Plasma Membrane

Structure and
Function
 Cell (plasma) membrane
• Cells need an inside & an outside…
– separate cell from its environment
– cell membrane is the boundary
Can it be an impenetrable boundary? NO!
IN OUT
food waste
carbohydrates OUT ammonia
sugars, proteins salts
amino acids CO2
IN
lipids H2O
salts, O2, H2O products
2005-2006
cell needs materials in & products or waste out
 Plasma Membrane
Structure and
Function

The cell membrane is a dynamic and intricate structure that regulates material
transported across the membrane. The membrane is selectively permeable (or semi-
permeable) meaning that certain molecules can cross the membrane and others cannot
Fully Permeable Not Permeable

Semi- Permeable
Outline Membrane Functions
• Phospholipid Bilayer • Protection
• Fluid Mosaic Model • Communication
• Membrane Proteins • Selectively allow
• Diffusion substances in
• Facilitated Diffusion • Respond to
• Osmosis environment
• Bulk Transport • Recognition
• Active Transport
 Phospholipids
All cells have plasma
membranes and many of
their organelles also
have membranes. All
membranes are made
from a bilayer of
phospholipids.

Phospholipids have
hydrophilic heads
and hydrophobic
tails.

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 Arrangement
The cellof Phospholipids
membrane has two layers of in
phospholipids
asMembranes
shown below. The hydrophilic heads are facing
an aqueous environment and the hydrophobic tails
are facing one another.

Phospholipids have
the ability to move
laterally but only upon
a rare occasion are
able to make a 180o
turn. 7
 Membranes are more fluid
when they contain more
unsaturated fatty acids within
their phospholipids. More
unsaturated fatty acids result
in increased distance between
the lipids making the layer
more fluid.

Saturated versus Unsaturated Phospholipids

A word about cholesterol - It is

found in the cell membranes of
animals but not plants. It affects
the fluidity of the membrane.
 Cholesterol Functions in 3 ways
1. It can weakly bind to hydrocarbon tails making it more difficult for
smaller molecules to cross membrane.
2. If the phospholipids are saturated, it prevents them from being
packed too closely, making the membrane more fluid.
3. However - if the phospholipids are unsaturated there are kinks in the
tails where the cholesterol molecules can fill in and anchor them
making the membrane less fluid.

9
Fluid-Mosaic Model
 Membrane Proteins
• Proteins determine most of membrane’s specific
functions
– cell membrane & organelle membranes each have
unique collections of proteins
• Membrane proteins:
– peripheral proteins = loosely
bound to surface of membrane
– integral proteins = penetrate into
lipid bilayer, often completely
spanning the membrane =
transmembrane proteins

2005-2006
 Many Functions of Membrane Proteins

Outside

Plasma
membrane

Inside
Transporter Enzyme Cell surface
activity receptor

Cell surface Cell adhesion Attachment to the

identity marker cytoskeleton
The many functions of proteins….
• Channel proteins – wide open passage
• Ion channels – gated
• Aquaporins – water only, kidney and
plant root only
• Carrier proteins – change shape
• Transport proteins – require ATP
• Recognition proteins - glycoproteins
• Adhesion proteins – anchors
• Receptor proteins - hormones
 Membrane carbohydrates
 Play a key role in cell-cell recognition
ability of a cell to distinguish one cell from
another
 antigens
important in organ &
tissue development
basis for rejection of
foreign cells by
immune system
Membrane fat composition varies
 Fat composition affects flexibility
membrane must be fluid & flexible
 about as fluid as thick salad oil
% unsaturated fatty acids in phospholipids
 keep membrane less viscous
 cold-adapted organisms, like winter wheat
 increase % in autumn
cholesterol in membrane
Plasma Membrane Synthesis
The size of the plasma
membrane is increased and
decreased with the
interaction of vesicles.
Vesicles bringing material to
the membrane to be
secreted increase the
surface area of the plasma
membrane; and through the
process of endocytosis, the
surface area of the cell
membrane decreases.
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Permeability of the Cell Membrane-
Differentially Permeable
Permeability of the Cell Membrane
Getting through cell membrane
• Passive transport
– No energy needed
– Movement down concentration gradient

