Passive transport

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Passive diffusion across a cell membrane. Blausen 0213 CellularDiffusion.png
Passive diffusion across a cell membrane.

Passive transport is a type of membrane transport that does not require energy to move substances across cell membranes. [1] [2] Instead of using cellular energy, like active transport, [3] passive transport relies on the second law of thermodynamics to drive the movement of substances across cell membranes. [1] [2] [4] Fundamentally, substances follow Fick's first law, and move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration because this movement increases the entropy of the overall system. [4] [5] The rate of passive transport depends on the permeability of the cell membrane, which, in turn, depends on the organization and characteristics of the membrane lipids and proteins.[ citation needed ] The four main kinds of passive transport are simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion, filtration, and/or osmosis.

Contents

Passive transport follows Fick's first law.

Diffusion

Passive diffusion on a cell membrane. Scheme simple diffusion in cell membrane-en.svg
Passive diffusion on a cell membrane.

Diffusion is the net movement of material from an area of high concentration to an area with lower concentration. The difference of concentration between the two areas is often termed as the concentration gradient , and diffusion will continue until this gradient has been eliminated. Since diffusion moves materials from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration, it is described as moving solutes "down the concentration gradient" (compared with active transport, which often moves material from area of low concentration to area of higher concentration, and therefore referred to as moving the material "against the concentration gradient"). However, in many cases (e.g. passive drug transport) the driving force of passive transport can not be simplified to the concentration gradient. If there are different solutions at the two sides of the membrane with different equilibrium solubility of the drug, the difference in the degree of saturation is the driving force of passive membrane transport. [6] It is also true for supersaturated solutions which are more and more important owing to the spreading of the application of amorphous solid dispersions for drug bioavailability enhancement.

Simple diffusion and osmosis are in some ways similar. Simple diffusion is the passive movement of solute from a high concentration to a lower concentration until the concentration of the solute is uniform throughout and reaches equilibrium. Osmosis is much like simple diffusion but it specifically describes the movement of water (not the solute) across a selectively permeable membrane until there is an equal concentration of water and solute on both sides of the membrane. Simple diffusion and osmosis are both forms of passive transport and require none of the cell's ATP energy.

Speed of diffusion

For passive diffusion, the law of diffusion states that the mean squared displacement is with d being the number of dimensions and D the diffusion coefficient). So to diffuse a distance of about takes time , and the "average speed" is . This means that in the same physical environment, diffusion is fast when the distance is small, but less when the distance is large.

This can be seen in material transport within the cell. Prokaryotes typically have small bodies, allowing diffusion to suffice for material transport within the cell. Larger cells like eukaryotes would either have very low metabolic rate to accommodate the slowness of diffusion, or invest in complex cellular machinery to allow active transport within the cell, such as kinesin walking along microtubules.

Example of diffusion: Gas Exchange

A biological example of diffusion is the gas exchange that occurs during respiration within the human body. [7] Upon inhalation, oxygen is brought into the lungs and quickly diffuses across the membrane of alveoli and enters the circulatory system by diffusing across the membrane of the pulmonary capillaries. [8] Simultaneously, carbon dioxide moves in the opposite direction, diffusing across the membrane of the capillaries and entering into the alveoli, where it can be exhaled. The process of moving oxygen into the cells, and carbon dioxide out, occurs because of the concentration gradient of these substances, each moving away from their respective areas of higher concentration toward areas of lower concentration. [7] [8] Cellular respiration is the cause of the low concentration of oxygen and high concentration of carbon dioxide within the blood which creates the concentration gradient. Because the gasses are small and uncharged, they are able to pass directly through the cell membrane without any special membrane proteins. [9] No energy is required because the movement of the gasses follows Fick's first law and the second law of thermodynamics.

Facilitated diffusion

Depiction of facilitated diffusion. Blausen 0394 Facilitated Diffusion.png
Depiction of facilitated diffusion.

Facilitated diffusion, also called carrier-mediated osmosis, is the movement of molecules across the cell membrane via special transport proteins that are embedded in the plasma membrane by actively taking up or excluding ions [14] . Through facilitated diffusion, energy is not required in order for molecules to pass through the cell membrane. [1] Active transport of protons by H+ ATPases [10] alters membrane potential allowing for facilitated passive transport of particular ions such as potassium [11] down their charge gradient through high affinity transporters and channels.

