5.1 Membrane
Models
A. Early Observations
1. At turn of the century, researchers noted lipid-soluble molecules entered
cells more rapidly than
water-soluble molecules, suggesting lipids are component of plasma membrane.
2. Later chemical analysis revealed
the membrane contained phospholipids.
3. Gorter and Grendel (1925) found
amount of phospholipid extracted from a red blood cell
was just
enough to form one bilayer; suggested nonpolar tails directed inward, polar
heads outward.
4. To account for permeability of
membrane to non-lipid substances, Danielli and Davson proposed
sandwich
model (later proved wrong) with phospholipid bilayer
between layers of protein.
5. With the electron microscope
available, Robertson proposed proteins were embedded in outer
membrane and
all membranes in cells had similar compositions—the unit membrane model.
B. In 1972, Singer and Nicolson introduced the currently accepted fluid-mosaic
model of membrane structure.
1. Plasma membrane is phospholipid bilayer in which protein molecules are
partially or wholly embedded.
2. Embedded proteins are scattered
throughout membrane in irregular pattern; varies among membranes.
3. Electron micrographs of
freeze-fractured membrane supports fluid-mosaic model.
5.2 Plasma
Membrane Structure and Function
A. Fluid-mosaic Model
1. Membrane structure has two components, lipids and proteins.
2. Lipids are arranged into a
bilayer
a. Most
plasma membrane lipids are phospholipids, which spontaneously
arrange themselves into a bilayer.
b. Nonpolar
tails are hydrophobic and directed inward; polar heads are
hydrophilic and are
directed outward to face extracellular and intracellular fluids.
c. Glycolipids
have a structure similar to phospholipids except the hydrophilic head is a
variety of sugar; they are protective and assist in various functions.
d. Cholesterol
is a lipid found in animal plasma membranes; reduces the permeability of
membrane.
e. Glycoproteins
have an attached carbohydrate chain of sugar that projects externally.
f. The
plasma membrane is asymmetrical; glycolipids and proteins occur only on outside
and
cytoskeletal filaments attach to proteins only on the inside surface.
B. Fluidity of the Plasma Membrane
1. At body temperature, the phospholipid bilayer has consistency of olive
oil.
2. The greater the concentration of
unsaturated fatty acid residues, the more fluid the bilayer.
3. In each monolayer, the
hydrocarbon tails wiggle, and entire phospholipid molecules can
move
sideways at a rate of about 2 µm—the length of a prokaryotic cell—per second.
4. Phospholipid molecules rarely
flip-flop from one layer to the other.
5. Fluidity of the phospholipid
bilayer allows cells to be pliable.
6. Some proteins are held in place
by cytoskeletal filaments; most drift in fluid bilayer.
C. The Membrane Is a Mosaic
1. Plasma membrane and organelle membranes have unique proteins; RBC plasma
membrane
contains 50+
types of proteins.
2. Membrane proteins determine most
of the membrane’s functions.
3. Channel proteins
allow a particular molecule to cross membrane freely (e.g., Cl- channels).
4. Carrier proteins
selectively interact with a specific molecule so it can cross the plasma
membrane
(e.g., Na+ - K+ pump, sodium potassium pump).
5. Receptor proteins
are shaped so a specific molecule (e.g., hormone or other molecule)
can bind to
it.
6. Enzymatic proteins
catalyze specific metabolic reactions.
D. Cell-Cell Recognition
1. Carbohydrate chains of glycolipids and glycoproteins identify cell;
diversity of the
chains is
enormous.
a. Chains
vary by number of sugars (from 15 to several hundred).
b. Chains
vary in branching.
c. Sequence
of sugars in chains varies.
2. Glycolipids and glycoproteins
vary from species to species, from individual to individual of
same
species, and even from cell to cell in same individual.
3. In development, different type
cells in embryo develop their own carbohydrate chains; these
chains allow
tissues and cells of the embryo to sort themselves out.
4. Immune system rejection of transplanted
tissues is due to recognition of unique glycolipids and
glycoproteins; blood types are due to unique glycoproteins on the membranes of
red blood cells (RBC).