• Active transport
– Movement against concentration gradient
• low  high
– requires ATP
 Diffusion
• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
- Universe tends towards disorder

 Diffusion
 movement from high  low concentration
 Simple diffusion across
membrane Which way will
lipid move?
lipid lipid lipid
inside cell
lipid lipid lipid
low


high lipid
outside cell
lipid lipid lipid

lipid lipid
lipid
lipid 2005-2006
 Diffusion of 2 solutes
• Each substance diffuses down its own
concentration gradient, independent of
concentration gradients of other
substances
 Facilitated diffusion
• Move from HIGH to LOW concentration
through a protein channel
– passive transport
– no energy needed
– facilitated = with help

2005-2006
 Gated channels
• Proteins that open only in presence of stimulus
(signal)
– stimulus usually different from transported molecule
– ex: ion-gated channels
– ex: voltage-gated channels

2005-2006
 Active transport
• Cells may need molecules to move
against concentration situation
– need to pump against concentration
– protein pump
– requires energy
• ATP

Na+/K+ pump
in nerve cell
membranes
Transport summary

2005-2006
How about large molecules?
• Moving large molecules into & out of cell
requires ATP(energy)!
– through vesicles & vacuoles
– endocytosis
• phagocytosis = “cellular eating”
• pinocytosis = “cellular drinking”
• receptor-mediated
endocytosis
– exocytosis

exocytosis 2005-2006
 Exocytosis and
Endocytosis
• Exocytosis---Cellular secretion
• Endocytosis—
–Phagocytosis— “Cell eating”
–Pinocytosis– “Cell drinking”
–Receptor-mediated
endocytosis-specific particles,
recognition.
Exocytosis
 Endocytosis
fuse with
lysosome for
phagocytosis
digestion

non-specific
pinocytosis
process

triggered by
receptor-mediated
endocytosis ligand signal
2005-2006
Phagocytosis

macrophage

Phagocytosis - Capture of a
parasite parasite (green) by
Membrane Extensions of
an Immune System Cell
(orange)
Pinocytosis
 Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis

Some integral proteins have

receptors on their surface to
recognize & take in hormones,
cholesterol, etc.
 Osmosis is diffusion of water across a
differentially permeable membrane due to
concentration differences

• Diffusion of water from

high concentration of water to
low concentration of water
– across a
semi-permeable
membrane
 Concentration of water
• Direction of osmosis is determined by
comparing total solute concentrations
– Hypertonic - more solute, less water
– Hypotonic - less solute, more water
– Isotonic - equal solute, equal water

water

hypotonic hypertonic

net movement of water

2005-2006
 Managing water balance
• Cell survival depends on balancing
water uptake & loss

2005-2006
freshwater balanced saltwater
 Hypotonicity
• animal cell in hypotonic solution
will gain water, swell & possibly
burst (cytolysis)
• Paramecium vs. pond water
• Paramecium is hypertonic
• H2O continually enters cell
• contractile vacuole - pumps H2O out
of cell = ATP
– plant cell
• Turgid (turgor pressure)
• Cell wall
 Hypertonicity
• animal cell in hypertonic solution
will loose water, shrivel &
probably die
• salt water organisms are
hypotonic compared to their
environment
• they have to take up water &
pump out salt
– plant cells
• plasmolysis = wilt

2005-2006
 Cells in Solutions

• Isotonic solution hypotonic solution hypertonic solution

• No net movement
• of water. EQUAL CYTOLYSIS PLASMOLYSIS
• amounts leaving and
• entering
 Osmosis in Red Blood Cells

• Isotonic Hypotonic Hypertonic

 Cytolysis & Plasmolysis

• Cytolysis Plasmolysis
The sodium-potassium pump