AVERAGE = 78.

55%
Principles of Cell Biology Exam 2 Spring 2020 March 26, 2020

Directions: There are 75 questions in this exam with only one correct answer. Acronyms are as
follows: TGN – Trans Golgi Network; RER – Rough endoplasmic reticulum; SER – Smooth
endoplasmic reticulum; GPCRs – G protein coupled receptors; SRP – Signal recognition particle;
RTK – Receptor tyrosine kinase. TEM-transmission electron microcopy; UPR- Unfolded Protein
Response: RME - Receptor mediated endocytosis; DAG - Diacylglycerol; M6P - Mannose-6-
phosphate; PDE - phosphodiesterase; NO-nitric oxide; EGF - Epidermal Growth Factor; FGF -
Fibroblast Growth Factor; PDI - Protein disulfide isomerase; Good luck! Stay safe!

1. Langmuir made an important contribution to our understanding of cell membranes. What

was that contribution?
a. Integral membrane proteins exist in the cell membrane
b. Peripheral membrane proteins exist in the cell membrane
c. It is possible that the cell membrane consists of a phospholipid bilayer
d. The cell membrane can release proteins through the regulated secretory pathway
e. None of the above because Langmuir discovered the RTK class of receptors

2. Which of the following proteins is not synthesized on/in the RER?

a. RTKs
b. LDL receptors
c. Growth hormones that are secreted
d. Enzymes to be transported to the mitochondria
e. Enzymes to be transported to the lysosomes

3. Forskolin is a drug that can be used to analyze which of the following?

a. The function of the HER receptor
b. The role of the SER in calcium storage
c. If a change in cell behavior might be linked to the activation of adenylyl cyclase
d. If a change in cell behavior is due to the NO second messenger system
e. None of the above

4. You are studying a cell type that has an outer and inner segment, sheds its disks and
releases a neurotransmitter. What type of system are you probably studying?
a. Ferrotransferrin pathway
b. Visual transduction pathway
c. HER2 pathway
d. Erectile dysfunction
e. Loss of calcium homeostasis that leads to cell death

5. Which of the following about the SER is false?

a. Continuous with the RER
b. Lamellar or sheet-like in appearance
c. Site of fatty acid and phospholipid synthesis
d. Can increase in amount in response to a toxicant
e. In a highly differentiated form in muscle cells is called the sarcoplasmic
reticulum
6. In the LDL system what is the proper order from binding of the LDL to its receptor to its
final processing stage?
a. Coated pit – early endosome – late endosome – lysosome
b. Lysosome – late endosome – early endosome – coated pit
c. Coated pit- lysosome – early endosome – late endosome
d. Late endosome – early endosome – coated pit – lysosome
e. Lysosome – early endosome – late endosome – coated pit

7. You are working in Robert Lefkowitz’s lab on a GPCR system and are studying the
effects of stimulating this GPCR system which apparently activates the enzyme adenylyl
cyclase. Which second messenger system are you most probably studying?
a. cGMP
b. IP3/DAG – Protein Kinase C
c. NO
d. cAMP – Protein Kinase A
e. Calcium

8. Acetylcholine can work through different types of receptors. One such receptor is the
acetylcholine receptor found in the heart that triggers the opening of the potassium
channel that decreases heart rate/contraction. What type of receptor is this acetylcholine
muscarinic receptor?
a. RTK
b. Cytokine receptor
c. RME
d. GPCR
e. Calcium binding receptor

9. Which of the following can occur in the RER?

a. Proteolytic cleavage
b. Assembly of monomeric units into multimeric units
c. Initial glycosylation of nascent proteins
d. Formation of disulfide bonds
e. All of the above can occur in the RER

10. What functions do COPI and COPII vesicles play?

a. Shuttling proteins between the cis-Golgi and the medial-Golgi
b. Shuttling proteins between the TGN and the lysosomes
c. Shuttling proteins between the RER and the cis-Golgi
d. Transporting nuclear proteins into the nucleus
e. Not yet known

