Cotransporters are a subcategory of
transporters that couple the favorable movement of one molecule with its
concentration gradient and unfavorable movement of another molecule against its concentration gradient 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.