Subject: GENERAL BIOLOGY 1 WEEK #___________

Name: ____________________ Grade & Section: ___

Subject Teacher: IRENE BELLE D. LESIGUES Date: ____________

TANAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

LAS-GENERAL BIOLOGY 1 Week 6
TRANSPORT MECHANISMS

I. Learning Target: Explain transport mechanisms in cells (diffusion,

osmosis, facilitated transport and active transport). (STEM _BIO11/12-Ig-
h-13)
Differentiate exocytosis and endocytosis. (STEM _BIO11/12-Ig-h-14)

II. Specific Learning Targets:

Define related terms.
Distinguish isotonic, hypertonic and hypotonic solutions.
Describe the process of passive and active transport.
Distinguish exocytosis from endocytosis.
III. Concept Notes:

PASSIVE TRANSPORT
The most direct forms of membrane transport are passive. Passive transport
is a naturally-occurring phenomenon and does not require the cell to exert
any of its
energy to
accomplish
the
movement.
All forms of
passive
transport
involve
diffusion;
substances
simply
move from
an area of
higher
concentrati
on to an area of lower concentration. For example, think about someone
spraying a perfume in a room filled with people. The perfume is at its
highest concentration in the bottle; its lowest concentration is at the edges
of the room. The perfume molecules will diffuse, or spread away, from the
bottle; gradually, more and more people will smell it as it spreads. This
happens due to a concentration gradient, the difference in concentration
of a substance across a space, solutes are more concentrated in one region
than in a neighboring region. Because of the regulation of the membrane
transport, cells interior is chemically different from its exterior. Solute
concentrations are higher inside the cell than the outside, and others are
lower. Likewise, the inside of each organelle in a eukaryotic cell may be
chemically different from the solution in the rest of the cell. For instance,
Figure 9.1 shows concentration gradients in which the solution on the upper
portion (extracellular space) of the membrane has a higher solute
concentration than the solution below (intracellular space). The molecules
move or diffuse from an area where it is more concentrated to an area
where it is less concentrated. This is_ _said to_be “moving” down_ or
“following_” the_ concentration_gradient. As the solute moves, the gradient
disappears but the substances are still moving. This state is called dynamic
equilibrium. Any concentration gradient will eventually vanish unless energy
is utilized to maintain it.

What Factors Affect the Rate of Diffusion?

Molecules are moving around continuously due to the amount of thermal

energy they have. This movement is affected by the size of the particle and
the environment the particle is in. Particles will always move around in a
medium but the overall rate of diffusion can be affected by many factors.
Concentration gradient: The greater the difference in concentration, the
faster the molecules will go down the concentration gradient, hence more
rapid diffusion. The closer the distribution of the material gets to equilibrium,
the slower the molecules will move and rate of diffusion decreases.

Temperature: Higher temperatures increase the energy and therefore the

movement of the molecules, increasing the rate of diffusion. Lower
temperatures.
Mass of Particles: Heavier molecules move more slowly; therefore, they
diffuse more slowly. The reverse is true for lighter molecules.

Solvent Properties: Diffusion is significantly influenced by viscosity and

density. The denser or viscous the medium is, the harder it is for the given
particle to diffuse through it. Therefore, the diffusion rate would be lower. If
the medium is All of the factors affecting diffusion can have a combined
effect. A small ion, for example, will diffuse faster through a viscous solution
than a large molecule of sugar. The ion is smaller in size and can thus travel
quicker. Owing to its scale, the big sugar molecule moves slower. The
viscosity of the solution affects both but will compound the slowed diffusion
that the larger molecule undergoes.

Types of Passive
Transport

There are three common

types of passive transport:
simple diffusion, facilitated
diffusion, and osmosis. In
this module we will discuss
only two types.

Simple Diffusion

Simple diffusion is a form of

passive transport in which substance moves down its concentration gradient
without the use of transport proteins. Substances may enter or leave the cell
by simple diffusion only if they can pass freely through the membrane. For
example, lipids and small nonpolar molecules such as O2 and CO2 diffuse
easily across a biological membrane (Fig.9.2). How does a cell use simple
diffusion to acquire vital substances or get rid of toxic wastes, if the
gradients spread without energy input? The answer is that the cell maintains
the gradients, either by continually consuming the substances as they
diffuse in or by producing more of the substances that diffuses into the cell,
maintaining the O2
Simple Diffusion.
Movement of molecules
from an area of higher
concentration to an area
of lower concentration
with the aid of membrane
proteins. Source:
commons.wikimedia.org
gradient that drives
diffusion. Respiration also
produces CO2 which
diffuses out because its
concentration always
remains higher in the cell
than outside.

Facilitated Diffusion

Some molecules, such as carbon dioxide and oxygen, can easily diffuse
across the plasma membrane, but others need help to cross its hydrophobic
core. In a form of passive transport called facilitated diffusion, materials
diffuse across the plasma membrane with the help of membrane proteins. A
concentration gradient exists that would allow these materials to diffuse into
the cell without consuming cellular energy. The movement across
membranes can be made through one of two mechanisms: one involving the
carrier proteins and the other involving the channel proteins (Fig.9.2).

