Transport Mechanism

Activity
 Pour 300 ml of water into each of two small
bowls.
 Stir a pinch of salt. Label it salt solution and

the other one water.

 Put slices of raw potato into each bowl.
 Predict how the potato slices will be affected.
 After 20 minutes, get the slices of potato

from each bowl then, compare and analyze

them.
Analysis
 How do they compare with the wrinkled
fingers?
 How do things move into and out of the cell?
 What controls the movement of materials into

and out of the cell?

Expert Group # 1
Structural Components of the Cell Membrane

Cell Membrane Structure

• Composed of a mix of proteins and lipids

(depending on the membrane’s location and

role in the body, lipids can make up anywhere
from 20 to 80% of the membrane, with the
remainder being proteins)
• Lipids help to give membranes their

flexibility.
• Proteins monitor and maintain the cell’s

chemical climate and assist in the transfer of

molecules across the membrane.
Cell Membrane Lipids
 Phospholipids are a major component of cell
membranes.
 It forms a lipid bilayer in which their

hydrophilic (attracted to water) head areas

spontaneously arrange to face the aqueous
cytosol and the extracellular fluid, while their
hydrophobic (repelled by water) tail areas
face away from the cytosol and extracellular
fluid.
 The lipid bilayer is semi-permeable, allowing
only certain molecules to diffuse across the
membrane.
 By having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic

parts, phospholipids are considered

amphipathic molecules.
 Cholesterol is a lipid component of animal

cell membranes.
 Selectively dispersed between membrane phospholipids
 Helps to keep cell membranes from becoming stiff by
preventing phospholipids from being too closely packed
together
 Not found in plant cells
Cell Membrane Proteins
 Structural proteins help to give the cell
support and shape.
 Receptor proteins help cells communicate

with their external environment through the

use of hormones, neurotransmitters, and
other signalling molecules.
 Transport proteins transport molecules

across the cell membranes through facilitated

diffusion. Ex. Globular proteins
 Glycoproteins have carbohydrate chains

attached to them.
Expert Group # 2
Structure and Composition of the Cell
Membrane and Its Function
- Present in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic
cell
- In animal cell, it is present in the outer most
layer .
- In plant cell, it is present just beneath the cell
wall.
Plasma Membrane
 Can be defined as a biological membrane or
an outer membrane of a cell
 Composed of two layers of phospholipids and

embedded with proteins

 Thin semi-permeable membrane layer, which

surrounds the cytoplasm and other

constituents of the cell
Functions of Plasma Membrane
 It separates the contents of the cell from its
outside environment and it regulates what
enters and exits the cell.
 It plays a vital role in protecting the integrity

of the interior of the cell by allowing only

selected substances into the cell and keeping
substances out.
 It serves as a base of attachment for the

cytoskeleton in some organisms and the cell

wall in others. Thus the cell membrane
supports the cell and helps in maintaining the
shape of the cell.
 It is primarily composed of proteins and
lipids that give membranes their flexibility
and maintain the cell’s chemical climate and
assist in the transfer of molecules across the
membrane.
 It is semi-permeable, which allows only

selected molecules to diffuse across the

membrane.
Characteristics of Plasma Memebrane
 It is made of two layers of phospholipids.
 It has many proteins embedded in it.
 It regulates the entry and exit of the cell.
 It forms a stable barrier between two

acqueous compartments.
 Its proteins act as pumps, channels,

receptors, enzymes or structural

components.
Expert Group # 3
Plasma Membrane Structure
 It is the boundary, which separates the living
cell from their non-living surroundings.
 It is a phospholipid bilayer.
 It is amphipathic, which contains both

hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails.

 It is a fluid mosaic of lipids, proteins and

carbohydrates.
 It has a phosphate polar heads, non-polar

fatty acid tails and proteins embedded in

membrane
Components of Plasma Membrane
The main components of Plasma Membrane
include:
1. Glycoprotein- for cell recognition and act as
receptors and antigens
2. Glycolipids- attached to phospholipids along
with the sugar chains
3. Lipids with short chain of carbohydrates-
attached on the extracellular side of the
membrane
4. Phospholipid bilayer- allows only certain
substances to diffuse through the membrane
5. Cholesterol- maintains the fluidity of cell
surface membrane
Proteins in the Plasma Membrane
 In plasma membrane, a protein helps in
providing the support and shape to the cell.
 There are three types of proteins in plasma

membrane:
 1. cell membrane receptor proteins- help in

communication of a cell with their external

environment with the help of hormones,
neurotransmitters and other signaling
molecules
 2. transport proteins- help in transporting
molecules across cell membranes through
facilitated diffusion. Ex. Globular proteins
 3. glycoproteins – helps in cell to cell

communications and molecule transport

across the membrane.
Expert Group # 4
Prokaryotic Plasma Membrane
 Composed of phospholipids bilayer with
embedded proteins.
 In the middle of the bilayer, the fatty acids of

the phospholipids are found, this is called

hydrophobic region.
 It can have multiple plasma membranes.
 Responsible for controlling the entry and exit

of the cell.
Eukaryotic Plasma Membrane
 A phospholipid bilayer containing proteins
and carbohydrates attached to the proteins
and sterols.
 It is a fluid phospholipids bilayer embedded

with proteins and glycoprotein.

