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Chapter 4
Transport of substances through the substance
through cell membrane
The cell membrane consist of a lipid bilayer with
cells membrane transport proteins
Many of these penetrating proteins can
function as transport proteins. Different proteins
function differently. Some proteins have watery spaces
all the way through the molecule and allow free
movement of water, as well as selected ions or
molecules; these proteins are called channel proteins
carrier proteins, bind with molecules or ions that are to
be transported, and conformational changes in the
protein molecules then move the substances through the
inter- stices of the protein to the other side of the
membrane. Channel proteins and carrier proteins are
usually selective for the types of molecules or ions that
are allowed to cross the membrane.
Diffusion versus active transport
- The energy that causes diffusion is the energy
of the normal kinetic motion of matter
Diffusion Through the Cell membrane
- Simple diffusion means that kinetic movement
of molecules or ions occurs through a
membrane opening or through intermolecular
spaces without any interaction with carrier
proteins in the membrane
- The rate of diffu- sion is determined by the
amount of substance available, the velocity of
kinetic motion, and the number and sizes of
openings in the membrane through which the
mole- cules or ions can move.
- Simple diffusion can occur by the cell
membrane by
o going through the lipid bilayer if it is
lipid soluble
o through the watery channel that
penetrates all the way through some
of the large proteins
Diffusion Through proteins pores and ChannelsSelective permeably and "Gating" of channels
- Aquaporins have a narrow pore that permits
water mol- ecules to diffuse through the
membrane in single file.
- the density of some aquaporins (e.g.,
aquaporin-2) in cell membranes is not static but
is altered in different physiological conditions.

The protein channels are distinguished by two

impor- tant characteristics:
o selectively permeable to certain
substances
o channels can open and close like
voltage gated channel ( electrical ) or
ligand gated ( chemicals)
They are very selective in their permeability of
protein channel
o it depends on the nature of the
electrical changes and chemical bonds
along the inside of the surface
K channels are an example
-they permit passage of K ions, transport 1000 times
more than any other other ions
They are different selectivity filter
- they are ions channels that are specific for the
charge like NA and K, and Calcium to get
access to the channel.
o Na channels is very important
channels
has - AA on the channel that
pulls small dehydrated Na
ions into these channels from
the water
Gated of Protein Channels
- controls the ion permeability of the channel
o selective gating of NA and K ions
o there is a conformational change
They are two gated channels
o Voltage gated channel
o responds to the electrical potential
across the cell membrane
o The top panel has a strong - charge on
the inside of the cell membrane that
outside NA depending on the
concentration will go in.
o Chemical (ligand) gating
binding of a chemical
substance a ligand, that
causes a conformational
change in the protein
molecule
a good example is
acetylcholine on the so called
acetylcholine channel
Very important in the
transmission of the nerve
signal from one nerve to
another
Open state versus closed stated of gated channels
o Note that the channel conducts current in an
all-or-none fashion. at is, the gate of the
channel snaps open and then snaps closed, with

each open state lasting for only a fraction of a

millisecond up to several milliseconds, demonstrating the rapidity with which changes can
occur during the opening and closing of the
protein molecular gates.
Patch clamp method for recording ion current flow
through the single chnnale
o The result is a minute membrane patch at the
tip of the pipette through which electrical
current flow can be recorded.
o By varying the concentrations of different ions,
as well as the voltage across the mem- brane,
one can determine the transport characteristics
of the single channel, along with its gating
properties
Facilities diffusion requires membrane carrier
proteins
o Among the many substances that cross cell
membranes by facilitated diffusion are glucose
and most of the amino acids. In the case of
glucose, at least 14 members of a family of
membrane proteins (called GLUT) that transport glucose molecules have been discovered
in various tissues.
o The rate at which the substance diffuses inward
is proportional to the concentration of
molecules on the outside because this
concentration determines how many molecules
strike the outside of the membrane each
second.
Therefore, the rate of net diffusion into the cell
is proportional to the concentration on the
outside minus the concentration on the inside,
or
o Netdiffusion(Co Ci)in which Co is
concentration outside and Ci is
concentra- tion inside.
Effect of the membrane electrical potential on
diffusion of ions- The "Nernst Potential".
o -the electrical charges of the ions cause them to
move through the membrane even though no
concentra- tion difference exists to cause
movement.When the concentration difference
rises high enough, the two effects balance each
other. At normal body temperature (37C), the
electrical difference that will balance a given
concentration difference of uni- valent ions
such as Na+ ionscan be determined from the
following formula, called the Nernst equation:
o EMF (in millivolts) = 61log C1
o is equation is extremely important in
understanding the transmission of nerve
impulses and is discussed in greater detail in
o