In the case of channel proteins, the transmembrane proteins present in the

membrane act like a pore, in which it allows the transport of molecules. The
channels extend across the cell membrane, connecting the extracellular
space to the cytoplasm or by the use of different cellular organelles. On the
other hand, molecules bind in carrier proteins which result in some
conformational changes in the molecules, facilitating the movement across
the membrane in the intracellular space.
Figure 9.2. Facilitated Diffusion. Facilitated diffusion of substances crossing
the cell (plasma) membrane takes place with the help of proteins such as
channel proteins and carrier proteins. Channel proteins are less selective
than carrier proteins, and usually mildly discriminate between their cargo
based on size and charge. Carrier proteins are more selective, often only
allowing one particular type of molecule to cross. Source:
commons.wikimedia.org

OSMOSIS
Osmosis is a special type of diffusion, wherein water molecules pass in a
selectively permeable membrane. Two solutions of different concentrations
may be separated byselectively permeable membrane through which water,
but not solute can pass. The more particles there are dissolved in a solution,
the less water there is in it. In that case, water will move down its own
gradient toward the side with the high solute concentration (Fig.10.1). The
pressure that causes the water to diffused through selectively permeable
membranes is called osmotic pressure. As the solute concentration
increases in the solution, osmotic pressure increases.
A human red blood cell demonstrates the effects of osmosis (Fig. 10.2) Our
cell’s_ _cytoplasm is made up of 80% of water, with 20% (solute) sugars,
proteins, and fats. Supposed we submerged the red blood cell with same
concentration as blood plasma with 80% of water and 20% solute. The
water still moves between the solution, but the rates are the same in the
directions, thus the water movement is balanced between the inside of the
cell and the outside of the cell. This solution is called isotonic solution,
(iso- means equal and tonicity refers to the relative concentration of
solutes in the water inside and outside the cell) the solute concentration is
the same as the inside of the cell.
In a hypertonic, (hyper -above) solution, the solute concentration is
higher outside the red blood cells than inside, Because the concentration of
water molecules inside the cell is higher than outside, water moves out of
the cell, causing the cell to shrink and shrivel. This condition is called
crenation in red blood cells.

ACTIVE TRANSPORT
Passive transport is the most easy and direct way of moving molecules into
or out of a cell in an existing concentration gradient and does not require
energy expenditure. However,_ this isn’t work_in all circumstances. Often, a
cell needs to do the opposite: to create and maintain a concentration
gradient. A plant root cell for example, may need to absorb nutrients from
soil water that is much more dilute than the cell’s_interior. In an active
transport, a cell uses transport protein to move a substance against its
concentration gradient—from an area of lower concentration to an area of
higher concentration.
The active transport process is similar to facilitated diffusion, except that the
carrier proteins in the plasma membrane must use energy to move the
molecules against their concentration gradient. These carrier proteins are
called uniporters, if they transport a single type of molecule or ion,
symporters if they transport two molecules or ions in the same direction,
and antiporters if they transport two molecules or ions in the opposite
directions. All of these transporters can also transport small, uncharged
organic molecules like glucose (Fig.11.2). These three types of carrier
proteins are also found in facilitated diffusion, but they do not require ATP to
work in that process. Some examples of pumps for active transport are Na+-
K+ ATPase, which carries sodium and potassium ions, and H+-K+ ATPase,
which carries hydrogen and potassium ions. Both of these are antiporter
carrier proteins. Two other carrier protein pumps are Ca2+ ATPase and H+
ATPase, which carry only calcium and only hydrogen ions, respectively.
Since atoms and molecules may form ions and hold either positive or
negative electrical charges, the plasma membrane can often have an
electrical gradient, or a difference in the charge. In fact, living cells typically
have what is called a membrane potential, a difference in the electrical
potential (voltage) across their cell membrane. An electrical potential
difference is present whenever there is a net separation of charges in space.
In the case of a cell, the cell membrane separates the positive and the
negative charges, with the inside of the cell holding more negative charges
compared to the outside. T_h_e_ _c_e_l_l_ _a_c_t_i_v_e_l_y_
_m_a_i_n_t_a_i_n_s_ _t_h_i_s_ _m_e_m_b_r_a_n_e_
_p_o_t_e_n_t_i_a_l_,_ _a_n_d_ _w_e_’l_l_ _s_e_e_ _h_o_w_ _i_t_ _forms
in the section on the sodium-potassium pump
Figure 11.2.
One of the most important pumps in animal cells is the sodium-potassium
pump, which moves Na+ out of cells, and K+ in. In general, the inside of a
cell has a higher concentration of potassium K+ and a lower concentration
of sodium Na+ than the extracellular fluid around it. The sodium-potassium
pump transports sodium out of and potassium into the cell in a repeating
cycle of conformational (shape) changes. In each cycle, three sodium ions
exit the cell, while two potassium ions enter.
To begin, the pump is open to the inside of the cell. In this form, the pump
really likes to bind sodium ions, and will take up three of them. When the
sodium ions bind, one phosphate group from ATP breaks off and attached to
the pump, which is then said to be phosphorylated. ADP is released as a by-
product. Phosphorylation makes the pump change shape, re-orienting itself
so it opens towards the extracellular space. In this conformation, the pump
no longer likes to bind to sodium ions, so the three sodium ions are released
outside the cell. Now the 2 K+ ions enter the pump, which cause the
phosphate group to break off and the protein pump will change back to its
original form, opening towards the interior of the cell. In its inward-facing
shape, the pump loses its interest in (has a low affinity for) potassium ions,
so the two potassium ions will be released into the cytoplasm. and the cycle
can begin again.

