CHAPTER 1

CELL PHYSIOLOGY AND

STRUCTURE
LISA M. MCELROY AND TRAVIS P. WEBB

QUESTIONS (B) The Donnan equilibrium states that nondiffusible

and diffusible substances are distributed about the
1. What is the function of the various phospholipids that membrane so that the products of their concentra-
compose the lipid bilayer of cell membranes? tions are equal and ionic charges are balanced on
(A) Separate the intracellular space from the extracel- both sides.
lular space (C) Treating a human cell with ouabain would cause the
(B) Serve as substrates for the formation of signal trans- cell to swell and burst.
duction molecules (D) Ionophores can cause collapse of the electrochemi-
(C) Serve as signals to induce the phagocytosis of apop- cal gradient in cells and can ultimately result in cell
totic cells death.
(D) Serve as a boundary between aqueous and non- (E) Multidrug resistance (MDR) proteins can pump
aqueous components hydrophobic drugs out of the cell and are respon-
(E) All of the above sible for the resistance of cancer cells to certain
chemotherapeutics.
2. Which of the following plasma membrane molecules are
exclusively located on the extracellular side of the lipid 5. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder
bilayer? in which three nucleotides are deleted, resulting in the
(A) Glycolipids absence of a key amino acid in the CFTR chloride chan-
(B) Integral proteins nel. Which of the following amino acids is deleted?
(C) Peripheral proteins (A) Phenylalanine
(D) Prenylated membrane proteins (B) Glutamine
(E) A, B, and C (C) Lysine
(D) Valine
3. Which of these is not a function that is carried out by an (E) Alanine
integral membrane protein in a plasma membrane?
(A) Receptor for growth factors 6. Which of the following are the calcium-dependent
(B) Pump for K+ proteins responsible for intercellular adhesion and the
(C) Channel for macromolecules segment of the junctional complex in which they are
(D) Structural protein located?
(E) Determinant of membrane fluidity (A) Calcineurin at the zonula adherens
(B) Calmodulin at the macula adherens
4. Which of the following statements about osmolarity, (C) ZO-1 at the zonula occludens
electrochemical gradient, and membrane transport is (D) Desmosomes at the macula adherens
incorrect? (E) Cadherins at the zonula adherens
(A) Large intracellular macromolecules such as proteins
do not make direct or indirect contributions to
osmolarity.

