CELL MEMBRANE

- thin layer of lipid and protein molecules held by noncovalent bonds

- separates the cell contents from the surrounding medium or cellular environment.
- typical cell membrane ranges from 5 to 10 nanometers

PARTS AND STRUCTURE

- The cell membrane is mainly composed of phospholipid molecules.

- Phospholipids are made of glycerol, two fatty acids and a phosphate group.
- Phospholipid molecules are polar or amphiphatic, meaning the two ends have different properties in water.
- The phosphate head is hydrophilic (“water-loving”) or soluble in water.
- The tail end of the molecule is hydrophobic (“water-fearing”) or insoluble in water.
- In 1972, S. J. Singer and Garth Nicolson proposed the fluid mosaic model of the membrane. According to this model, there
are various protein molecule embedded in the phospholipid bilayer.
- Integral or intrinsic proteins are protein molecules that penetrate deeply into the lipid bilayer.
- Peripheral or extrinsic proteins are protein molecules that remain on the surface of the membrane.

- Fluid Mosaic model – membrane has a mosaic of protein molecules bobbing in a fluid of phospholipid bilayer;
- proposed by S.J. Singer and G. Nicolson (1972), using the freeze-fracture method
- Features of Fluid Mosaic Model:
1. fluid condition – membranes are held primarily by hydrophobic interactions; proteins move or drift laterally
*kinks of unsaturated hydrocarbon tails of phospholipids keeps membranes fluid
- Cholesterol, another lipid composed of four fused carbon rings, is found alongside phospholipids in the core of the
membrane
- Carbohydrate groups are present only on the outer surface of the plasma membrane and are attached to proteins, forming
glycoproteins, or lipids, forming glycolipids.
- Steroid cholesterol wedged between phospholipids restrains movement and lowers temperature requirement for
membranes to solidify

FUNCTIONS

- keep toxic substances out of the cell

- contain receptors and channels (allow specific molecules: ions, nutrients, wastes, metabolic products) that mediate cellular
and extracellular activities to pass between organelles and between the cell and the outside environment
- separate vital but incompatible metabolic processes conducted within organelles

SELECTIVE PERMEABILITY OF PLASMA MEMBRANE

a. Gases (oxygen & carbon dioxide) – small nonpolar molecules that pass with ease across lipid bilayer

b. Charged ions and large polar molecules cannot cross lipid bilayer

c. Glucose, amino acids, other polar molecules cannot cross lipid bilayer

Membrane acts as barrier to polar molecules

Passive Transport – type of transport that does not require energy to occur

Concentration gradient – a region of space over which the concentration of a substance changes

Permeability – quality of a membrane that allows substances to pass through it

Equilibrium – state at which a substance is equally distributed throughout a space

Active Transport – type of transport that requires an input of energy to occur

ATP – Adenosine triphosphate, primary energy carrier in living things

TYPES OF PASSIVE TRANSPORT

1. Diffusion – happens when substances move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, until the
concentration becomes equal throughout a space.

- only small, uncharged substances like carbon dioxide and oxygen can easily diffuse across it. Charged ions or large molecules
require different kinds of transport

a. Simple Diffusion – substance passes through a membrane without the aid of an intermediary such as a integral
membrane protein. In the cell, examples of molecules that can use simple diffusion to travel in and out of the cell
membrane are water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, ethanol and urea. They pass directly through the cell membrane without
energy along the concentration gradient
 b. Facilitated Diffusion – molecules diffuse across the plasma membrane with assistance from membrane proteins, such as
channels and carriers. A concentration gradient exists for these molecules, so they have the potential to diffuse into (or out
of) the cell by moving down it. Even though a concentration gradient may exist for these substances, their charge polarity
prevents them from crossing the hydrophobic center of the cell membrane. Substances transported through facilitated
diffusion still move with the concentration gradient, but the transport proteins protect them from the hydrophobic region
as the pass through.

2. Osmosis - form of diffusion

- It is a passive process because it does not require outside energy to start the process
- It is the movement of water molecules from a higher concentration to a lower concentration through a semi-permeable
membrane.
- Osmosis is an ongoing process
- Water is always moving in both directions
- The net movement of water is always i the direction from the higher concentration to the lower one.

TYPES OF DIFFUSION

a. Simple diffusion – of fat-soluble molecules directly through the phospholipid bilayer

b. Carrier-mediated facilitated diffusion – via protein carrier specific for one chemical; binding of substrate causes transport protein
to change shape

c. Channel-mediated facilitated diffusion – through a channel protein; mostly ions selected on basis of size and charge

d. Osmosis – diffusion of a solvent such as water through a specific channel protein (aquaporin) or through the lipid bilayer

ACTIVE TRANSPORT – substances move against the concentration gradient, from an area of low concentration to an area of high
concentration. This process is “active” because it requires the use of energy (usually in the form of ATP). It is the opposite of passive
transport.

Example:

The cell can’t import glucose for free using diffusion. because the natural tendency of the glucose will be to diffuse out rather than
flowing in. Instead, the cell must bring in more glucose molecules via active transport. In active transport, the cell expends energy
(for ex: in the form of ATP) to move a substance against its concentration gradient.

SODIUM-POTASSIUM PUMP

- involves the protein going back and forth between two forms:

1. Inward-facing form – high affinity for sodium (and low affinity for potassium)
2. Outward-facing form – high affinity for potassium (and low affinity for sodium)

- protein can be toggled back and forth between these forms by the addition or removal of a phosphate group, which is in turn
controlled by the binding of the ions to be transported.

