Facilitated diffusion is the process of spontaneous passive transport of molecules or ions across a biological membrane via specific transmembrane integral proteins. Being passive, facilitated transport does not directly require chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis in the transport step itself; rather, molecules and ions move down their concentration gradient according to the principles of diffusion.
In cellular biology, active transport is the movement of molecules or ions across a cell membrane from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration—against the concentration gradient. Active transport requires cellular energy to achieve this movement. There are two types of active transport: primary active transport that uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and secondary active transport that uses an electrochemical gradient. This process is in contrast to passive transport, which allows molecules or ions to move down their concentration gradient, from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, without energy.
A transmembrane domain (TMD) is a membrane-spanning protein domain. TMDs may consist of one or several alpha-helices or a transmembrane beta barrel. Because the interior of the lipid bilayer is hydrophobic, the amino acid residues in TMDs are often hydrophobic, although proteins such as membrane pumps and ion channels can contain polar residues. TMDs vary greatly in size and hydrophobicity; they may adopt organelle-specific properties.
A transmembrane protein is a type of integral membrane protein that spans the entirety of the cell membrane. Many transmembrane proteins function as gateways to permit the transport of specific substances across the membrane. They frequently undergo significant conformational changes to move a substance through the membrane. They are usually highly hydrophobic and aggregate and precipitate in water. They require detergents or nonpolar solvents for extraction, although some of them (beta-barrels) can be also extracted using denaturing agents.
The distal convoluted tubule (DCT) is a portion of kidney nephron between the loop of Henle and the collecting tubule.
A membrane transport protein is a membrane protein involved in the movement of ions, small molecules, and macromolecules, such as another protein, across a biological membrane. Transport proteins are integral transmembrane proteins; that is they exist permanently within and span the membrane across which they transport substances. The proteins may assist in the movement of substances by facilitated diffusion, active transport, osmosis, or reverse diffusion. The two main types of proteins involved in such transport are broadly categorized as either channels or carriers. Examples of channel/carrier proteins include the GLUT 1 uniporter, sodium channels, and potassium channels. The solute carriers and atypical SLCs are secondary active or facilitative transporters in humans. Collectively membrane transporters and channels are known as the transportome. Transportomes govern cellular influx and efflux of not only ions and nutrients but drugs as well.
Enterocytes, or intestinal absorptive cells, are simple columnar epithelial cells which line the inner surface of the small and large intestines. A glycocalyx surface coat contains digestive enzymes. Microvilli on the apical surface increase its surface area. This facilitates transport of numerous small molecules into the enterocyte from the intestinal lumen. These include broken down proteins, fats, and sugars, as well as water, electrolytes, vitamins, and bile salts. Enterocytes also have an endocrine role, secreting hormones such as leptin.
Uniporters, also known as solute carriers or facilitated transporters, are a type of membrane transport protein that passively transports solutes across a cell membrane. It uses facilitated diffusion for the movement of solutes down their concentration gradient from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Unlike active transport, it does not require energy in the form of ATP to function. Uniporters are specialized to carry one specific ion or molecule and can be categorized as either channels or carriers. Facilitated diffusion may occur through three mechanisms: uniport, symport, or antiport. The difference between each mechanism depends on the direction of transport, in which uniport is the only transport not coupled to the transport of another solute.
An antiporter is an integral membrane protein involved in secondary active transport. It is a type of cotransporter, which means that uses the movement of one In the case of an antiporter, two or more different molecules or ions are moved across a phospholipid membrane, such as the plasma membrane, in opposite directions, one into the cell and one out of the cell. This is in contrast to symporters, which are another type of cotransporter that moves two or more ions in the same direction.
Cotransporters are a subcategory of membrane transport proteins (transporters) that couple the favorable movement of one molecule with its concentration gradient and unfavorable movement of another molecule against its concentration gradient. They enable coupled or cotransport and include antiporters and symporters. In general, cotransporters consist of two out of the three classes of integral membrane proteins known as transporters that move molecules and ions across biomembranes. Uniporters are also transporters but move only one type of molecule down its concentration gradient and are not classified as cotransporters.
Glucose transporters are a wide group of membrane proteins that facilitate the transport of glucose across the plasma membrane, a process known as facilitated diffusion. Because glucose is a vital source of energy for all life, these transporters are present in all phyla. The GLUT or SLC2A family are a protein family that is found in most mammalian cells. 14 GLUTS are encoded by the human genome. GLUT is a type of uniporter transporter protein.