11. KDEL is the four amino acid sequence found in what type of protein?
a. Lysosomal proteins
b. Peroxisomal proteins
c. RER resident proteins
d. Proteins that are transported to the nucleus
e. Proteins that are synthesized via co-translational translocation
12. Dolichol phosphate plays a key role in which process?
a. Glycosylation in the Golgi
b. Glycosylation in the RER
c. Cleaving the signal peptide from a nascent RER protein
d. Cleaving the targeting sequence from a mitochondrial protein
e. Storing protein in large vesicles for subsequent release

13. What is the role of the retinal pigment epithelium?

a. Generates action potentials in response to light
b. Can phagocytose shed retinal disks
c. Can release growth factors that bind directly to rhodopsin
d. Can generate NO that affects the functioning of the retina
e. None of the above

14. Cholera toxin can be used to determine if a change in cell physiology is due to the
activation of the cAMP system. What does it do?
a. It directly binds to the GPCR in a covalent manner
b. It inhibits GTP hydrolysis from the G protein in the GPCR pathway
c. It inhibits cAMP-dependent phosphodiesterase
d. It activates cAMP-dependent protein kinase (Protein Kinase A)
e. Only Dave Matthews knows for sure

15. GPI transamidase plays a key role in protein synthesis and trafficking. Where is this
enzyme located?
a. RER
b. SER
c. Soluble within the cytoplasm
d. In the mitochondrial matrix
e. Inside the TGN

16. Doug Melton was mentioned in class. He switched his career from a then classic
amphibian embryologist to stem cell research. What is his quest with the latter research
endeavor?
a. Treat melanoma
b. Treat diabetes
c. Treat psoriasis
d. Treat emphysema
e. Treat asthma

17. The SRP plays a critical role in protein synthesis. To which entity below does it initially
bind?
a. Ribosome
b. mRNA
c. Signal sequence of the nascent protein
d. Signal peptidase
e. Not yet known
18. Theophylline is a methylxanthine that is known to activate a well known second
messenger system by inhibiting the breakdown of the second message that is generated.
Which second messenger system does it primarily affect?
a. NO
b. Calcium/calmodulin
c. cGMP
d. cAMP
e. IP3/DAG – Protein Kinase C

19. Of the following below which hormones can travel the farthest distance from their release
point to their target cell/receptor typically through the blood stream?
a. Plasma membrane attached proteins
b. Paracrine
c. Endocrine
d. Autocrine
e. Synaptic

20. Which of the following statements about the cAMP-dependent protein kinase is false?
a. It is a tetramer
b. The entire enzyme binds 4 molecules of cAMP
c. Once activated by cAMP the regulatory units dissociate from the catalytic units
d. Catalytic units can translocate into the nucleus
e. None of the above because all of the above statements are true

21. Bip
a. Is often found in the RER lumen
b. Requires ATP to function
c. Keeps nascent proteins in an unfolded array
d. Is also called a chaperone protein
e. All of the above

22. Where would you find translocons?

a. TGN
b. Regulated secretory vesicles
c. Constitutive secretory vesicles
d. Lysosome
e. RER

23. You are studying an unknown single pass integral membrane protein that has its amino
end on the ectoplasmic (outside) surface of the cell with the carboxy end in the
protoplasmic (inside) of the cell. This is most probably what type of protein?
a. Type I
b. Type II
c. Type IVa
d. Type IVb
e. Type XXX
24. You are studying a cell membrane using SDS gel electrophoresis that identifies the
protein spectrin. What is the function of spectrin?
a. It is cytoskeletal protein that maintains the shape of the cell
b. It is a voltage gated channel
c. It is a RTK
d. It is a cytokine
e. The function of spectrin is not yet known

25. You develop an assay for your company, ALBA Therapeutics, so that they can develop
improved drugs to treat Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel disease. To this end you grow
a human intestinal epithelial cell line on a microporous membrane, load the apical
chamber with sodium fluorescein, and then monitor how much of this dye ends up in the
basal chamber with the addition of the drug that you are testing. What cell junction type
are you studying?
a. Adherens junction
b. Desmosomes
c. Neurochemical synapse
d. Tight junction
e. Gap junction

26. Which protein below typically has five or more internal stop transfer anchor sequences
and/or internal signal anchor sequences?
a. Glycolytic enzymes
b. Rhodopsin
c. RTKs
d. Cytokine receptors
e. Glycophorin