- transports sodium out of and potassium into the cell in a repeating cycle of conformational (shape) changes. In each cycle, three
sodium ions exit the cell, while two potassium ions enter.

COMMON MISTAKES AND MISCONCEPTIONS

- NOT EVERYTHING ENTERS THE CELL THROUGH PASSIVE TRANSPORT – only the smallest molecules like water, carbon
dioxide, and oxygen can freely diffuse across cell membranes. Larger molecules or charged molecules often require an input
of energy to be transported into the cell.
- EVEN WHEN EQUILIBRIUM IS REACHED, PARTICLES DO NOT STOP MOVING ACROSS THE CELL MEMBRANE – although it may
seem as if the concentrations are not changing, nearly equal numbers of particles cross the membrane in both directions.
This means that there is no net change in the concentration of the substances.

BULK TRANSPORT

- Bulk Transport Mechanisms – large particles (large quantities of smaller particles) are moved across the cell membrane.
- These mechanisms involve enclosing the substances to be transported in their own small globes of membrane, which can
then bud from or fuse with the membrane to move the substance across.
- For instance, a macrophage engulfs it pathogen dinner by extending membrane “arms” around it and enclosing it in a
sphere of membrane called a food vacuole (where it is later digested).

1. Endocytosis (endo=internal, cytosis=transport mechanism) – general term for the various types of active transport that move
particles into a cell by enclosing them in a vesicle made out of plasma membrane.
 - process: First, the plasma membrane of the cell invaginates (folds inward), forming a pocket around the target
particle or particles. The pocket then pinches off with the help of specialized proteins, leaving the particle trapped in a
newly created vesicle or vacuole inside the cell.

a. Phagocytosis (“cell eating”) – form of endocytosis in which large particles, such as cells or cellular debris, are
transported into the cell.
b. Pinocytosis (“cell drinking”) – form of endocytosis in which a cell takes in small amounts of extracellular fluid.

c. Receptor-mediated endocytosis – form of endocytosis in which receptor proteins on the cell surface are used to
capture a specific target molecule. The receptors, which are
transmembrane proteins, cluster in regions of the plasma membrane known
as coated pits.
- although receptor-mediated endocytosis is intended to bring useful
substances into the cell, other, less friendly particles may gain
entry by the same route. Flu viruses, diphtheria, and cholera toxin all use
receptor-mediated endocytosis pathways to gain entry
into cells.

2. Exocytosis

- cells need to release other molecules, such as signaling proteins and waste products, to the outside environment.

- (exo = external, cytosis = transport mechanism) is a form of bulk transport in which materials are transported from the
inside to the outside of the cell in membrane-bound vesicles that fuse with the plasma membrane.

TONICITY

• is the ability of an extracellular solution to make water move into or out of a cell by osmosis.
• Tonicity is a bit different from osmolarity because it takes into account both relative solute concentrations and the cell
membrane’s permeability to those solutes.
• Three terms—hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic—are used to describe whether a solution will cause water to move into
or out of a cell:
• If a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, there will be a net flow of water out of the cell, and the cell will lose volume. A
solution will be hypertonic to a cell if its solute concentration is higher than that inside the cell, and the solutes cannot cross
the membrane.
• If a cell is placed in a hypotonic solution, there will be a net flow of water into the cell, and the cell will gain volume. If the
solute concentration outside the cell is lower than inside the cell, and the solutes cannot cross the membrane, then that
solution is hypotonic to the cell.
• If a cell is placed in an isotonic solution, there will be no net flow of water into or out of the cell, and the cell’s volume will
remain stable. If the solute concentration outside the cell is the same as inside the cell, and the solutes cannot cross the
membrane, then that solution is isotonic to the cell.

TONICITY IN LIVING SYSTEMS

• If a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, water will leave the cell, and the cell will shrink. In an isotonic environment, there is no net water movement, so
there is no change in the size of the cell. When a cell is placed in a hypotonic environment, water will enter the cell, and the cell will swell.

• In the case of a red blood cell, isotonic conditions are ideal, and your body has homeostatic (stability-maintaining) systems to ensure these conditions stay
constant. If placed in a hypotonic solution, a red blood cell will bloat up and may explode, while in a hypertonic solution, it will shrivel—making the
cytoplasm dense and its contents concentrated—and may die.

• In the case of a plant cell, however, a hypotonic extracellular solution is actually ideal.

• The plasma membrane can only expand to the limit of the rigid cell wall, so the cell won't burst, or lyse.

• In fact, the cytoplasm in plants is generally a bit hypertonic to the cellular environment, and water will enter a cell until its internal pressure—turgor
pressure—prevents further influx.

• Maintaining this balance of water and solutes is very important to the health of the plant. If a plant is not watered, the extracellular fluid will become
isotonic or hypertonic, causing water to leave the plant's cells.

• This results in a loss of turgor pressure, which you have likely seen as wilting.

• Plasmolysis- the cell membrane may actually detach from the wall and constrict the cytoplasm (Under hypertonic conditions).

• Tonicity is a concern for all living things, particularly those that lack rigid cell walls and live in hyper- or hypotonic environments.

• For example, paramecium and amoebas, which are protists that lack cell walls, may have specialized structures called contractile vacuoles.

• A contractile vacuole collects excess water from the cell and pumps it out, keeping the cell from lysing as it takes on water from its hypotonic environment.