Membrane Transport Mechanisms

Ana Abesadze
MD
 Membrane Transport Mechanisms
• Net diffusion of a molecule or an ion through a membrane always
occurs in the direction of its lower concentration.
• Nonpolar molecules can penetrate the phospholipid barrier of the
plasma membrane,
• Small inorganic ions can pass through protein channels in the plasma
membrane.
• The net diffusion of water through a membrane is known as osmosis
Diffusion
Hemodialysis
Semipermeable Membrane

A dialysis membrane is an artificially

semipermeable membrane with tiny pores
of a certain size. Proteins inside the dialysis
bag are too large to get through the pores
(bent arrows), but the small, diffusible
molecules and ions are able to fit through
the pores and diffuse (solid, straight arrows)
from higher to lower concentration out of
the bag and into the surrounding fluid.
Glucose can also fit through the pores, but
because it is present at the same
concentration outside of the bag, there is
no net diffusion
Diffusion of O2 and CO2
Ion Channels
 Osmosis
• Osmosis is the net diffusion of water (the solvent) across the membrane. For
osmosis to occur, the membrane must be selectively permeable - more
permeable to water molecules than to at least one species of solute.
• There are thus two requirements for osmosis:
(1) there must be a difference in the concentration of a solute on the two sides of
a selectively permeable membrane;
(2) the membrane must be relatively impermeable to the solute.
Solutes that cannot freely pass through the membrane can promote the osmotic
movement of water and are said to be osmotically active.
Solute molecules that easily pass through the membrane do not promote osmosis
because their net diffusion abolishes any concentration differences
 Osmosis
• Like the diffusion of solute molecules, the diffusion of water occurs
when the water is more concentrated on one side of the membrane
than on the other side; that is, when one solution is more dilute than
the other. The more dilute solution has a higher concentration of
water molecules and a lower concentration of solute
• During osmosis, there is a net movement of water molecules from the
side of higher water concentration to the side of lower water
concentration
 Osmosis

The diagram illustrates the

net movement of water
from the solution of lesser
solute concentration (higher
water concentration) to the
solution of greater solute
concentration (lower water
concentration)
 Osmotic Pressure
• The pressure needed to just stop osmosis is the osmotic pressure of
the solution
• Because osmotic pressure is a measure of the force required to stop
osmosis, it indicates how strongly a solution “draws” water by
osmosis.
• Thus, the greater the solute concentration of a solution, the greater
its osmotic pressure.
 Osmolality
• Osmotic pressure depends
on the ratio of solute to
solvent, not on the chemical
nature of the solute
molecules.
• The expression for the total
molality of a solution is
osmolality (Osm).
 Tonicity

• The term tonicity is used to describe the effect of a solution on the

osmotic movement of water.
• For example, if an isosmotic glucose or saline solution is separated
from plasma by a membrane that is permeable to water, but not to
glucose or NaCl, osmosis will not occur. In this case, the solution is
said to be isotonic (from the Greek isos = equal; tonos = tension) to
plasm.
 Tonicity (example)
• Red blood cells placed in hypotonic solutions gain water and may burst—a
process called hemolysis.
• When red blood cells are placed in a hypertonic solution (such as seawater),
which contains osmotically active solutes at a higher osmolality and osmotic
pressure than plasma, they shrink because of the osmosis of water out of
the cells. This process is called crenation (from the Medieval Latin crena =
notch) because the cell surface takes on a scalloped appearance
Regulation of Plasma Osmolality
 Regulation of Plasma Osmolality
• A person with a normal blood volume who eats salty food will also get
thirsty, and more ADH will be released from the posterior pituitary. By
drinking more and excreting less water in the urine, the salt from the
food will become diluted to restore the normal blood concentration,
but at a higher blood volume.
• The opposite occurs in salt deprivation. With a lower plasma
osmolality, the osmoreceptors are not stimulated as much, and the
posterior pituitary releases less ADH. Consequently, more water is
excreted in the urine to again restore the proper range of plasma
concentration, but at a lower blood volume. Low blood volume and
pressure as a result of prolonged salt deprivation can be fatal
 CARRIER-MEDIATED TRANSPORT
• Molecules such as these, however, are too large and polar to pass
through the lipid barrier of the plasma membrane by a process of
simple diffusion. The transport of such molecules is mediated by
carrier proteins within the membrane
• The common characteristics of enzymes and carrier proteins are
(1) specificity,
(2) competition,
(3) saturation.
 Facilitated Diffusion
• The transport of glucose from the blood across plasma membranes
occurs by facilitated diffusion.
• Facilitated diffusion, like simple diffusion, is powered by the thermal
energy of the diffusing molecules and involves net transport from the
side of higher concentration to the side of lower concentration.
• ATP is not required for either facilitated or simple diffusion.
 GLUTs
• The transport carriers for the facilitative diffusion of glucose are
designated with the letters GLUT, followed by a number for the
isoform.
• For example, the GLUT3 isoform is the major glucose transporter in
neurons, but GLUT1 is also present in the central nervous system and
is increased under certain conditions.
• GLUT4 is present in adipose tissue and skeletal muscles, and the
insertion of GLUT4 carriers into the plasma membrane of adipocytes
and skeletal muscle fibers is regulated by exercise and insulin.
Because of this,
 Active transport
• Active transport is the movement of molecules and ions against their
concentration gradients, from lower to higher concentrations.
• Because active transport involves the transport of ions and molecules
“uphill” (against their concentration gradients), and because it uses
metabolic energy, the primary active transport carriers are referred to
as pumps
• Primary active transport occurs when the hydrolysis of ATP is directly
responsible for the function of the carriers, which are proteins that
span the thickness of the membrane.
 Secondary Active Transport (Coupled
Transport)
• In secondary active transport, or coupled transport, the energy needed for the
“uphill” movement of a molecule or ion is obtained from the “downhill”
transport of Na + into the cell. Hydrolysis of ATP by the action of the Na + /K+
pumps is required indirectly, in order to maintain low intracellular Na +
concentrations.
• The diffusion of Na + down its concentration gradient into the cell can then
power the movement of a different ion or molecule against its concentration
gradient.
• If the other molecule or ion is moved in the same direction as Na + (that is, into
the cell), the coupled transport is called either cotransport or symport.
• If the other molecule or ion is moved in the opposite direction (out of the cell),
the process is called either countertransport or antiport.
Human Physiology by Stuart Ira Fox Dr. 15th edition, 2019

• Chapter 6
6,2-6,3 (up to Transport Across Epithelial Membranes)