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Learning Outcomes

When you have finished studying this chapter you will be able to:
1. Describe the structure of the plasma membrane and explain its functional
significance.
2. Explain the concept of selective permeability.
3. Explain the different processes used to move molecules across the plasma
membrane.

Plasma membrane or plasmalemma, a flexible layer defines the extent of the

cell, thereby separating two of the body’s major fluid compartments: the intracellular
fluid within the cells and the extracellular fluid that lies outside and between cells.

You can think of the

plasma membrane as a
security fence
surrounding the
manufacturing plant (cell).

This boundary contains

specific checkpoints
(receptors) that influence
cellular activity in various
ways.

Image 2.

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Image 2. Fluid Mosaic Model

The plasma membrane is best described by using a structural model called the
fluid mosaic model. According to this model, the molecular arrangement of the
plasma membrane resembles a continually moving sea of fluid lipids that contains a
mosaic of many different proteins. The lipids act as a barrier to certain substances.

• lipid bilayer:
o basic structural framework of the plasma membrane
o amphipathic - molecules, which means that they have both polar
(hydrophilic or water-loving) and non-polar (hydrophobic or water-
hating) parts.
o Made up of the following:

Phospholipids (75%) Cholesterol (20%) Glycolipids (5%)

• lipids that contain • a steroid with an • lipids with attached

attached-OH carbohydrate groups
phosphorus
(hydroxyl) group
• makes the membrane
more rigid and
increases its
impermeability to
water and water-
soluble molecules.

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Polar

Non-polar

Image 2. Phospholipid

The proteins act as “gatekeepers” to certain molecules and ions. Proteins make
up about half of the plasma membrane by weight. There are two (2) distinct types of
membrane proteins:
firmly embedded in or strongly
attached to the lipid bilayer

Integral proteins

Peripheral proteins
attached to the inner or outer
surface of the membrane, do
not extend through it

Integral proteins of the plasma membrane:

• Transmembrane proteins - most integral proteins, span the entire lipid

bilayer

• Glycoproteins - membrane proteins with short chains of carbohydrate

molecules attached to the integral proteins.

• Glycocalyx

- the “sugary coating” surrounding the membrane made up of the

carbohydrate portions of the glycolipids and glycoproteins
- a distinctive biological marker or molecular signature that enables cells to
recognize one another.
- For example:
1. a sperm recognizes the ovum (egg cell) by the distinctive
composition of the ovum’s glycocalyx;
2. a white blood cell’s ability to detect a “foreign” glycocalyx is one
basis of the immune response that helps us destroy invading
organisms. In addition, the glycocalyx enables cells to adhere to one

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another in some tissues and protects cells from being digested by

enzymes in the extracellular fluid.

The functions of the plasma membrane relate to its location at the interface between
the cell’s exterior and interior:

protective
barrier

Functions
of plasma
membrane

membrane communication
permeability system

The plasma membrane provides a protective barrier against substances and

forces outside the cell. The composition of the cytoplasm (intracellular fluid (ICF)) is
very different from that of the extracellular fluid (ECF) surrounding it (Table 2.1). The
concentration gradient of a substance sets the initial parameter, with substances
moving from high to low concentration. A concentration gradient is a difference in the

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concentration of a chemical from one place to another, such as from the inside to the
outside of the plasma membrane.
However, the plasma membrane plays a vital role in maintaining the
differences between the interior and exterior of the cell through regulating the
movement of substances in and out of the cell.

The plasma membrane controls which substances can enter and leave the cell.
The membrane is a selectively permeable barrier that allows some substances to pass
between the intracellular and extracellular fluids while preventing others from doing
so.

permits the
passage of permeable
substances
through it

selective permit some

substances
permeability to pass more
readily than
others

does not
permit the impermeable
passage of
substances
through it

The lipid bilayer portion of the plasma membrane is highly permeable to non-
polar molecules such as oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and steroids;
moderately permeable to small, uncharged polar molecules, such as water and urea
(a waste product from the breakdown of amino acids); and impermeable to ions and
large, uncharged polar molecules, such as glucose.
The permeability characteristics of the plasma membrane are due to the fact
that the lipid bilayer has a non-polar, hydrophobic interior. So, the more hydrophobic
or lipid-soluble a substance is, the greater the membrane’s permeability to that
substance. Thus, the hydrophobic interior of the plasma membrane allows non-polar
molecules to rapidly pass through, but prevents passage of ions and large, uncharged
polar molecules. Transmembrane proteins act as channels and transporters to assist
the entrance of certain substances, for example, glucose and ions

