Unit Two:

Cell
Membranes
Deanna Mesa-Green
The Structure of the Cell Membrane
● The major components of a cell membrane are phospholipids, glycolipids,
proteins, and cholesterol.
● Contains more protein by mass, but the molar mass of a protein is about
one-hundred times that of a lipid.
Orientation of a Phospholipid
● Composed of a glycerol molecule, two fatty acids, and a phosphate group that is
modified by an alcohol
● Phosphate group is the negatively charged polar head (hydrophilic)
● Heads face outward and are attracted to the intra and extracellular fluid
● Fatty acid chains are the uncharged, non-polar tails (hydrophobic)
● Tails face inward, away from the water and meet in the inner region of the
membrane
● If phospholipids are placed in water, they form into molecules, which are lipid
molecules that arrange themselves in a spherical form in aqueous solutions
Embedded Proteins
● Proteins of the cell membrane which are completely embedded in the bilayer of
phospholipids and hydrophobic regions
Steroids
● lipids
● hydrophobic and insoluble in water
● have a four-ring structure
● located in the brain
● alters electrical activity in the brain
● often used in anesthetic medicine because they can tone down receptors that
communicate messages from transmitters
Glycoproteins
● Type of protein molecule that has had a carboxyl attached to it
● Function in the structure, reproduction, immune system, hormones, and
protections of cells and organisms.
● Found on the surface of the lipid bilayer
● Hydrophilic
● Can help organ systems communicate
Fluid Mosaic Model
● Proposed by S.J. Singer and Garth L. Nicholson in 1972
● Intended to explain the plasma membrane structure
● has evolved since
● describes plasma membrane as a mosaic of components:
○ phospholipids
○ cholesterol
○ proteins
○ carbohydrates
What are Plant Cell Walls Made of?
● Plant cell walls are made of:
○ 35-50% cellulose
○ 20-35% xylan
○ 10-25% lignin
What are Bacterial Cell Walls Made of?
● made of peptoglycan
○ polysaccharides chains cross-linked by unusual peptides containing D-amino acids
What are Archaeal Cell Walls Made of?
● There are four types of archaeal cell walls:
a. composed in pseudopeptidodycan
b. composed of a thick layer of polysaccharides
c. composed of glycoprotein
d. composed of s-layer
Selective Permeability
● Property of cellular membranes that only allows certain molecules to enter or
exit the cell
● Small non-polar molecules can easily cross the membrane through diffusion
● Large polar molecules cannot pass
● Polar uncharged molecules diffuse
● Large uncharged polar molecules cannot diffuse
Passive Transport
● Movement of ions and other atomic or molecular substances across cell
membranes without need of energy transport
● Does not require the input of cellular energy
● Driven by the tendency of the system to grow in entropy
Active Transport
● Movement of molecules across a membrane from a region of their lower
concentration to a higher concentration
○ Against the concentration gradient
● Requires cellular energy
Endocytosis
● Substances are brought into the cell
● Material to be internalized is surrounded by an area of cell membrane
● Then buds off inside the cell to form a vesicles containing the ingested material
● Includes pinocytosis and phagocytosis
Exocytosis
● Opposite function of endocytosis
● Membrane-bound vesicles containing molecules are transported to the cell
membrane