5.3
Permeability of the Plasma Membrane
A. Types of Membranes and Transport
1. The plasma membrane is differentially permeable; only
certain molecules can pass
through
freely.
2. A permeable membrane allows all
molecules to pass through; an impermeable membrane
allows no
molecules to pass through; a semipermeable membrane allows
some molecules
to pass
through.
a. Small
non-charged lipid molecules (alcohol, oxygen) pass through the membrane freely.
b. Small
polar molecules (carbon dioxide, water) easily pass following their
concentration gradient.
c.
Macromolecules cannot freely cross a plasma membrane.
d. Ions and
charged molecules have difficulty crossing the hydrophobic phase of the
bilayer.
3. Both passive and active
mechanisms move molecules across membrane.
a. Passive
transport moves molecules across membrane without expenditure
of energy
by cell; includes diffusion and facilitated transport.
b. Active
transport uses energy (ATP) to move molecules across a plasma
membrane; includes
active
transport, exocytosis, endocytosis, and pinocytosis.
B. Diffusion and Osmosis
1. In diffusion, molecules move from higher to lower
concentration (i.e., down their
concentration gradient).
a. A solution
contains a solute, usually a solid, and a solvent,
usually a liquid.
b. In the
case of a dye diffusing in water, dye is a solute and water is the solvent.
2. Membrane chemical and physical
properties allow only a few types of molecules to
cross by
diffusion.
a.
Lipid-soluble molecules (e.g., alcohols) diffuse; lipids are membrane’s main
structural components.
b. Gases
readily diffuse through lipid bilayer. Movement of oxygen from air sacs
(alveoli)
to blood in lung capillaries depends on concentration of oxygen in alveoli.
3. Osmosis is the
diffusion of water across a differentially permeable membrane.
a. Osmotic
pressure is hydrostatic pressure, on side of membrane with higher
solute
concentration, produced by water diffusing to that side of membrane; thistle
tube example:
1) A differentially permeable membrane separates two solutions.
2) Beaker has more water (lower percentage of solute) and thistle tube has less
water.
3) The membrane does not permit passage of the solute.
4) Membrane permits passage of water with net movement of water from beaker to
inside of tube.
5) Osmotic pressure allows liquid increase on side of membrane with greater
percent of solute.
b. Osmotic
pressure is pressure that develops in a system due to osmosis.
c. Osmosis
is constant process in life: for example, water is absorbed in large intestine,
retained by kidneys, and taken up by blood.
4. Tonicity is
strength of a solution in relationship to osmosis; determines movement of water
into or out
of cells.
a. Isotonic
is where the relative solute concentration of two solutions are equal.
b. Hypotonic
is where a relative solute concentration of one solution is less
than another solution.
c. Hypertonic
is where relative solute concentration of one solution is greater
than another solution.
d. Swelling
of plant cell in hypotonic solution creates turgor pressure; how
plants maintain erect position.
e. Solutions
that cause cells to shrink are hypertonic solutions; red blood cells placed in
salt
solution above 0.9% shrink and wrinkle, a condition called crenation.
C. Transport by Carrier Proteins
1. Plasma membrane impedes passage of most substances but many molecules enter
or leave at rapid rates.
2. Carrier proteins
are membrane proteins that combine with and transport only one type of
molecule;
are believed to undergo a change in shape to move molecule across in active and
facilitated
transport.
3. Facilitated transport
is passive transport of specific solutes down their concentration gradient,
facilitated
by a carrier protein; glucose and amino acids move although not lipid-soluble.
4. Active transport is
transport of specific solutes across plasma membranes against the
concentration
gradient through use of cellular energy (ATP).
a. Iodine is
concentrated in cells of thyroid gland, glucose is completely absorbed into
lining
of digestive tract, and sodium is mostly reabsorbed by kidney tubule lining.
b. Active
transport requires ATP and have high number of mitochondria near membranes.
c. Proteins
involved in active transport are often called "pumps"; the
sodium-potassium pump
is an important carrier system in nerve and muscle cells.
d. Salt (NaCl)
crosses a plasma membrane because sodium ions are pumped across and the
chloride ion is attracted to the sodium ion and simply diffuses across.
