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Related Concept Videos

Membrane Transporters01:31

Membrane Transporters

16.6K
Transporters are essential membrane transport proteins with functions related to cell nutrition, homeostasis, communication, etc. Approximately 7% of all genes in the human genome code for transporters or transporter-related proteins.
Transporters are mainly composed of alpha-helices, built from bundles of ten or more helices traversing the plasma membrane. The solute-binding sites are located midway, where some of the helices are broken or distorted, making space for the binding site through...
16.6K
The Significance of Membrane Transport01:44

The Significance of Membrane Transport

38.9K
The transport of solutes across the cell membrane is essential for metabolic processes, like maintaining cell size and volume, generating the action potential, exchanging nutrients and gases, etc. Membrane transport can be either passive or active. It can be simple diffusion, facilitated, or mediated transport aided by transport proteins such as transporters and channels.
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
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Facilitated Diffusion01:16

Facilitated Diffusion

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The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
946
Active Transport01:14

Active Transport

1.7K
Active transport is a critical biological process that allows cells to move solutes against an electrochemical gradient. This process requires direct energy input and is characterized by its selectivity, saturability, and susceptibility to competitive inhibition.
Primary active transporters, like Na+, K+ and -ATPase, directly utilize ATP to move ions across the membrane. These transporters play significant roles in various physiological processes. For instance, Na+, K+ and -ATPase maintain...
1.7K
Primary Active Transport01:29

Primary Active Transport

13.0K
In contrast to passive transport, active transport involves a substance being moved through membranes in a direction against its concentration or electrochemical gradient. There are two types of active transport: primary active transport and secondary active transport. Primary active transport utilizes chemical energy from ATP to drive protein pumps embedded in the cell membrane. With energy from ATP, the pumps transport ions against their electrochemical gradients—a direction they would...
13.0K
Carrier-Mediated Transport01:06

Carrier-Mediated Transport

800
Carrier-mediated transport is a pivotal process in drug absorption, particularly for lipid-insoluble drugs, and encompasses facilitated diffusion and active transport. Facilitated diffusion allows drugs to move along their concentration gradient without energy expenditure, while active transport utilizes ATP to drive drug movement against this gradient.
Active transport involves two types of membrane-spanning transporters: uptake and efflux. Uptake transporters are expressed in the small...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 28, 2025

Author Spotlight: Expression and Purification of Human Solute Carrier Transporters Using Codon-Optimized Genes
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Author Spotlight: Expression and Purification of Human Solute Carrier Transporters Using Codon-Optimized Genes

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Targeting Solute Carrier Transporters through Functional Mapping.

Claire Colas1, Elodie Laine2

  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Wien, Austria.

Trends in Pharmacological Sciences
|November 25, 2020
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Summary

Solute carrier transporters are key drug targets. Understanding their molecular functions and ligand interactions is vital for designing new drugs that modulate cellular transport.

Keywords:
functional mappingprotein evolutionprotein structuresolute carriers

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Solute carrier (SLC) transporters play critical roles in cellular transport.
  • Dysregulation of SLC transporters is implicated in various diseases, making them attractive drug targets.
  • Current understanding of the specific functions and ligand interactions of many SLC transporters remains incomplete.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive functional map of human solute carrier (SLC) transporters.
  • To identify molecular determinants governing the specificity and selectivity of SLC transporter activity.
  • To elucidate key interactions between SLC transporters and their ligands for drug design.

Main Methods:

  • Bioinformatic analysis of SLC transporter sequences and structures.
  • Comparative genomics and functional domain analysis.
  • Literature review and data mining for known ligand-transporter interactions.

Main Results:

  • A systematic functional classification of over 400 human SLC transporters was established.
  • Key amino acid residues and structural motifs responsible for substrate specificity were identified for several SLC families.
  • A database of known and predicted ligand interactions was compiled, highlighting potential druggable targets.

Conclusions:

  • A general functional mapping of human SLC transporters is achievable and essential.
  • This mapping facilitates the rational design of novel therapeutic agents targeting cellular transport.
  • Further research into SLC transporter mechanisms will accelerate the development of precision medicines.