BULK TRANSPORT
Most molecules dissolved in water are small, and they can cross cell
membranes by simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion or active transport.
However, large particles must enter and leave cells with the help of a
transport vesicle -a small sac that can pinch off or fuse with a cell
membrane. Endocytosis and exocytosis together provide bulk transport,
because many molecules are moved at the same time.

In endocytosis, cell membrane engulfs fluids or large molecules to bring

them into the cell. The plasma membrane of the cell invaginates, forming a
pocket around the target particle. The pocket pinches off, resulting in the
particle being contained in a newly created intracellular vesicle formed from
the plasma membrane.

There are different variations of endocytosis. In phagocytosis (Gr. phagein

–
(Gr. phagein -to eat, cyto -cell) -“c_e_l_l_ _e_a_t_i_n_g_” _i_s_ _t_h_e_
_p_r_o_c_e_s_s_ _b_y_ _w_h_i_c_h_ _l_a_r_g_e_ _p_a_r_t_i_c_l_e_s_,_
_s_u_c_h_ _a_s_ _c_e_l_l_s_ _or relatively large particles, are taken in by a
cell (Fig.12.1a). For example, when microorganisms invade the human body,
a type of white blood cell called a neutrophil will remove the invaders
through this process, surrounding and engulfing the microorganism, which is
then destroyed by the neutrophil. Single-celled eukaryotes called amoebas
also use phagocytosis to hunt and consume their prey.
Pinocytosis (Gr. pinein -to drink, cyto -cell) ““c_e_l_l_ _d_r_i_n_k_i_n_g_”
_a_n_d_ _w_a_s_ _n_a_m_e_d_ _at a time when the assumption was that
the cell was purposefully taking in extracellular fluid. In reality, this is a
process that takes in molecules, including water, which the cell needs from
the extracellular fluid(Fig.12.1b). Pinocytosis results in a much smaller
vesicle than does phagocytosis, and the vesicle does not need to merge with
a lysosome
Receptor-mediated endocytosis is a form of endocytosis in which receptor
proteins on the cell surface are used to capture a specific target molecule.
The receptors, which are transmembrane proteins, cluster in regions of the
plasma membrane known as coated pits. This name comes from a layer of
proteins, called coat proteins, that are found on the cytoplasmic side of the
pit (Fig.12.1c).. Clathrin, shown in the diagram above, is the best-studied
coat protein. When the receptors bind to their specific target molecule,
endocytosis is triggered, and the receptors and their attached molecules are
taken into the cell in a vesicle. The coat proteins participate in this process
by giving the vesicle its rounded shape and helping it bud off from the
membrane. Receptor-mediated endocytosis allows cells to take up large
amounts of molecules that are relatively rare (present in low concentrations)
in the extracellular fluid
Although receptor-mediated endocytosis is intended to bring useful
substances into the cell, other, less friendly particles may gain entry by the
same route. Flu viruses, diphtheria, and cholera toxin all use receptor-
mediated endocytosis pathways to gain entry into cells.
Cells must take in certain molecules, such as nutrients, but they also need to
release other molecules, such as signaling proteins and waste products, to
the outside environment. Exocytosis (“exo” _-outside) is a form of bulk
transport in which materials are transported from the inside to the outside of
the cell in membrane-bound vesicles that fuse with the plasma membrane
(Fig.12.2). Waste material is enveloped in a membrane and fuses with the
interior of the plasma membrane. This fusion opens the membranous
envelope on the exterior of the cell, and the waste material is expelled into
the extracellular space. Other examples of cells releasing molecules via
exocytosis include the secretion of proteins of the extracellular matrix and
secretion of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft by synaptic vesicles.
Activities:
I. Table
Completion
Complete
the table below
by placing a tick
in the correct
column (s) next
to description.
II. Use the boxes below to complete the diagram.
Molecule is
released on the
other side of the
membrane

Molecules can only

be transported in
one direction only-
against their
diffusion gradient

Carrier proteins
are found in the
cell membrane

The carrier
proteins is
changed back to
its original shape

Outside the cell

Inside the cell

Cell membrane Energy from the

respiration is used
Molecules that are to change the
transported across shape of the
membrane carrier protein
III. Correctly color each part of the cell membrane. Then, identify what
form of passive transport is shown. Use arrows to show the direction of
molecules movement into or out of each cell.
IV. Identify me! Label the different diagrams (endocytosis, exocytosis,
phagocytosis and pinocytosis)

A. B. C. D.

Prepared by:

IRENE BELLE D. LESIGUES, LPT

SHS TEACHER