What is the difference between pinocytosis and phagocytosis

Difference Between Pinocytosis and Phagocytosis. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. MLA 8 Tamon, Golden. Name required. Email required.

Please note: comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Written by : golden. User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. You agree that we have no liability for any damages. Both pinocytosis and phagocytosis are types of endocytosis. Endocytosis is a process by which cells absorb molecules by engulfing them. The process of endocytosis is used by all cells as the molecules are large polar molecules that cannot pass through the hydrophobic plasma or cell membrane.

Pinocytosis is the absorption of liquids, whereas phagocytosis is the absorption of solid objects which are essentially food for the cell. Almost all cells perform pinocytosis, however phagocytosis is performed only by specialized cells that protect tissues by engulfing bacteria, cell debris, and other abnormal materials.

Pinocytosis is essentially the process of absorbing fluid together with its contents into the cell. Image 8: The pinosome can now merge with other vacuole, such as the early endosome, to enable breakdown of its contents. Meet The Author.

Jonathan Dornell, PhD. Chosen for you. Cellular intake of solid material. Cellular intake of fluid. Immune response, nutrient uptake. Cell Types. Most commonly immune cells. Almost all cell types. Skin cells. There are different variations of endocytosis, but all share a common characteristic: the plasma membrane of the cell invaginates, forming a pocket around the target particle.

The pocket pinches off, resulting in the particle being contained in a newly-created intracellular vesicle formed from the plasma membrane. For example, when microorganisms invade the human body, a type of white blood cell called a neutrophil will remove the invaders through this process, surrounding and engulfing the microorganism, which is then destroyed by the neutrophil.

Phagocytosis : In phagocytosis, the cell membrane surrounds the particle and engulfs it. In preparation for phagocytosis, a portion of the inward-facing surface of the plasma membrane becomes coated with a protein called clathrin, which stabilizes this section of the membrane. The coated portion of the membrane then extends from the body of the cell and surrounds the particle, eventually enclosing it.

Once the vesicle containing the particle is enclosed within the cell, the clathrin disengages from the membrane and the vesicle merges with a lysosome for the breakdown of the material in the newly-formed compartment endosome.

When accessible nutrients from the degradation of the vesicular contents have been extracted, the newly-formed endosome merges with the plasma membrane and releases its contents into the extracellular fluid. The endosomal membrane again becomes part of the plasma membrane. A variation of endocytosis is called pinocytosis. In reality, this is a process that takes in molecules, including water, which the cell needs from the extracellular fluid.

Pinocytosis results in a much smaller vesicle than does phagocytosis, and the vesicle does not need to merge with a lysosome. Pinocytosis : In pinocytosis, the cell membrane invaginates, surrounds a small volume of fluid, and pinches off. Potocytosis, a variant of pinocytosis, is a process that uses a coating protein, called caveolin, on the cytoplasmic side of the plasma membrane, which performs a similar function to clathrin. The cavities in the plasma membrane that form the vacuoles have membrane receptors and lipid rafts in addition to caveolin.

The vacuoles or vesicles formed in caveolae singular caveola are smaller than those in pinocytosis.