27. GPCRs have how many transmembrane regions?

a. 1
b. 4
c. 6
d. 7
e. 9

28. You are studying a cell junction and your team sets up an experiment to determine if this
cell junction is rectifying or non-rectifying. What cell junction type are you studying?
a. Tight junction
b. Electrical/gap junction
c. Adherens junction
d. Neurochemical synapse
e. None of the above can be characterized by rectifying or non-rectifying

29. Which one of the following hormones interacts with its receptor that is soluble within the
cytoplasm of the cell and not typically found as an integral membrane protein?
a. EGF
b. Thyroxine and retinoids
c. Cytokine receptor ligands
d. Insulin
e. None of the above
30. What kind of information can hydropathy plots reveal?
a. It can tell you if a mammalian cell is a cancer cell or a normal cell
b. It can reveal which proteins can freely diffuse within the plane of the membrane
c. It can tell you if the cell will differentiate
d. It can tell you how many transmembrane regions a particular protein probably
has
e. None of the above

31. Familial hypercholesterolemia can result from many defects in the LDL pathway. One is
a mutation in the NPXY domain. What is the function of the NPXY tetrapeptide?
a. It is the cytoplasmic sorting signal for the LDL receptor
b. It is a part of the apolipoprotein belt on the LDL particles
c. It is a key protein in the inside of the LDL particle
d. It is that part of the receptor that binds directly to the LDL particles
e. Only Dave Matthews knows for sure

32. Dynamin
a. Requires GTP to function
b. Plays a key role in RME
c. Pinches off the coated pit to form a coated vesicle
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

33. Danielli and Davson proposed a model in 1935 of what structure or process?
a. The function of the TGN
b. How post-translational translocation works
c. Protein translocation into peroxisomes
d. The structure of the cell membrane
e. How V-snares and T-snares work

34. When transitional/transport vesicles are released from the RER they then bind to which
organelle?
a. TGN
b. Lysosome
c. Medial-Golgi
d. Cis-Golgi
e. Trans-Golgi

35. Connexons are most associated with which of the following?

a. Cis-Golgi
b. Gap junction
c. Transport/transitional vesicles
d. cAMP-dependent protein kinase
e. Ras
36. Steroids are hormones. While their structures are variable, which of the following below
is the best chemical structure match to a typical steroid?
a. Phosphatidylcholine
b. Cholesterol
c. Phosphatidylethanolamine
d. Phosphatidylserine
e. Sphingomyelin

37. Acetylcholine can be released from a presynaptic process once it is depolarized due to an
action potential. The influx of which ion below is required before the acetylcholine-
containing vesicles can fuse with the pre-synaptic neuron and release their contents?
a. Sodium
b. Potassium
c. Calcium
d. Magnesium
e. Kryptonite

38. Elliptocytosis and spherocytosis

a. Results in anemia
b. Results in fatigue
c. Is a blood disorder
d. Results in misshapen cells
e. All of the above

39. Red blood cells were critical to our current model of the cell membrane. Which below is
not one of the virtues of using mammalian red blood cells for this type or work?
a. The have many mitochondria
b. They are plentiful
c. Inside and outside “ghosts” can be generated
d. They have very few cell membrane proteins
e. It is relatively easy to generate a pure population using a table top centrifuge

40. Adherens junctions

a. Encircle cells typically near the apical domain of polarized cells
b. Can be found in epithelial and endothelial cells
c. Function similar to desmosomes
d. Are connected to F-actin filaments
e. All of the above

41. Which receptor system typically has an hsp70 inhibitory complex bound to it and then
releases it once the ligand binds to it?
a. RTK
b. Cytokine receptors
c. GPCRs
d. Steroid receptors
e. All of the above
42. LDL interacts with its receptor through which type of receptor system?
a. GPCR
b. RME
c. RTK
d. Steroid
e. Cytokine

43. Which technique was critical in demonstrating the “mosaic” nature of the plasma
membrane?
a. RT-PCR
b. cDNA microarrays
c. Scanning electron microscopy
d. Freeze-fracture
e. Plastic thin sectioning

