10/8/19

Cadherin: cell to cell adherence molecule

● Can be bound to intermediate molecules and actin.
● The cadherins will extend outside the cell plasma membrane. They will be sealed
together with calcium ions
● Each type of cell has its own cadherins.
○ Homophillic binding: making it more tissue specific
○ Cells of a tissue stay connected with one another, not cells of different tissues.
○ 4 nm gap between cells

Integrin: cell to
● Does not extend outside the cell. Present within the length of the plasma membrane
● Cell adhesion molecule AND receptor
○ Cell attachment and communication
● Extracellular domain attaches to collagen through fibronectin. Binds with signals coming
from outside
● Intercellular site connects to like actin through linker protein. Binds with signals coming
from inside.
● The receptor will undergo a change in shape if receptor outside is bound. Now he isn’t
connected to linker proteins :(
○ Could happen during death, cell mitosis (growth + division), movement. Loses
contact with extracellular matrix

Tight junctions: prevent leakage between cells, particularly cells lining organ systems. Stuff only
passes through cells not between cells
● Coluden and coloden. Proteins circle around
● Really tighten wound but easy to break
● Rodenticides target the tight junctions so rats bleed out
● Anchoring junctions are put close to tight junctions to give them support
● Corsets

Communicating junctions:
gap junctions (for animals)
● 6 connexin proteins in one cell align with 6 connexin proteins in an adjacent cell to form
a connexon
● Tiny openings. Tiny compounds (<1000 dalton molecular mass) moving around.
● Dynamic so you can close off an infected cell
● Cillia
● Cells of a tissue work together bc of gap junctions

Middle lamella:
● Middle lamella, primary cell wall, secondary cell wall. First thing to form
● Pectins are negatively charged polysaccharides. They make up middle lamella
 ○ Attract positively charged ions in water which makes it very adhesive
● When the fruit is ripe, a signal of ethylene is sent out, so the pectins are broken so the
middle lamella becomes soft so you can eat the fruit.
● Tubule connecting endoplasmic reticulum of both plant cells. Desmotubule. Large
opening; large proteins and bacteria and vitamins move through.
○ Infection spreads easily and quickly.
● Plasmodesmata are also dynamic but since the openings so big its still really easy to get
bacteria in
● Desmotube connects ER membrane of adjacent cells, never like nucleus.
● Symplast: inside plasma membrane
● Apoplasts: water and small things can go through small holes in the cell wall. Outside
plasma membrane

CHAPTER 5: Membrane transport and cell signalling

Function: formidable and flexible barrier.
● Flexible because phospholipids dance because proteins are changing shape
● On average membranes are 50% protein, 50% lipid. Carbohydrate composition varies
○ Myelin sheath: very little lipid, lot more carbohydrate
○ Lamella: no carbohydrates
○ Think about function and relate composition

Biological membranes: a mosaic of lipid, carbohydrate molecules, and protein. Fluid mosaic.
● Phospholipids are the water, proteins are inserted in it and can do bilateral movement.
Irregular distribution = mosaic
● Phospholipid bilayer. Lipids, proteins, glycoproteins, glycolipids
○ Asymmetrical layers. E leaflet = layer facing outside the cell (extracellular). P
leaflet = protoplasmic layer (inside the cell. Endoplasm used to be called
protoplasm) . a lot of glycoproteins and glycolipids on E leaflet, more there than
on P leaflet (asymmetrical)
● SEMI-FLUID movement of phospholipids. Energy efficient movement.
○ If it flips thats more energy though.
○ Enzyme = flippase
○ You have enhanced flippase activity during apoptosis, division, cell growth,
cancer, and repair of damage. Moving from one layer to the next
● Smooth ER helps make phospholipids

Factors affecting fluidity:

1. Length of fatty acid tails
a. Longer ones have a tendency to react and slow down movement
2. Presence of double bonds in the acyl tails
a. Saturated fats stack easily so there’s no room for movement so it becomes
viscous.
b. Want lipids of phospholipids to be unsaturated
3. Presence of cholesterol
 a. High temperatures mean membrane can move too fast and break. Cholesterol
will bind to reduce rapid movement and maintain. Allows movement but not too
much.
b. Low temperatures make the plasma membrane slow down. Cholesterol will make
a space between phospholipids so they can move. Gives it flexibility.
c. This is ONLY IN ANIMALS

In plants:
Can increase/decrease the length of the fatty acids or induce saturation/unsaturation in order to
maintain fluidity in temperature changes.

Proteins are large and globular. Can move depending on function.

● Adhesive proteins aren’t gonna move because you want those to stay where they are
● Some membrane proteins can move
Experiment on lateral transport to determine if membrane proteins can move
● Chimera: cross between two unrelated species.
● Made chimera between mouse cell and human cell
○ Mouse membrane protein: H-2 antigen. Fluorescently labeled antibody to see if it
moved
● One set of hybrid cells they freeze. The other set is left in incubation
● Green stain is only on mouse side in frozen set. Green stain is all over in incubated set,
meaning the proteins moved!!

Integral membrane proteins - intrinsic Peripheral membrane proteins - extrinsic

● You can only isolate the protein if you

break down the membrane fully
Transmembrane proteins:
● Polar heads = hydrophilic. Nonpolar =
hydrophobic
● Protein are in hydrophobic region