Effect of a pressure difference across the membrane

o piston developing high pressure on one side of
a pore, thereby causing more molecules to
strike the pore on this side and, therefore, more
molecules to diffuse to the other side
Importance of number of osmotic particle ( Molar
concentration ) in determining osmotic pressure
o at is, large particles, which have greater mass
(m) than do small particles, move at slower
velocities (v). e small particles move at higher
velocities in such a way that their average
kinetic energies (k), determined by the
equation
o k = mv2 2
o To express the concentra- tion of a solution in
terms of numbers of particles, the unit called
the osmole is used in place of grams.
Active transport of substances through membrane
o Different substances that are actively
transported through at least some cell
membranes include sodium, potassium,
calcium, iron, hydrogen, chloride, iodide, and
urate ions, several different sugars, and most of
the amino acids.
Primary active transport and secondary active
transport
o In both instances, transport depends on carrier
pro- teins that penetrate through the cell
membrane, as is true for facilitated diffusion.
Primary active transport-N and K pump transport
sodium ions out of the cell and K ions into the cell
o Among the substances that are transported by
primary active transport are sodium,
potassium, calcium, hydro- gen, chloride, and a
few other ions.
o The pump is pump is responsible for
maintaining the sodium and potassium
concentration differences across the cell membrane, as well as for establishing a negative
electrical voltage inside the cells.
physical components of the Na+-K+ pump.
o subunit, with a molecular weight of about
100,000, and a smaller one called the
subunit,
o B fiction it might anchor the protein complex
in the lipid membrane

A has many fuctions

1. It has three binding sites for sodium
ions on the portion of the protein that
protrudes to the inside of the cell.
o 2. It has two binding sites for
potassium ions on the outside.
o 3. e inside portion of this protein near
the sodium binding sites has
adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase)
activity.

The Na an k is important for controlling cell volume

o One of the most important functions of the
Na+-K+ pump is to control the volume of each
cell.
o Most of these proteins and other organic
molecules are negatively charged and therefore attract large numbers of potassium,
sodium, and other positive ions as well. All
these molecules and ions then cause osmosis of
water to the interior of the cell. Unless this
process is checked, the cell will swell indefinitely until it bursts. e normal mechanism for
prevent- ing this outcome is the Na+-K+ pump
o Also, the mem- brane is far less permeable to
sodium ions than it is to potassium ions, and
thus once the sodium ions are on the outside,
they have a strong tendency to stay there. is
process thus represents a net loss of ions out of
the cell, which initiates osmosis of water out of
the cell as well.
o If a cell begins to swell for any reason, the
Na+-K+ pump is automatically activated,
moving still more ions to the exterior and
carrying water with them. erefore, the Na+-K+
pump performs a continual surveillance role in
maintaining normal cell volume.
Electrogenic nature of the Na- K pump
o is action creates positivity outside the cell but
results in a deficit of positive ions inside the
cell; that is, it causes negativity on the inside.
erefore, the Na+-K+ pump is said to be
electrogenic because it creates an electrical
potential across the cell membrane
o One, which is in the cell membrane, pumps
calcium to the outside of the cell. e 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 of hydrogen ions
o Primary active transport of hydrogen ions is
important at two places in the body: (1) in the

gastric glands of the stomach, and (2) in the

late distal tubules and cortical collecting ducts
of the kidneys
o In the gastric glands, the deep-lying parietal
cells have the most potent primary active
mechanism for transport- ing hydrogen ions of
any part of the body.
Renal
o In the renal tubules, special intercalated cells
found in the late distal tubules and cortical
collecting ducts also transport hydrogen ions
by primary active transport. In this case, large
amounts of hydrogen ions are secreted from
the blood into the urine for the purpose of
elimi- nating excess hydrogen ions from the
body fluids.
Energetics of primary active transport
o Energy (in calories per osmole) = 1400 log C1
Secondary active transport- CO transport and
counter transport
o is gradient represents a storehouse of energy
because the excess sodium outside the cell
membrane is always attempting to diffuse to
the interior. Under appro- priate conditions,
this diffusion energy of sodium can pull other
substances along with the sodium through the
cell membrane. is phenomenon, called cotransport, is one form of secondary active
transport.
o In counter-transport,
o therefore, the sodium ion binds to the
carrier protein where it projects to the
exte- rior surface of the membrane,
while the substance to be countertransported binds to the interior
projection of the carrier protein.
o Co- Transport of glucose and amino acids
along with sodium
o Note that the transport carrier protein
has two binding sites on its exterior
side, one for sodium and one for
glucose
o Sodium co-transport of the amino
acids occurs in the same manner as for
glucose, except that it uses a different
set of transport proteins
o Sodium co-transport of glucose and
amino acids occurs especially through
the epithelial cells of the intes- tinal
tract and the renal tubules of the
kidneys to pro- mote absorption of
these substances into the blood.

Sodium counter transport of calcium and hydrogen

ions
o Sodium-hydrogen counter-transport occurs in
several tissues. An especially important
example is in the proxi- mal tubules of the
kidneys, where sodium ions move from the
lumen of the tubule to the interior of the

tubular cell while hydrogen ions are countertransported into the tubule lumen
but it can transport extremely large numbers of
hydrogen ions, thus making it a key to
hydrogen ion control in the body fluids