Lecture 17: Transport Flashcards
The necessity for transport in eukaryotic cells
- Metabolism needs fuel, produces waste products.
- Transport between cytosol and organelles.
- Proteins secreted via the secretory system.
- Signalling within and between cells.
- Proteins targeted to different organelles.
Physical communication between animal cells:
Gap junctions
Gap junctions:
- exchange of metabolites and signalling between cells.
- channel proteins: connexins in vertebrates, innexins in invertebrates.
- rapid exchange of ions and metabolites < ~1 kDa.
- ~ 20 connexins in human genome, mutations lead to muscular dystrophy, deafness, skin diseases, cataracts.
connexins vs innexins
connexin in vertebrates
innexin in invertebrates
Physical communication between plant cells:
Plasmodesmata
Plasmodesmata :
- Exclusion limit (~1 KDa), but can dilate to allow passage of molecules >20 kDa, (proteins and RNA)
- Enable cytoplasmically interconnected fields of cells known as symplasm
Membrane structure:
Phospholipid bilayer:
- phospholipid molecules (hydrophobic tails, hydrophilic heads)
- integral proteins
- carbohydrates
- surface proteins
- glycoprotein
- glycolipid
- peripheral protein
- cholesterol
- protein channel (transport protein)
The lipid bilayer :
—WHO
Gorter + Grendel 1925.
noticed must be a ‘bi’ layer because surface area occupied by lipids of erythrocytes was double that of total surface area of erythrocytes.
Gorter + grendel how did they test:
erythrocytes –> extraction of membrane lipid in solvent –> lipid film on water
Inherent transport properties of lipid membranes: Hydrophobic molecules
O2, CO2, N2, steroid hormones.
All pass through lipid bilayer.
Inherent transport properties of lipid membranes: Small uncharged polar molecules
H2O, urea, glycerol
Some passes through, more rejected to pass through lipid bilayer
Inherent transport properties of lipid membranes: Large uncharged polar molecules
glucose, sucrose
little passes through, majority rejected
Inherent transport properties of lipid membranes: ions
e.g. H+, Na+, HCO-3, K+, Ca2+, Cl-, Mg2+
ALL REJECTED
Time taken for 1 ml water to pass through 1 cm2 of membrane under 1 atm pressure: Red blood cell
2 days
Time taken for 1 ml water to pass through 1 cm2 of membrane under 1 atm pressure: Zoothamnium (a colonial protist)
6 weeks