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Some of the membrane proteins act as receptors; that is, they have the ability
to bind to specific molecules arriving from outside the cell. After binding to the
receptor, the molecule can induce a change in the cellular activity. Membrane
receptors act as part of the body’s cellular communication system.

Image 2.
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Substances generally move across cellular membranes via transport processes

that can be classified as passive or active, depending on whether they require cellular
energy.

Image 2.

Passive processes Active processes

• diffusion: • active transport:

• simple diffusion • transport in vesicles:
• facilitated diffusion • endocytosis
• osmosis • exocytosis

Table 2. Classification of transports

• Passive transport - substances move across cell membranes without the input of
any energy; use the kinetic energy of individual molecules or ions

o Diffusion - tendency of molecules in a solution to move down their

concentration gradient; that is, the molecules move from a region where
they are more concentrated to a region where they are less concentrated.

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Types of Diffusion
Facilitated diffusion
- solutes that are too
Simple diffusion polar or highly charged
move through an integral
Osmosis
- substances move freely membrane protein that
through the lipid bilayer can assists a specific - diffusion of water
of the plasma membranes substance across the molecules across a
of cells without the help membrane membrane
of membrane transport
- integral membrane
proteins
protein can be either a
membrane channel or a
carrier.

Image 2.

Channels are integral membrane proteins that allow Carriers are integral membrane proteins that undergo
specific, small, inorganic ions to pass across the changes in shape in order to move substances across
membrane by facilitated diffusion. the membrane by facilitated diffusion.

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Principle of osmosis. Water molecules move through the selectively permeable membrane;
solute molecules cannot. (a) Water molecules move from the left arm into the right arm, down
the water concentration gradient. (b) The volume of water in the left arm has decreased and
the volume of solution in the right arm has increased. (c) Pressure applied to the solution in
the right arm restores the starting conditions.

Normally, the osmotic pressure of the cytosol is the same as the osmotic pressure
of the interstitial fluid outside cells. Because the osmotic pressure on both sides of the
plasma membrane (which is selectively permeable) is the same, cell volume remains
relatively constant. When body cells are placed in a solution having a different osmotic
pressure than cytosol, however, the shape and volume of the cells change.

A solution’s tonicity is a measure of the solution’s ability to change the volume of

cells by altering their water content.

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• Active transport - a cell uses energy, primarily from the breakdown of adenosine
triphosphate (ATP), to move a substance across the membrane, i.e., against a
concentration gradient

• Transport in Vesicles
➢ Vesicle - a small spherical sac formed by budding off from a membrane
➢ Endocytosis - materials move into a cell in a vesicle formed from the
plasma membrane
▪ Three (3) types: receptor-mediated endocytosis, phagocytosis and
bulk-phase endocytosis (pinocytosis)
➢ Exocytosis - vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane, releasing their
contents into the extracellular fluid
➢ Transcytosis - a combination of endocytosis and exocytosis

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2.2. Answer briefly the following questions. The maximum number of sentences
is 15 only.
A. Fill in the blanks to complete the following sentences:
The lipid bilayer structure of the cell membrane is made possible because
phospholipid molecules contain two distinct regions: The 1. _______________
region is attracted to water, and the 2. _______________ region is repelled by
water. Because it has both polar and nonpolar regions, a phospholipid is
classified as a(n) 3. _______________ molecule.

B. Explain the image below. The maximum number of sentences is 15 only.

Focus your discussion on the following concepts:
a. selective permeability
b. different processes used to move molecules across the plasma
membrane

Module activity is uploaded in Edmodo. You may answer and

submit it in Edmodo.

Good job! After answering this activity, you may now

proceed with lesson 3. Enjoy and have fun reading.

Human Anatomy and Physiology I – First Semester, School Year 2021 to 2022 (Midterm)