Membrane Structure and Function ACTIVE TRANSPORT Many substances are pushed across membranes against their concentration

gradient s by active transport pumps . Active transport concentrates molecules such as sugars a nd amino acids inside cells and pushes ions in or out of cells. There are two k inds of active transport: primary and secondary. Primary Active Transport In primary active transport, the same protein that transports a substance also h ydrolyzes ATP to power the transport directly. Primary active transport pumps a ll move positively charged ion H+, Ca2+, Na+ and K+ across membranes. H+ pumps or Proton pumps move hydrogen ions across membranes and push hydrogen i ons across the plasma membrane from the cytoplasm to the cell exterior. The pum ps of the plasma membrane temporarily bind a phosphate group removed from ATP du ring the pumping cycle. Proton pumps are not common in animals. The Na+/K+ Pump is located in the plasma membrane of all animal cells and is the most abundant and important of all membrane pumps. The Na+/K+ pump is a complex pump, simultaneously pumping three sodium ions out of the cell and two potassium ions into the cell for each molecule of ATP split. As a result, positive charges accumulate in excess outside the membrane, and i nside of the cell become negatively charged with respect to the outside. Voltag e an electrical potential difference across the plasma membrane results in part from this difference in charge. It also results from the unequal distribution of io ns across the membrane created by passive transport. The voltage across a membr ane is called a membrane potential; it measures from about -50 to -200 mV (miliv olts; 1/1000th of a volt), with the minus sign indicating that the charge inside the cell is negative versus the outside. In summary, there is both a concentration difference (of the ions) and an electr ical charge difference on the two sides of the membrane, constituting what is ca lled an electrochemical gradient. Electrochemical gradients store energy that i s used for other transport mechanisms. E.g. The electrochemical gradient across the membrane is involved with the movement of ions associated with nerve impuls e transmission. In most cells the Na+/K+ pump runs continuously and uses 30% of the entire cell s energy (70% in nerve cells). The rate of diffusion of a substance across a membrane increases as its concentr ation gradient increases, but whereas lipid diffusion shows a linear relationshi p, facilitated diffusion has a curved relationship with a maximum rate. This is due to the rate being limited by the number of transport proteins. The rate of active transport also increases with concentration gradient, but most importantl y it has a high rate even when there is no concentration difference across the m embrane. Active transport stops if cellular respiration stops, since there is no energy.

Endocytosis and Exocytosis The processes described so far only apply to small molecules. Large molecules ( such as proteins, polysaccharides and nucleotides) and even whole cells are move d in and out of cells by using membrane vesicles by endocytosis and exocytosis. Both endocytosis and exocytosis require energy; thus both processes stop if the ability of the cell to make ATP is inhibited. In endocytosis, proteins and other substances are trapped in pit like depression s that bulge inward from the plasma membrane. The depression then pinches off a s an endocytic vesicle. There are two main pathways by which this process occur s. The simplest is bulk-phase endocytosis or pinocytosis (cell drinking) where

extracellular water is taken in together with any molecules that happen to be in solution in the water. No binding of surface receptors occurs. The second is receptor-mediated endocytosis where target molecules to be taken i n are bound to the outer cell surface by receptor proteins. The receptors are i ntegral proteins of the plasma membrane which recognize and bind only certain mo lecules from the solution that surrounds the cells. The target molecules after binding with the receptors collect into a depression in the membrane. The pits deepen and then pinch free from the plasma membrane to form the endocytic vesicl e. Mammalian cells take in many substances by receptor-mediated endocytosis, in cluding hormones, antibodies and blood proteins. Some cells, like white blood cells in the bloodstream or protists such as Amoeba can take in large molecules or even whole cells by a process called phagocytosi s. In phagocytosis (cell eating) cytoplasmic lobes extend, surround and then en gulf the materials, forming a pit that sinks into the cytoplasm as a large endoc ytic vesicle. The materials are then digested within the cell and any remaining residues are sequestered permanently into storage vesicles or are expelled from the cell by exocytosis as wastes. In exocytosis, secretory vesicles usually from the RER and the Golgi Body move t hrough the cytoplasm and contact the plasma membrane. The vesicle membrane fuse s with the plasma membrane, releasing the vesicle contents to the cell exterior. Hormones and digestive enzymes are secreted by exocytosis from the secretory c ells of the endocrine glands and intestine. Plant cells secrete carbohydrates b y exocytosis to build a strong cell wall. Sometimes materials can pass straight through cells without ever making contact with the cytoplasm by being taken in by endocytosis at one end of a cell and pa ssing out by exocytosis at the other end. Summary of Membrane Transport Method Uses energy able Lipid Diffusion N N Osmosis N N Y Passive Transport N Active Transport Y Vesicles Y N Uses proteins N N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Specific Controll