Example of facilitated diffusion: GLUT2

An example of facilitated diffusion is when glucose is absorbed into cells through Glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) in the human body. [12] [13] There are many other types of glucose transport proteins, some that do require energy, and are therefore not examples of passive transport. [13] Since glucose is a large molecule, it requires a specific channel to facilitate its entry across plasma membranes and into cells. [13] When diffusing into a cell through GLUT2, the driving force that moves glucose into the cell is the concentration gradient. [12] The main difference between simple diffusion and facilitated diffusion is that facilitated diffusion requires a transport protein to 'facilitate' or assist the substance through the membrane. [14] After a meal, the cell is signaled to move GLUT2 into membranes of the cells lining the intestines called enterocytes. [12] With GLUT2 in place after a meal and the relative high concentration of glucose outside of these cells as compared to within them, the concentration gradient drives glucose across the cell membrane through GLUT2. [12] [13]

Filtration

Filtration. Filtration diagram.svg
Filtration.

Filtration is movement of water and solute molecules across the cell membrane due to hydrostatic pressure generated by the cardiovascular system. Depending on the size of the membrane pores, only solutes of a certain size may pass through it. For example, the membrane pores of the Bowman's capsule in the kidneys are very small, and only albumins, the smallest of the proteins, have any chance of being filtered through. On the other hand, the membrane pores of liver cells are extremely large, but not forgetting cells are extremely small to allow a variety of solutes to pass through and be metabolized.

Osmosis

Effect of osmosis on blood cells under different solutions. Osmotic pressure on blood cells diagram.svg
Effect of osmosis on blood cells under different solutions.

Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of high water potential to an area of low water potential. A cell with a less negative water potential will draw in water, but this depends on other factors as well such as solute potential (pressure in the cell e.g. solute molecules) and pressure potential (external pressure e.g. cell wall). There are three types of Osmosis solutions: the isotonic solution, hypotonic solution, and hypertonic solution. Isotonic solution is when the extracellular solute concentration is balanced with the concentration inside the cell. In the Isotonic solution, the water molecules still move between the solutions, but the rates are the same from both directions, thus the water movement is balanced between the inside of the cell as well as the outside of the cell. A hypotonic solution is when the solute concentration outside the cell is lower than the concentration inside the cell. In hypotonic solutions, the water moves into the cell, down its concentration gradient (from higher to lower water concentrations). That can cause the cell to swell. Cells that don't have a cell wall, such as animal cells, could burst in this solution. A hypertonic solution is when the solute concentration is higher (think of hyper - as high) than the concentration inside the cell. In hypertonic solution, the water will move out, causing the cell to shrink.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molecular diffusion</span> Thermal motion of liquid or gas particles at temperatures above absolute zero

Molecular diffusion, often simply called diffusion, is the thermal motion of all particles at temperatures above absolute zero. The rate of this movement is a function of temperature, viscosity of the fluid and the size (mass) of the particles. Diffusion explains the net flux of molecules from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. Once the concentrations are equal the molecules continue to move, but since there is no concentration gradient the process of molecular diffusion has ceased and is instead governed by the process of self-diffusion, originating from the random motion of the molecules. The result of diffusion is a gradual mixing of material such that the distribution of molecules is uniform. Since the molecules are still in motion, but an equilibrium has been established, the result of molecular diffusion is called a "dynamic equilibrium". In a phase with uniform temperature, absent external net forces acting on the particles, the diffusion process will eventually result in complete mixing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Facilitated diffusion</span> Biological process

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 reflecting its diffusive nature.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dialysis (chemistry)</span> Process of separating molecules

In chemistry, dialysis is the process of separating molecules in solution by the difference in their rates of diffusion through a semipermeable membrane, such as dialysis tubing.

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.

In cellular biology, membrane transport refers to the collection of mechanisms that regulate the passage of solutes such as ions and small molecules through biological membranes, which are lipid bilayers that contain proteins embedded in them. The regulation of passage through the membrane is due to selective membrane permeability – a characteristic of biological membranes which allows them to separate substances of distinct chemical nature. In other words, they can be permeable to certain substances but not to others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniporter</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotransporter</span> Type of membrane transport proteins

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electrochemical gradient</span> Gradient of electrochemical potential, usually for an ion that can move across a membrane

An electrochemical gradient is a gradient of electrochemical potential, usually for an ion that can move across a membrane. The gradient consists of two parts:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonicity</span> Measure of water potential across a semi-permeable cell membrane

In chemical biology, tonicity is a measure of the effective osmotic pressure gradient; the water potential of two solutions separated by a partially-permeable cell membrane. Tonicity depends on the relative concentration of selective membrane-impermeable solutes across a cell membrane which determine the direction and extent of osmotic flux. It is commonly used when describing the swelling-versus-shrinking response of cells immersed in an external solution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osmotic concentration</span> Molarity of osmotically active particles

Osmotic concentration, formerly known as osmolarity, is the measure of solute concentration, defined as the number of osmoles (Osm) of solute per litre (L) of solution. The osmolarity of a solution is usually expressed as Osm/L, in the same way that the molarity of a solution is expressed as "M". Whereas molarity measures the number of moles of solute per unit volume of solution, osmolarity measures the number of osmoles of solute particles per unit volume of solution. This value allows the measurement of the osmotic pressure of a solution and the determination of how the solvent will diffuse across a semipermeable membrane (osmosis) separating two solutions of different osmotic concentration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ion transporter</span> Transmembrane protein that moves ions across a biological membrane

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.

