Membrane Structure and Function

Eukaryotic Cell: Neuron

Membrane Structure and Function

All cells have a plasma or cell membrane, which contains the

cell. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of adipocytes (Ad)
Membrane Structure and Function

Prokaryotic Cells: Bacteria

The Formation of Cell Membranes
is Crucial to Life
Functions of the Cell Membrane
• Contains the cell
• Regulates the traffic
of molecules and
substances in and out
of the cell (semi-
permeable
membrane)
Cell Membrane Structure

Pancreatic Secretory Cell: TEM of Basal and Apical

Parts
 Major Components of the Cell
Membrane
• The major constituents of the
cell membrane are proteins
and lipids
• Membrane proteins and lipids
are arranged in a particular
fashion, both contributing to
containing the cell and to
selectively allowing or blocking
the traffic of certain substances
through the cell
• Such arrangement of
molecules provides fluidity to
the cell membrane
 Major Components of the Cell
Membrane: Lipids
• Phospholipids are
amphipathic molecules
(with hydrophobic tails
and a hydrophilic head)
• One of the phospholipid
tails exist mostly in a
trans configuration,
providing more fluidity to
the membrane
• Cholesterol is a rigid
molecule that makes
membranes less fluid
Cholesterol
 Major Components of the Cell
Membrane: Lipids

One of the phospholipid tails exist mostly in a

trans configuration, providing more fluidity to the
membrane
Cholesterol is a rigid molecule that makes
membranes less fluid
 How Are Phospholipids Organized
in the Cell Membrane?
• Phospholipids constitute
two mirror-image oriented
layers — the lipid bilayer
• The hydrophilic heads are
exposed to the high-
content water regions,
while the hydrophobic
tails constitute a barrier
impenetrable to almost all
substances
hydrophobic tails: repel water:
phospholipids: lipid bilayer
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 Major Components of the Cell
Membrane: Membrane Proteins
• Membrane proteins are
embedded in the fluid matrix of
the lipid bilayer
• More than 50 types of proteins
have been found in the plasma
membrane. Membrane
proteins determine most of the
membrane specific functions
• Transport proteins, enzymes
and receptor proteins
(membrane proteins that
interact with other cells or
molecules) include the vast
majority of membrane proteins
Major Components of the Cell
Membrane: Organization
Major Components of the Cell
Membrane: Organization
Functions of the Cell Membrane
• Contains the cell
• Regulates the traffic
of molecules and
substances in and out
of the cell (semi-
permeable
membrane)
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane
• Selective

• Bidirectional

• Depending Upon Differences of

Concentration Inside and Outside of the
Cell
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane

• Selective: only a few molecules can go through

the lipid bilayer. Transport proteins mostly
determine what substances cross the cell
membrane, as they carry out the majority of
membrane transport
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane
• Bidirectional: only a
few molecules can go
through the lipid
bilayer. Transport
proteins determine
what substances
cross the cell
membrane.
Transport can occur
in/out or out/in
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane
• Depending Upon
Differences of
Concentration
Inside and Outside
of the Cell: Osmosis
and diffusion are the
two main processes
by which molecules
move across the cell
membrane
___ control the traffic of molecules
through the cell membrane
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 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane: Osmosis
• Osmosis is the movement
of water and some small
molecules through a
semi-permeable
membrane from areas of
low concentration of
solutes to areas of high
concentration of solutes
• Why does water move in
that particular direction?
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane: Osmotic Shock
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane: Osmosis
• Draw a situation
where the
extracellular
environment is such
that water flows out of
the cell
• Is the extracellular
environment hypo-,
hyper-, or isotonic?
In this situation, will water flow out
of the cell?
50% 50%

[NaCl] = 1.1 mg/ml

[NaCl] = 0.03 mg/ml

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 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane: Diffusion

• Diffusion is the movement of substances from an

area of high concentration of solutes to an area
of low solute concentration (down to a
concentration gradient)
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane: Diffusion
• Draw a situation where a
molecule of NaCl will
enter the cell. Assume
that a transport protein is
needed
• Is the extracellular
environment hypo-,
hyper-, or isotonic?

• Direction of water?
In this situation, will a molecule of
NaCl enter the cell?
50% 50%

[NaCl] = 1.1 mg/ml

[NaCl] = 1.9 mg/ml

No
Ye
1. Yes
2. No
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane: Facilitated
Diffusion
• Facilitated diffusion is a
protein-mediated passive
(no energy required)
diffusion of molecules
across the cell membrane
• Transport proteins carry
out facilitated diffusion;
facilitated diffusion is very
selective, as each
transport protein
transports just one type of
molecule
 Traffic of Substances Across the
Plasma Membrane: Active Transport
• Active transport is a protein-
mediated transport of
molecules across the cell
membrane against a
concentration gradient (low to
high solute concentration
areas). It requires a boost of
energy (ATP) to occur. As
facilitated diffusion, is very
selective
• Glucose is actively transported
through the plasma membrane
of intestinal cells
 Bulk Transport of Substances Across
the Plasma Membrane: Exocytosis and
Endocytosis

Pancreatic Secretory Cell: TEM

Types of Endocytosis: Phagocytosis

In phagocytosis (“cell eating”), a cell

engulfs a particle or another cell
through the emission of pseudopodia,
and packs it into a vacuole. The
contents of the vacuole is digested after
the vacuole fuses with a lysosome

Phagocytosis of erythrocytes (Er) by

blood macrophages (Ma).
Types of Endocytosis: Pinocytosis

• In pinocytosis (“cell drinking”), the cell takes in

droplets of extracellular fluid into small vesicles.
Many molecules enter the cell dissolved in the
droplets in a non-specific manner
 Types of Endocytosis: Receptor-
Mediated Endocytosis
• Receptor-mediated endocytosis
requires of specific receptor proteins
located in the cell membrane. Cell
receptors interact with the molecule to
be transported into the cell through a
ligand — a molecule that binds
specifically to the receptor
• Receptor-mediated endocytosis is
highly specific. Human cells use
receptor-mediated endocytosis to take
in cholesterol. Some viruses (i.e. HIV
virus) enters the cell through receptor-
mediated endocytosis
• Mutations in receptor proteins involved
in receptor-mediated endocytosis
usually block the entrance of
substances meant to be transported
by this process (i.e. natural HIV
immunity, familial
hypercholesterolemia)
The arrows point to a process of:
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