Key Point

According to the fluid mosaic model, a cell membrane is composed of a fluid bilayer
of phospholipids in which proteins move about like icebergs in a sea.

Carbohydrate
chains

Glycoprotein

Carbohydrate Extracellular fluid

chain Hydrophobic
Hydrophilic

Glycolipid

Cholesterol

α-helix
Hydrophilic Integral
Peripheral proteins
protein
Cytosol

Figure 5-6 Detailed structure of the plasma membrane

Although the lipid bilayer consists mainly of phospholipids, other
lipids, such as cholesterol and glycolipids, are present. Peripheral pro-
teins are loosely associated with the bilayer, whereas integral proteins
are tightly bound. The integral proteins shown here are transmem-
brane proteins that extend through the bilayer. They have hydrophilic
regions on both sides of the bilayer, connected by a membrane-
spanning a-helix. Glycolipids (carbohydrates attached to lipids) and
glycoproteins (carbohydrates attached to proteins) are exposed on the
extracellular surface; they play roles in cell recognition and adhesion to
other cells.

brane only once, whereas others wind back and forth as many
as 24 times. The most common kind of transmembrane protein
is an a-helix (see Chapter 3) with hydrophobic amino acid side
chains projecting out from the helix into the hydrophobic re-
gion of the lipid bilayer. Some proteins span the membrane in
the form of rolled-up b-pleated sheets. These protein formations
are barrel shaped and form pores through which water and other
substances can pass.
Peripheral membrane proteins are not embedded in the
lipid bilayer. They are located on the inner or outer surface of
the plasma membrane, usually bound to exposed regions of in-
tegral proteins by noncovalent interactions. Peripheral proteins
can be easily removed from the membrane without disrupting
the structure of the bilayer.
Proteins are oriented asymmetrically
across the bilayer
One of the most remarkable demonstrations that proteins are ac-
tually embedded in the lipid bilayer comes from freeze – fracture
electron microscopy, a technique that splits the membrane into
halves. The researcher can literally see the two halves of the mem-
brane from “inside out.” When cell biologists examine membranes

Biological Membranes 111