5. Membrane-Assisted Transport
a. In exocytosis,
a vesicle often formed by Golgi apparatus fuses with the plasma membrane as
secretion occurs; method by which insulin leaves insulin-secreting cells.
b. During endocytosis,
cells take in substances by vesicle formation as plasma membrane pinches off.
c. In phagocytosis,
cells engulf large particles forming an endocytic vesicle
1. Phagocytosis is commonly performed by ameboid-type cells (e.g., amoebas and
macrophages).
2. When the endocytic vesicle fuses with a lysosome, digestion occurs.
d. Pinocytosis
occurs when vesicles form around a liquid or very small particles.
e. Receptor-mediated
endocytosis occurs when specific macromolecules bind to plasma
membrane receptors.
1) This allows cells to receive specific molecules and then sort them within
the cell.
2) A macromolecule that binds to receptor is called a ligand;
binding of ligands to receptors
causes receptors to gather at one location.
3) This location is a coated pit with a layer of fibrous protein called
clathrin, on cytoplasmic side.
4) Pits appear associated with exchange of substances between cells (e.g.,
maternal and fetal blood).
5) When cholesterol enters a cell, membrane and receptors are returned to the
plasma membrane.
5.4
Modification of Cell Surfaces
A. Plasma Membrane
1. The plasma membrane is outer living boundary of a cell.
2. Many cells have an extracellular
component formed outside of membrane; plant, fungi, algae, and
bacteria
form cell walls; animal cells have an extracellular matrix.
B. Plant Cell Walls
1. Plant cells are surrounded by a porous cell wall that varies in thickness,
depending on function of cell.
2. Plant cells have primary cell
wall composed of cellulose polymers united into threadlike microfibrils
that for
fibrils.
3. Cellulose fibrils form a
framework whose spaces are filled by non-cellulose molecules:
a. Pectins
allow cell wall to stretch; are abundant in the middle lamella that holds cells
together.
b. Non-cellulose
polysaccharides harden the wall of mature cells.
4. Lignin adds
strength and is a common ingredient of secondary cell walls in woody plants.
5. Plasmodesmata are
narrow channels that pass through cell walls of neighboring cells and connect
their
cytoplasms,
allowing direct exchange of molecules and ions between neighboring plant cells.
C. Extracellular Matrix of Animal Cells
1. Extracellular matrix is meshwork of insoluble proteins with
carbohydrate chains that are produced and
secreted by
animal cells; fills spaces between animal cells.
2. This matrix most likely
influences the development, migration, shape and function of cells.
3. Collagen gives the
matrix strength and elastin gives it resilience.
4. Fibronectins and laminins
bind to membrane receptors; permit communication between matrix and cytoplasm.
5. Fibronectins and laminins
form pathways that direct the migration of cells during development.
6. Proteoglycans are
glycoproteins that provide a packing gel that joins the various proteins in
matrix and most
likely
regulate signaling proteins that bind to receptors in the plasma protein.
D. Junctions Between Cells
1. Cell junctions are points of contact that physically link
neighboring cells or provide
functional
links; animal cells have three types: adhesion junctions, tight junctions,
and gap
junctions.
2. In adhesion junctions
(desmosomes), internal cytoplasmic plaques, firmly attached
to
cytoskeleton within each cell are joined by intercellular filaments; hold cells
together
where
tissues stretch (e.g. in heart, stomach, bladder).
3. In tight junctions,
plasma membrane proteins attach to each other, producing zipper-like
fastenings;
hold cells together so tightly that tissues (e.g., epithelial lining of
stomach,
kidney
tubules) are barriers.
4. A gap junction
allows cells to communicate.
a. They are
formed by the joining of two identical plasma membrane channels; channel of
each cell is lined by six plasma proteins.
b. They
provide strength to the cells involved and allow the movement of small
molecules
and ions from the cytoplasm of one cell to the cytoplasm of the other cell.
c. Gap
junctions are important to function of heart muscle and smooth muscle because
they
permit diffusion of ions required for cells to contract.