocytes,
striated muscle, and adipocytes.

• Insulin can increase the rate of facilitated diffusion of glucose as much

as 10-fold to 20-fold.
Facilitated Diffusion

• Five carrier proteins capable of mediating the facilitated diffusion of

glucose have been identified: they are referred to as GLUT1-5.
Magnitude and Direction of Diffusion
Osmosis
Active Transport
• Active transport is carrier mediated transport process that is capable of bringing
about the net transfer of an uncharged solute from a region of lower
concentration to one of higher concentration.

• When a cell membrane moves molecules or ions “uphill” against a concentration

gradient (or “uphill” against an electrical or pressure gradient), the process is
called active transport.
Primary Active Transport and Secondary
Active Transport

• Active transport is divided into two types according to the source of

the energy used to cause the transport:

• Primary active transport

• Secondary active transport
Primary Active Transport and Secondary
Active Transport

• The direct use of ATP in primary active transport.

• The use of an ion concentration difference across a membrane to

drive the process in secondary active transport.
Primary Active Transport
Primary Active Transport
• The major primary active-transport proteins found in most cells are
• (1) Na,K-ATPase
• (2) Ca-ATPase
• (3) H-ATPase
• (4) H,K-ATPase.

• Na,K-ATPase is present in all plasma membranes.

Sodium-Potassium Pump
Sodium-Potassium Pump
Primary Active Transport
Primary Active Transport of Calcium Ions
Two primary active transport calcium pumps.
• One is in the cell membrane and pumps calcium to the outside of the
cell.
• The other pumps calcium ions into one or more of the intracellular
vesicular organelles of the cell, such as the sarcoplasmic reticulum of
muscle cells and the mitochondria in all cells.
Primary Active Transport
Primary Active Transport of Hydrogen Ion
• At two places in the body, primary active transport of hydrogen ions is
very important:

(1) in the gastric glands of the stomach, and

(2) in the late distal tubules and cortical collecting ducts of the
kidneys.
Secondary Active Transport—
Co-Transport and Counter-Transport
Secondary Active Transport

• Secondary active transport refers to processes that mediate the uphill

movements of solutes but are not directly coupled to metabolic
energy; instead, the energy required is derived from coupling to the
downhill movement of another solute.
Secondary Active Transport
• Examples of co-transport:
1. Sodium – glucose co-transport (SGLT)
2. Sodium – amino acid co-transport
3. Na⁺ – K⁺ – 2Cl⁻ co-transport

• Examples of counter transport (antiport or exchange):

1. Ca²⁺ – Na⁺ exchange
2. Na⁺ – H⁺ exchange
Epithelial Transport
• There are two pathways by which a substance can cross a layer of
epithelial cells:
(1) by diffusion between the adjacent cells of the epithelium—the
paracellular pathway, and
(2) by movement into an epithelial cell across either the luminal or
basolateral membrane, diffusion through the cytosol, and exit across
the opposite membrane. This is termed the transcellular pathway.
Endocytosis and Exocytosis
• Endocytosis can be broken down into different types:
1. Pinocytosis: continuous, unspecific uptake of extracellular fluid and
molecules dissolved in it through relatively small vesicles.
2. Receptor-mediated endocytosis: selective uptake of specific
macromolecules with the aid of receptors.
3. Phagocytosis: endocytosis of particulate matter, such as
microorganisms or cell debris, by phagocytes in conjunction with
lysosomes.
• Exocytosis is a method for selective export of macromolecules out of
the cell and for release of many hormones or neurotransmitters.

• Transcytosis is the uptake of macromolecules such as proteins and

hormones by endocytosis on one side of the cell, and their release on
the opposite side. This is useful for transcellular transport of the
macromolecules across cell layers such as endothelia.
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