44. Which of the following transporters require ATP to function?

a. Voltage-gated channel
b. Ligand-gated channel
c. Symporter transporter
d. Antiporter transporter
e. Sodium-potassium pump

45. Where would you typically find CREB (cyclic AMP Responsive Element Binding
protein)?
a. Nucleus
b. Lysosome
c. Outer plasma membrane
d. Soluble within the cytoplasm
e. In the extracellular medium

46. Ligands interact with their respective receptors in a myriad of ways. In some cases, a cell
that releases a hormone (ligand) binds to a receptor on the same cell that released the
hormone. Which category best matches this description?
a. Paracrine
b. Autocrine
c. Pheromonal
d. Endocrine
e. Synaptic

47. The mannose-6-phosphate receptor is critical for the transport of proteins to which
organelle?
a. Nucleus
b. Mitochondria
c. Chloroplast
d. Peroxisomes
e. Lysosomes
48. Pemphigus is an autoimmune disease that targets which of the following?
a. Tight junctions
b. RTKs
c. Phospholipase C
d. Desmosomes
e. Electrical junctions

49. The visual transduction pathway was a challenge to elucidate. In the dark which of the
following is not characteristic of a rod photoreceptor compared to the light adapted
condition?
a. cGMP concentration is higher
b. cGMP phosphodiesterase is less active
c. Channels in the rod plasma membrane are open
d. The transmembrane potential is relatively depolarized (-30 mv)
e. Rhodopsin kinase phosphorylates rhodopsin and arrestin can bind to
phosphorylated rhodopsin

50. Release of calcium from the RER into the cytoplasm plays a key role in the activation of
which system?
a. IP3/DAG Protein Kinase C system
b. cAMP-dependent protein kinase
c. Activation of Ras triggered by the binding of a ligand to the RTK
d. Proteins released through the constitutive pathway
e. None of the above

51. Which statement about NO is false?

a. Can control blood pressure
b. Increases in amount as you age
c. Plays a critical role in erectile dysfunction
d. May correlate with plaque buildup in arteries over time.
e. Can be generated by one cell and affect many other adjacent cells

52. Which of the following proteins can bind 4 molecules of calcium and plays a critical role
in the calcium second messenger pathway?
a. Calreticulin
b. Calcitonin
c. Calmodulin dependent protein kinase
d. Calmodulin
e. Only Dave Matthews knows for sure

53. The TGN was first identified through the manipulation of what parameter that made the
TGN appear unusually large?
a. Intracellular calcium
b. Intracellular pH
c. Intracellular concentration of ATP
d. Intracellular concentration of glucose
e. None of the above
54. The RME system is designed to internalize a target ligand and release the ligand or a
component of the ligand at an appropriate time in the pathway. Which parameter below is
responsible for the release event through its effect on the receptor conformation?
a. Change in pH
b. Change in temperature
c. Change in calcium
d. Change in the abundance of cytosolic proteases
e. Not yet known

55. Lance Armstrong was mentioned in class and he is famous for doping with Epo that
works with the Epo receptor on hematopoietic stem cells thus causing an increase in his
total number of red blood cells. What receptor system is the Epo receptor?
a. RME
b. GPCR
c. Cytokine
d. RTK
e. Steroid

56. Which receptor system below is characterized by two monomeric receptors dimerizing
due to the binding of two molecules of ligand (one each/monomeric unit)?
a. RTK
b. Cytokine receptors
c. Steroid receptors
d. GPCRs
e. RME

57. The cell patching/capping experiment described in class contributed to our appreciation
of the “fluid” nature of the cell membrane. What type of probe was used in this regard?
a. 3H-glucose
b. 3H-thymidine
c. Monoclonal antibodies labeled with a fluorochrome
d. Gold-labeled antibodies
e. All of the above

58. Kadcyla is a conjugated antibody that binds to the HER2 receptor and was designed to
improve the function of Herceptin in treating which of the following?
a. Prostate cancer
b. Lymphoma
c. Leukemia
d. Breast cancer
e. Atherosclerosis

59. Ionomycin and A23187

a. Are calcium ionophores
b. Can be used to analyze the anterograde and retrograde activity of
transitional/transport vesicles
c. Cause the TGN to enlarge
d. Block the release of NO and thus is an active compound in Viagra
e. All of the above
60. Clathrin
a. Is a triskelion
b. Is associated with RME and other cellular processes
c. Can self-assemble and recycle
d. Appears as a “coat” when seen in the transmission electron microscope
e. All of the above