The Transporter Classification Database is an International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB)-approved classification system for membrane transport proteins, including ion channels.
In biology, a transporter is a transmembrane protein that moves ions across a biological membrane to accomplish many different biological functions, including cellular communication, maintaining homeostasis, energy production, etc. There are different types of transporters including pumps, uniporters, antiporters, and symporters. Active transporters or ion pumps are transporters that convert energy from various sources—including adenosine triphosphate (ATP), sunlight, and other redox reactions—to potential energy by pumping an ion up its concentration gradient. This potential energy could then be used by secondary transporters, including ion carriers and ion channels, to drive vital cellular processes, such as ATP synthesis.
The galactose permease or GalP found in Escherichia coli is an integral membrane protein involved in the transport of monosaccharides, primarily hexoses, for utilization by E. coli in glycolysis and other metabolic and catabolic pathways (3,4). It is a member of the Major Facilitator Super Family (MFS) and is homologue of the human GLUT1 transporter (4). Below you will find descriptions of the structure, specificity, effects on homeostasis, expression, and regulation of GalP along with examples of several of its homologues.
Sodium-dependent glucose cotransporters are a family of glucose transporter found in the intestinal mucosa (enterocytes) of the small intestine (SGLT1) and the proximal tubule of the nephron. They contribute to renal glucose reabsorption. In the kidneys, 100% of the filtered glucose in the glomerulus has to be reabsorbed along the nephron. If the plasma glucose concentration is too high (hyperglycemia), glucose passes into the urine (glucosuria) because SGLT are saturated with the filtered glucose.
A symporter is an integral membrane protein that is involved in the transport of two different molecules across the cell membrane in the same direction. The symporter works in the plasma membrane and molecules are transported across the cell membrane at the same time, and is, therefore, a type of cotransporter. The transporter is called a symporter, because the molecules will travel in the same direction in relation to each other. This is in contrast to the antiport transporter. Typically, the ion(s) will move down the electrochemical gradient, allowing the other molecule(s) to move against the concentration gradient. The movement of the ion(s) across the membrane is facilitated diffusion, and is coupled with the active transport of the molecule(s). In symport, two molecule move in a 'similar direction' at the 'same time'. For example, the movement of glucose along with sodium ions. It exploits the uphill movement of other molecules from low to high concentration, which is against the electrochemical gradient for the transport of solute molecules downhill from higher to lower concentration.
Sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) also known as solute carrier family 5 member 1 is a protein in humans that is encoded by the SLC5A1 gene which encodes the production of the SGLT1 protein to line the absorptive cells in the small intestine and the epithelial cells of the kidney tubules of the nephron for the purpose of glucose uptake into cells. Recently, it has been seen to have functions that can be considered as promising therapeutic target to treat diabetes and obesity. Through the use of the sodium glucose cotransporter 1 protein, cells are able to obtain glucose which is further utilized to make and store energy for the cell.
The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) is a superfamily of membrane transport proteins that facilitate movement of small solutes across cell membranes in response to chemiosmotic gradients.
Proteins of the Betaine/Carnitine/Choline Transporter (BCCT) family are found in Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and archaea. The BCCT family is a member a large group of secondary transporters, the APC superfamily. Their common functional feature is that they all transport molecules with a quaternary ammonium group [R-N (CH3)3]. The BCCT family proteins vary in length between 481 and 706 amino acyl residues and possess 12 putative transmembrane α-helical spanners (TMSs). The x-ray structures reveal two 5 TMS repeats with the total number of TMSs being 10. These porters catalyze bidirectional uniport or are energized by pmf-driven or smf-driven proton or sodium ion symport, respectively, or else by substrate:substrate antiport. Some of these permeases exhibit osmosensory and osmoregulatory properties inherent to their polypeptide chains.
Members of the Solute:Sodium Symporter (SSS) Family (TC# 2.A.21) catalyze solute:Na+ symport. The SSS family is within the APC Superfamily. The solutes transported may be sugars, amino acids, organo cations such as choline, nucleosides, inositols, vitamins, urea or anions, depending on the system. Members of the SSS family have been identified in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. Almost all functionally well-characterized members normally catalyze solute uptake via Na+ symport.