 They also contain sterols, which makes the

membrane less permeable and helps to

stabilize the membrane and add the rigidity
to membranes
Transport Mechanisms in Cells
 Cells require and use energy and materials to
perform cellular tasks.
 Movement, packaging and exporting

materials, dividing and reproducing

 As energy flows within a cell, these materials

also flow so that growth, repair, and

replacement may continue within the cell.
 These materials move in the intercellular fluid

(the fluid within the cells).

Passive Transport Mechanisms
 The cells do not use any energy to move the
molecules.
 The molecules move through a gradual

change or GRADIENT.
 Diffusion , Osmosis
Diffusion
 The tendency of molecules or materials to
move from areas of high concentration into
areas the same molecules are in a lower
concentration.
 It is the result of intrinsic thermal energy
(heat) found in all molecules at temperatures
above absolute zero.
 Without other outside forces at work,
substances will move/diffuse from a more
concentrated environment to a less
concentrated environment.
 No work is performed for this to happen, as
diffusion is a spontaneous process.
Osmosis
 The movement of a solvent such as water
through a semi permeable membrane from
areas of high concentration to areas of low
concentration of the same solvent. In cells,
the solvent is water.
 Hypotonic solutions- the fluid surrounding
the cell has lower osmotic pressure, the
water moves into the cell
 Isotonic solutions- the water entering and

leaving is about equal and so there is net

movement.
 Hypertonic solutions – the fluid surrounding

the cell has lower osmotic pressure, the water

moves out of the cell.
Example
 Plant cells have higher solute concentrations
(and thus lower solvent concentrations) than
the surrounding fluids.
 This leads to a movement of solvent (water)

molecules into the cells causes an increase in

the pressure inside the cell called turgor
pressure that helps to keep the cells rigid or
stiff.
Facilitated Diffusion
 Transport proteins in the membrane
 Help move molecules along the concentration

gradient without any additional energy input

by the cell.
 It is a diffusion that is helped along a

membrane via specific carrier protein

Expert Group # 5
Active Transport
 The cell utilizes cellular energy in the form of
ATP to move a substance from a region of
lower concentration to a region of higher
concentration, that is, in the direction against
its concentration gradient.
 It is usually associated with accumulating

high concentrations of molecules that the cell

needs, such as amino acids, ions, and
glucose.
 Ex. Sodium/Potassium pump in nerve cells
Bulk Transport
 The movement of macromolecules such as
proteins or polysaccharides into and out of
the cell.
 Two types:
 1. exocytosis
 2. endocytosis
Exocytosis
 Materials are exported out of the cell via
secretory vesicles
 Golgi complex packages macromolecules into

transport vesicles that travel to and fuse with

the plasma membrane.
 This fusion causes the vesicle to spill its

contents out of the cell

 It is important in expulsion of waste materials

out of the cell and in the secretion of cellular

products such as digestive enzymes or
hormones.
Endocytosis
 The process by which materials move into the
cell
 Three types:
 1. Phagocytosis or cellular eating
 2. Pinocytosis or cellular drinking
 3. Receptor-mediated endocytosis
Phagocytosis
 The cell’s plasma membrane surrounds a
macromolecule or even an entire cell from the
extracellular environment and buds off to
form a food vacuole or phagosome.
 The newly formed phagosome then fuses

with a lysosome whose hydrolytic enzymes

digest the food inside.
Pinocytosis
 The cell engulfs drops of fluid by pinching in
and forming vesicles that are smaller than the
phagosomes formed in phagocytosis.
Receptor- mediated endocytosis
 An extremely selective process of importing
materials into the cell
 Mediated by receptor proteins located on

depressed areas of the cell membrane called

coated pits, covered by coat proteins
 The cell will only take in the extracellular

molecule if it binds to its specific receptor

protein on the cell’s surface.
 Once bound, the coated pit on which the
bound receptor protein is located then
invaginates, or pinches in, to form a coated
vesicle then fuses with a lysosome to digest
the engulf material and releases it into the
cytosol.
 Ex: Mammalian cells use RME to take

cholesterol into cells