1
2 CHAPTER 1
7. Which of the following are classified as apical cytoskeletal
specializations?
(A) Cilia composed of microvilli
(B) Stereocilia composed of actin microfilaments
(C) Microvilli composed of actin microtubules
(D) Microvilli composed of microfilament
(E) All of the above
8. Which of the following is not a molecular motor protein?
(A) Myosin
(B) Kinesin
(C) Dynein
(D) Actin
(E) Dynamin
9. Which of the following statements about receptors is
true?
(A) Ion channel–linked receptors activate the open-
ing of an ion channel with the binding of ligand,
which is the method of signaling used by most
neurotransmitters.
(B) G protein–linked receptors activate heterotrimeric
GTPases in response to ligand-binding, such as in
the action of neuropeptide Y.
(C) Enzyme-linked receptors include receptor tyros-
ine kinases (RTKs) and receptor serine/threonine
kinases, which are the receptors used by endothe-
lial growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth
factor-β (TGF-β).
(D) Steroid hormone receptors are usually found in the
cytosol, and the functions of vitamins A and D are
dependent on this class of receptors.
(E) All of the above
10. Which of the following motifs is important in steroid
receptor structure?
(A) Transmembrane domain
(B) Zinc finger
(C) Catalytic domain
(D) Multiple C-terminal tyrosine residues
(E) SH2 domain
11. A eukaryotic cell is lysed and fractionated into plasma
membrane, cytosolic, and nuclear fractions. Which of
the following hormones would most likely be found in
the nuclear fraction of the cell?
(A) Human chorionic gonadotrophin
(B) Glucagon
(C) Aldosterone
(D) Gastrin
(E) Histamine
CELL PHYSIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE
12. Which of the following statements about organelle func-
tion is incorrect?
(A) The rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) is the site
of protein synthesis and the cotranslational modifi-
cation of proteins.
(B) The smooth endoplasmic reticulum (sER) is the site
of phospholipid synthesis, steroid hormone synthe-
sis, drug detoxification, and calcium store release.
(C) The Golgi complex is the site of vesicular packaging
of proteins, membrane component recycling, and
posttranslational modification of proteins.
(D) The mitochondrion functions in acetyl-CoA pro-
duction, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, oxidative
phosphorylation, and fatty acid oxidation.
(E) The lysosome contains amino acid oxidase, urate
oxidase, catalase, and other oxidative enzymes relat-
ing to the production and degradation of hydrogen
peroxide and oxidation of fatty acids.
13. Which one of the following lysosomal storage diseases is
X-linked recessive in inheritance?
(A) Fabry disease
(B) Krabbe disease
(C) Gaucher disease
(D) Niemann-Pick disease
(E) Tay-Sachs disease
14. Cellular proteins processed mainly in the Golgi appara-
tus include all of the following except
(A) Lysosomal enzymes
(B) Peroxisomal enzymes
(C) Membrane receptors
(D) Secreted proteins
(E) All of the above
15. Which of these cell types might be expected to have an
extensive sER?
(A) Adrenal zona glomerulosa cell
(B) Adrenal chromaffin cell
(C) Pancreatic acinar cell
(D) Keratinocyte
(E) Hepatic Küpffer cell
16. DNA fluorescent in situ hybridization of a cell isolated
from human tissue displays an extremely long series of
short tandem repeats (TTAGGG) at the end of the chro-
mosomes. What type of cell would this most likely be?
(A) Neuron
(B) Kidney cell
(C) Lymphocyte
(D) Spermatozoa
(E) Hepatocyte
CHAPTER 1 CELL PHYSIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE
17. Which of the following is not a mechanism of DNA mis-
match repair or DNA excision repair?
(A) When DNA is damaged by ultraviolet (UV) light,
DNA mismatch repair proteins recognize and
remove the altered nucleotides, followed by repair
of the sequence with DNA polymerase and ligase.
(B) Errors made by the DNA polymerase, which are
missed by its proofreading exonuclease, are cor-
rected by DNA mismatch repair proteins that recog-
nize and degrade the mismatched base pair on the
newly synthesized strand.
(C) A single damaged purine base can be excised via
nicks produced by AP endonuclease and a phos-
phodiesterase for removal of the damaged base, fol-
lowed by repair with DNA polymerase and ligase.
(D) When cytosines are spontaneously deaminated into
uracils, they are recognized by uracil-DNA glycosi-
dase; then repair proceeds with AP endonuclease,
a phosphodiesterase, DNA polymerase, and DNA
ligase.
(E) Pyrimidine dimers are repaired by uvrABC
enzymes, which excise a 12-residue sequence
around the dimer, followed by repair with DNA
polymerase and ligase.
18. Which is the shortest phase of the normal cell cycle?
(A) G1 phase
(B) S phase
(C) G2 phase
(D) M phase
(E) All of the above are approximately equal in length.
19. Which of the following are not either proto-oncogene or
oncogene products?
(A) Vhl and Apc
(B) Ras and Sis
(C) Erb and Neu
(D) Myc and Abl
(E) Jun and Fos
20. A biopsy was performed on an aggressive tumor, and
assays of various protein levels and enzyme activities
were performed on the tumor cells. Which of the fol-
lowing proteins would likely not show either increased
expression or activity?
(A) Telomerase
(B) Fas receptor
(C) Myc
(D) Ras
(E) Bcl-2
3
21. Which protein is not involved in the stimulation and/or
prolongation of the apoptosis pathway?
(A) Cytochrome c
(B) Bcl-XL
(C) Apaf-1
(D) Bad
(E) Bax
22. Which of these is not a function of heat shock proteins
(HSPs)?
(A) Aiding protein folding in intracellular
compartments
(B) Preventing protein aggregation
(C) Facilitating the translocation of proteins across
membranes
(D) Facilitating the degradation of unstable proteins
