Biological Membranes and

Transport
2020

03. Biology- Cell Structure

Plasma Membrane
Plasma Membrane
Membrane is composed of:

A. Lipids
✓ Phospholipids
✓ Sterols
B. Proteins
✓ Integral
✓ Peripheral
C. Carbohydrates
✓ Glycolipids
✓ Glycoproteins
Plasma Membrane

Variable components in different membrane types

 Membrane Lipids

Amphiphilic lipids
Major types: phospholipids,
glycolipids, sterols
Phospholipids
Two classes:
glycerophospholipids (aka
phosphoglycerides) and
sphingophospholipids

Fig 10-7
Glycolipids

Two classes:
glycosphingolipids and
galactolipids

Fig 10-7
Sterols

Cholesterol and cholesterol-like

compounds
Lipid Components of Membranes

Lipid
composition
varies across
different
membranes.

Fig 11-2
Lipid Components of Membranes

Lipid composition
varies across the two
leaflets of the same
membrane.
Lipid Aggregates

 Lipids spontaneously
aggregate in water as
a result of the
Hydrophobic Effect.
Lipid Aggregates
Amphiphilic lipids form
structures that solvate
their head groups and
keep their hydrophobic
tails away from water.

Above the critical

micelle concentration,
single-tailed lipids form
micelles. Fig 11-4
 Lipid Aggregates
Fig 11-4
Double-tailed lipids
form bilayers, the basis
of cell membranes.

 Bilayers can form vesicles

enclosing an aqueous cavity
(liposomes). Fig 11-4
Membrane Proteins

Integral proteins
(includes lipid-linked):
need detergents to
remove

Peripheral proteins:
removed by salt, pH
changes

Amphitropic proteins:
sometimes attached,
sometimes not
 Membrane
Carbohydrates
• On exoplasmic
face only

Inside the Cell Membrane

03. Biology- Cell Transport

Problems
1. Properties of Lipids and Lipid Bilayers
Lipid bilayers formed between two aqueous phases have this important
property: they form two-dimensional sheets, the edges of which close
on each other and undergo self-sealing to form vesicles (liposomes).
a) What properties of lipids are responsible for this property of
bilayers? Explain.
b) What are the consequences of this property for the structure of
biological membranes?
(a) Lipids that form bilayers are amphipathic molecules: they contain
a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic region. To minimize the hydrophobic
area exposed to the water surface, these lipids form two-dimensional
sheets, with the hydrophilic regions exposed to water and the
hydrophobic regions buried in the interior of the sheet. Furthermore,
to avoid exposing the hydrophobic edges of the sheet to water, lipid
bilayers close on themselves. (b) These sheets form the closed
membrane surfaces that envelop cells and compartments within cells
(organelles).
Biosignaling

2020
Intro to Cell Signaling
Biosignaling
• Cell “talks” to each other to maintain its life.
• They talk with different language in “action-
reaction” relationship – or “ligand-receptor”
relationship, precisely.
• Cells typically communicate using chemical
signals (=ligands).
• All cells have specific and highly sensitive
signal-transducing mechanisms, which have
been conserved during evolution.
Not all cells can “hear” a particular chemical message. In order to
detect a signal (that is, to be a target cell), a neighbor cell must have
the right receptor for that signal. When a signaling molecule binds to
its receptor, it alters the shape or activity of the receptor, triggering a
change inside of the cell. Signaling molecules are often called ligands, a
general term for molecules that bind specifically to other molecules
(such as receptors).
Types
• A wide variety of stimuli act
through specific protein receptors
in the plasma membrane.
• GOALS of Biosignaling : gene
expression of hormones and/or
enzymes which will carry out the
desired reaction.
• Types of biosignaling :
• Autocrine
• Paracrine
• Endocrine
Features of biosignaling
• Specificity
• Amplification
• Modularity
• Desensitization
/ Adaptation
• Integration
Features of biosignaling
• Specificity
• Amplification
• Modularity
• Desensitization
/ Adaptation
• Integration

One molecule of signal can trigger the response of millions molecule.

Features of biosignaling
• Specificity
• Amplification
• Modularity
• Desensitization
/ Adaptation
• Integration
Modularity of interacting signal
proteins allows a cell to mix and
match a set of signaling molecules
to create complexes with different
functions or cellular locations.
Features of biosignaling
• Specificity
• Amplification
• Modularity
• Desensitization
/ Adaptation
• Integration
Features of biosignaling
• Specificity
• Amplification
• Modularity
• Desensitization
/ Adaptation
• Integration
• Again, GOALS of Biosignaling are the gene expression of hormones
and/or enzymes which will carry out the desired reaction.

After the enzyme is synthesized, how does the enzymes

controlled?
Regulation of the metabolism :
feed-back inhibition by the final
product.

1. Simple feed-back inhibition. The final

product (E) inhibits the step from A to B.
2. Co-operative feed-back inhibition. Both final
products (D, E) inhibit the first step of their
own synthesis together.
3. Multivalent feed-back inhibition.
4. Inhibition at a ramification of a biosynthesis
pathway (sequential inhibition)
2. Hot and Cool Taste Sensations
The sensations of heat and cold are transduced by a group of
temperature-gated cation channels. For examples, TRPV1, TRPV3, and
TRPM8 are usually closed, but open under the following conditions:
TRPV1 at ≥43⁰C; TRPV3 at ≥33⁰C; and TRPM8 at <25⁰C. These channels
are expressed in sensory neurons known to be responsible for
temperature sensation.
a) Propose a reasonable model to explain how exposing a sensory
neuron containing TRPV1 to high temperature leads to a sensation
of heat.
b) Capsaicin, one of the active ingredients in “hot” peppers, is an
agonist of TRPV1. Capsaicin shows 50% activation of the TRPV1
response at a concentration (i.e., it has an EC50) of 32 nM. Explain
why even a very few drops of hot pepper sauce can taste very “hot”
without actually burning you.
(a) On exposure to heat, TRPV1 channels open, causing an influx of Na
and Ca2 into the sensory neuron. This depolarizes the neuron,
triggering an action potential. When the action potential reaches the
axon terminus, neurotransmitter is released, signaling the nervous
system that heat has been sensed. (b) Capsaicin mimics the effects of
heat by opening TRPV1 at low temperature, leading to the false
sensation of heat. The extremely low EC indicates that even very small
amounts of capsaicin will have dramatic sensory effects.
Thank you
• Next week: Overview of Carbohydrate: Digestion and Absorption

• Apa yang terjadi pada pencernaan seseorang dengan intoleransi

terhadap laktosa? Produk susu apa yang bisa dikonsumsi penderita
intoleransi terhadap laktosa?