61. Ras
a. Is a G protein
b. Is associated with the signal transduction of the RTK receptor pathway
c. If defective is commonly found in many human tumors
d. Triggers cell division
e. All of the above

62. Erivedge works through the Hedgehog pathway and is being used to treat what type of
disease?
a. Basal cell carcinoma
b. Muscular dystrophy
c. Rheumatoid arthritis
d. Macular degeneration
e. Mitochondrial dysfunction

63. The insertion of the GLUT4 receptor is characteristic of which receptor pathway?
a. EGF
b. LDL
c. Insulin
d. Acetylcholine
e. FGF

64. You are studying the “contact points” in mitochondria. Why are they important?
a. They serve as chaperone proteins
b. They are the points at which nuclear encoded proteins are translocated into the
mitochondria
c. They are the points at which the mitochondrial peptidases are located
d. When present they indicate that the mitochondria will divide
e. None of the above

65. Which of the following is false concerning Prevagen?

a. It is a protein
b. It is also called apoaequorin
c. It can bind calcium if intact
d. It is FDA approved for the treatment of ALS and a variety of dementias
e. It has few to no peer-reviewed articles published that claim it can prevent
memory loss

66. Phorbol esters are known to mimic the action of which molecule?
a. cAMP
b. IP3
c. The trimeric G protein in the Protein Kinase C pathway
d. DAG
e. Ras
67. Organelle targeting sequences are typically located at the amino end of proteins. But
select proteins contain targeting sequences at the carboxy end. What organelle do they
target?
a. Nucleus
b. Mitochondria
c. Chloroplast
d. Peroxisomes
e. None of the above

68. V-snares and T-snares are important in which process?

a. Activation of the IP3/DAG Protein Kinase C pathway
b. Storage of protein in vesicles after they are synthesized
c. Activation of the Gi inhibitory G protein in the GPCR pathway
d. Vesicle release and targeting
e. Regulating intracellular calcium homeostasis

69. Which second messenger system plays a key role in visual transduction?
a. cAMP
b. cGMP
c. IP3/DAG – Protein Kinase C
d. NO
e. None of the above play any role in visual transduction

70. You are working with salubrinal and tunicamycin. What process are you most likely
studying?
a. Protein trafficking to the lysosomes
b. Protein trafficking to the nucleus
c. Differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into pancreatic islets
d. The UPR pathway
e. Tumor promoters and their ability to trigger the formation of tumors

71. The TOM 20/22 import receptor is found on which organelle?

a. Nucleus
b. Chloroplast
c. Peroxisome
d. Mitochondria
e. SER

72. Some proteins are transported in a folded array into their target organelle. This would be
the case for proteins targeting which organelle?
a. Nucleus
b. Mitochondria
c. Chloroplast
d. Peroxisomes
e. None of the above
73. Which of the following about the regulated secretory pathway is false?
a. Vesicles are released from the TGN
b. Vesicles are small and clear
c. Vesicles are relatively insensitive in the short term to protein synthesis inhibitors
such as puromycin.
d. Is characteristic of hormones that are secreted
e. Require an influx of calcium to fuse the vesicle to the outer cell membrane
resulting in a release of the protein contents

74. Which organelle has both an SRP-dependent and pH-dependent pathway for the
translocation of nuclear-encoded nascent proteins?
a. Peroxisome
b. Mitochondria
c. Nucleus
d. Chloroplast
e. Only Dave Matthews knows for sure

75. Concanavalin (Con) A is a lectin that has been used to study cell membranes and their
associated integral membrane proteins. What did the FRAP ConA experiment described
in class indicate about cell membrane proteins?
a. About half of all cell membrane proteins can diffuse laterally in the plane of the
membrane whereas the other half are fixed in place
b. Some integral membrane proteins are anchored to the cell membrane by GPI
anchors
c. Phosphatidylcholine is one of the major phospholipids in cell membranes
d. Cells can fuse together to form a heterokaryon
e. None of the above