(E) Increasing the rate of protein synthesis
23. Which of the following statements about cellular meta-
bolic pathways is not true?
(A) Glycogenolysis in liver and muscle is responsible for
supplying glucose to tissues in the first 8 h after a meal.
(B) Gluconeogenesis in the liver supplies glucose from
amino acid and fatty acid substrates 8–30 h after a
meal.
(C) Defects in protein metabolism can be due to organ
dysfunction or inherited enzyme deficiencies.
(D) Glucokinase is found throughout the body, whereas
hexokinase is a high-capacity enzyme found only in
the liver.
(E) Even if the urine ketone test is negative, there can
be a significant level of ketogenesis occurring in the
liver.
24. Which glycogen storage disease (GSD) is a process that
primarily affects glycogen storage in the muscles?
(A) Type I GSD (Von Gierke disease)
(B) Type II GSD (Pompe disease)
(C) Type III GSD (Cori disease)
(D) Type IV GSD (Andersen disease)
(E) Type V GSD (McArdle disease)
25. Which of the following reactions is unique to gluconeo-
genesis in the liver and is not a directly reversed step of
glycolysis?
(A) Conversion of pyruvate to oxaloacetate by pyruvate
carboxylase
(B) Conversion of oxaloacetate to phosphoenolpyruvate
(PEP) by PEP-carboxykinase (PEPCK)
(C) Conversion of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (F-1,6-BP)
to fructose-6-phosphate (F6P) by fructose-1,6-bis-
phosphatase (F-1,6-BPase)
(D) Conversion of glucose-6-phosphate to glucose by
glucose-6-phosphatase
(E) All of the above
4 CHAPTER 1
26. Which intermediate is common to both cholesterol syn-
thesis and ketogenesis?
(A) Acetoacetate
(B) Β-hydroxybutyrate
(C) Β-hydroxy-β-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA)
(D) Mevalonate
(E) None of the above
27. Which of the following statements about the urea cycle is
not true?
(A) The urea cycle is the main pathway responsible for
the excretion of nitrogenous wastes derived from
protein metabolism.
(B) The nitrogens in urea are directly derived from
ammonia, alanine, and glutamate via reactions of
the urea cycle.
(C) Urea cycle reactions occur in both the mitochondria
and cytosol of hepatocytes.
(D) The urea cycle uses ATP as energy in the formation
of urea and is also known as the Krebs-Henseleit
cycle or the Krebs ornithine cycle.
(E) The fumarate byproduct of the urea cycle is con-
verted into energy by the TCA cycle.
28. Which of the following statements is not true?
(A) Selectins are Ca2+-dependent cell–cell adhesion
molecules in the bloodstream that mediate transient
binding.
(B) The extracellular matrix is made up primarily of
GAGs and fibrous proteins.
(C) Mutations in the fibrillin component of elastic fibers
are responsible for Marfan syndrome.
(D) TIMPs are proteases that break down the extracel-
lular matrix for cell migration.
(E) Serine protease MMPs are extracellular inhibitors
protolytic enzymes
29. Which of the following statements about integrins is not
true?
(A) Integrins are structural proteins that function to
anchor cells to the extracellular matrix and do not
play a major role in signal transduction.
(B) Integrins are the major receptors for binding extra-
cellular matrix proteins such as collagens, laminins,
and fibronectins, and they are dependent on extra-
cellular divalent cations such as Ca2+ or Mg2+ for
binding.
(C) Integrins exist as transmembrane heterodimers with
α and β subunits that are noncovalently associated.
(D) Integrins serve as transmembrane linkers between
the extracellular matrix and actin cytoskeleton but
cannot directly activate cell shape changes.
(E) All of the above are true.
CELL PHYSIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE
30. Which of the following correctly describes a complement
activation pathway?
(A) The alternate pathway is activated by IgG or IgM
bound to the surface of a microbe and involves the
sequential activation of C1, C2, and C4.
(B) The classic pathway involves the spontaneous acti-
vation of C3 by factors B and D.
(C) Cleavage of C3 independently is the common point
of the early cascade.
(D) The lectin pathway cannot activate complement
components
(E) The final common pathway is the assembly of late
complement components to form a membrane
attack complex (MAC).
31. What is the role of the TLR pathway?
(A) The TLR pathway mediates the inflammatory
response to pathogenic substances such as LPS by
activating the transcription of proinflammatory genes.
(B) The TLR pathway is responsible for deactivating
phagocytic cells after they have engulfed target
pathogens.
(C) The TLR pathway activates apoptosis in virus-
infected cells as part of the innate and adaptive
immune responses.
(D) The TLR pathway is involved in signal transduction
for activating inflammatory genes in response to
hypoxia-inducible factors.
(E) None of the above are correct.
32. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
(A) There are two major isoforms of the cyclooxygen-
ase (COX) enzyme, with COX-1 being constitu-
tively expressed and COX-2 being inducible in
inflammation.
(B) Steroids block the arachidonic acid (AA) pathway at
the level of PLA2.
(C) Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and aspirin inhibit the
AA pathway in the same manner.
(D) EPA is considered to be anti-inflammatory in its
actions, while AA generally produces proinflamma-
tory effects.
(E) When EPA and AA are used as substrates for COX
through the AA pathway, they result in different sets
of prostanoid products.
33. Which of the following are considered proangiogenic
factors?
(A) Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and
angiopoietin-1 (Ang1)
(B) VEGF and angiopoietin-2 (Ang2)
(C) Ang1 and Ang2
(D) VEGF and angiostatin
(E) All are proangiogenic factors