Method of glucose uptake differs throughout tissues depending on two factors; the metabolic needs of the tissue and availability of glucose. The two ways in which glucose uptake can take place are facilitated diffusion and secondary active transport. Active transport is the movement of ions or molecules going against the concentration gradient.

Cell physiology is the biological study of the activities that take place in a cell to keep it alive. The term physiology refers to normal functions in a living organism. Animal cells, plant cells and microorganism cells show similarities in their functions even though they vary in structure.

Selective reabsorption is the process whereby certain molecules, after being filtered out of the capillaries along with nitrogenous waste products and water in the glomerulus, are reabsorbed from the filtrate as they pass through the nephron. Selective reabsorbtion occurs in the PCT. The PCT is highly permeable meaning it is easy for molecules to diffuse through it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symporter</span>

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.

The pressure flow hypothesis, also known as the mass flow hypothesis, is the best-supported theory to explain the movement of sap through the phloem. It was proposed by Ernst Münch, a German plant physiologist in 1930. A high concentration of organic substances, particularly sugar, inside cells of the phloem at a source, such as a leaf, creates a diffusion gradient that draws water into the cells from the adjacent xylem. This creates turgor pressure, also known as hydrostatic pressure, in the phloem. Movement of phloem sap occurs by bulk flow from sugar sources to sugar sinks. The movement in phloem is bidirectional, whereas, in xylem cells, it is unidirectional (upward). Because of this multi-directional flow, coupled with the fact that sap cannot move with ease between adjacent sieve-tubes, it is not unusual for sap in adjacent sieve-tubes to be flowing in opposite directions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osmosis</span> Chemical process

Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential to a region of low water potential, in the direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides. It may also be used to describe a physical process in which any solvent moves across a selectively permeable membrane separating two solutions of different concentrations. Osmosis can be made to do work. Osmotic pressure is defined as the external pressure required to be applied so that there is no net movement of solvent across the membrane. Osmotic pressure is a colligative property, meaning that the osmotic pressure depends on the molar concentration of the solute but not on its identity.

Transcellular transport involves the transportation of solutes by a cell through a cell. Transcellular transport can occur in three different ways active transport, passive transport, and transcytosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cell membrane</span> Biological membrane that separates the interior of a cell from its outside environment

The cell membrane is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment. The cell membrane consists of a lipid bilayer, made up of two layers of phospholipids with cholesterols interspersed between them, maintaining appropriate membrane fluidity at various temperatures. The membrane also contains membrane proteins, including integral proteins that span the membrane and serve as membrane transporters, and peripheral proteins that loosely attach to the outer (peripheral) side of the cell membrane, acting as enzymes to facilitate interaction with the cell's environment. Glycolipids embedded in the outer lipid layer serve a similar purpose. The cell membrane controls the movement of substances in and out of a cell, being selectively permeable to ions and organic molecules. In addition, cell membranes are involved in a variety of cellular processes such as cell adhesion, ion conductivity, and cell signalling and serve as the attachment surface for several extracellular structures, including the cell wall and the carbohydrate layer called the glycocalyx, as well as the intracellular network of protein fibers called the cytoskeleton. In the field of synthetic biology, cell membranes can be artificially reassembled.

References

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  11. ↑ Dreyer, Ingo; Uozumi, Nobuyuki (2011-11-01). "Potassium channels in plant cells". FEBS Journal. 278 (22): 4293–4303. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2011.08371.x . ISSN   1742-4658. PMID   21955642. S2CID   12814450.
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  13. 1 2 3 4 Chen, Lihong; Tuo, Biguang; Dong, Hui (2016-01-14). "Regulation of Intestinal Glucose Absorption by Ion Channels and Transporters". Nutrients. 8 (1): 43. doi: 10.3390/nu8010043 . ISSN   2072-6643. PMC   4728656 . PMID   26784222.
  14. ↑ Cooper, Geoffrey M. (2000). "Transport of Small Molecules". The Cell: A Molecular Approach. 2nd Edition.
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