Body Fluids And Membrane Transport Flashcards
How many litres of water do we have in our bodies?
42
What is the water content in our bodies split up into (give numbers)
25 litres intracellular fluid (ICF) 17 litres extracellular fluid (ECF): - 13 litres interstitial fluid (ISF) - 3 litres plasma - 1 litre transcellular fluid
What is interstitial fluid?
Fluid that is bathing the cells. Outside of blood vessels but not inside cells
What is the total blood volume?
6 litres
What is transcellular fluid?
Fluid that has crossed an epithelial cell barrier and has been modified in some way
Give some examples of Transcellular fluids and where they are located
- Cerebrospinal fluid - brain
- Urine - kidney and bladder
- Gastrointestinal secretions - saliva, gastric juice, pancreatic juice, bile
- Sweat
- aqueous and vitreous humors - eyes
- synovial fluid - joints
Why is there a higher composition of proteins in the intracellular fluid?
Because proteins are created within cells
Why is there no net force driving the movement of water at resting?
Because there’s the same osmolality in the intracellular and extracellular fluid
What happens to fluid entering your body?
It is absorbed in the gut and would then enter the plasma. It would then cross the endothelium barrier to enter the ISF. Once it is in the ISF it can be transported across a layer of epithelial cells to become transcellular fluid, or it can cross the plasma membrane to become the ICF
Give features of the plasma membrane
- It is highly selective in its permeability
- it has lots of transport proteins tor uptake and removal of specific solutes
- vital for regulation of the intracellular environment
- has a lipid bilayer: contains a hydrophilic outer head (attracted to water) and a hydrophobic outer tail (repulsed by water)
- provides structural support
What is the phospholipid bilayer impermeable to?
Ions and polar molecules
What is permeability it the membrane provided by?
Membrans proteins (transporters)
Give examples of membrane proteins
- Channels
- Carriers
- Pumps (require energy to move an ion against the concentration gradient)
How can lipid soluble membranes cross the plasma membrane?
Through simple diffusion
How can water soluble molecules cross the plasma membrane?
Through a channel, carrier or pump
What uses passive transport?
Diffusion, channel-mediated and carrier mediated transport
How are ion pumps powered?
By the hydrolysis of ATP (active transport)
What are the different types of carrier?
- Facilitator (uniport)
- Cotrans-porter (symport)
- exchanger (antiport)
They all work by passive transport
What is the function of a facilitator (uniport)?
It will only transport one ion species
What are the functions of cotrans-porters (symport)
It tranports two different ion species in the same direction. They are electroneutral. The net movement of charge across the membrane would balance out as it would carry one positive and one negative ion.
What’s the function of an exchanger? (Antiport)
It swaps ions of the same charge (to maintain electroneutrality)
What are the functions of transport proteins?
- help to maintain the internal environment of the cell
- uptake of nutrients, substrates and cofactors (needed for metabolic reactions)
- exports waste products
How do cells regualte pH?
Using a sodium potassium. This is an energy requiring process as the ions are being moved against their concentration gradient. In expending the energy to make the pump work the cell sets up gradients to let other substances in and out:
- if there is too much acid in the cell a gradient has been set up where H+ ions can move out of the cell while Na+ ions move in
- if there is too much base in the cell a gradient had been set up in which HCO3- ions can move out of the cell and Cl- ions can move in
How can cells regulate their volume?
- if they need to increase their volume they can move Na+, K+ and Cl- into the cell and that will create a gradient which will also transport water into the cell expanding the volume
- if the volume needs to be decreased Cl- and K+ can be moved out of the cell ceeating an osmotic gradient allowing water to be moved out of the cell
Why is Ca2+ kept at a very low concentration in the cell?
Because it is a signalling molecule and can trigger cellular action
Why do we have lots of organic negatively charged ions inside the cell?
Because they have no mechanism to move outside the cell
How do cells maintain an electrical gradient across the membrane?
The cell inside is negatively charged compared to the outside of the cell. This is because of the negatively charged organic ions trapped inside the cell
How does water move across the cell membrane?
Passively through osmosis