Cell Membrane,

Structure and Function

By; Abdur Rehman
MPhil Biochemistry

2/27/2022 1
 Cell Membrane

• Cells must contain a cell membrane, cytoplasm and genetic material

- The cell membrane is the EDGE, “boundary of life”,

- The cytoplasm is the site of all the reactions of life

- The genetic material is the information required for life

• The plasma membrane separates the cell contents from the outer
environment

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Cell Membrane
• Plasma membranes have
selective permeability
allow certain molecules and
ions into and out of the cell
& inhibit others
• The integrity and function
of the plasma membrane
are necessary to the life of
the cell

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 Membrane structure
• Overton – proposed lipid base
The cell membrane might be made of lecithin
(phosphatidylcholine) and cholesterol)
• Gorter and Grendel
two layers
• Davson and Danielli
Membrane Phospholipid bilayer that lies between two layers of globular
proteins
models • Singer and Nicolson (1972)
sandwich image, protein outside-Fluid Mosaic Model

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 Membrane structure
• Phospholipid: The plasma membrane is a phospholipid bilayer with attached or
embedded proteins

• A phospholipid molecule has a polar head and nonpolar tails

• When phospholipids are placed in water, they naturally form a spherical bilayer
• The polar heads, being charged, are hydrophilic (attracted to water)
- They position themselves to face toward the watery environment outside and inside the cell

• The nonpolar tails are hydrophobic

- They position themselves to face toward the watery environment outside and inside the cell
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 Phospholipid
Structure
• Contains 2 fatty acid chains
that are nonpolar

• Head is polar & contains a

Phosphate groupcell
membrane

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 Abdur Rehman
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Lecturer IPMS-kmu
 Membrane structure

• The fluid-mosaic model is a working description of membrane

structure
- It states that the protein molecules form a shifting pattern within the fluid
phospholipid bilayer

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 Membrane structure
• Carbohydrates: Short chains of sugars are attached to the outer surface
of some protein and lipid molecules
- These are called glycoproteins and glycolipids, respectively

- These carbohydrate chains, specific to each cell, help mark the cell as belonging
to a particular individual

- For example they account for why people have different blood types

- They also contain molecules at their surfaces that provide for cellular recognition
and communication
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 Membrane Components

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 Membrane Structure
Integral/intrinsic membrane proteins
• These proteins are deeply embedded in the membrane
Peripheral/extrinsic membrane proteins
• Weakly bound to the surface of the membrane by ionic/
hydrogen bonds that form between the proteins and the
Membrane ‘polar’ heads of the membrane lipids
Protein • They can be removed without disrupting the membrane
Transmembrane proteins:
• These are integral proteins span the whole breadth of the
membrane
• These proteins can serve as receptors for hormones,
neurotransmitters, tissue specific antigens, growth factors
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Function of Membrane Protein
Transport – substance across membrane, specificity to substance, active pumps

Enzymatic activity – sequence reactions

Transmit signals – conformational change when combine with substrate = message.

Junctions – glue cells into tissues

Recognition – glycoproteins act as targets or ID

Attach to cytoskeleton – change shape of cell

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Membrane Structure
• Cholesterol:
• Cholesterol molecules
prevent membrane from
becoming ‘crispy’
• Cholesterol lends support to
the membrane.

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Fluidity of membrane
 Individual phospholipids
and proteins can move
around freely within the
layer, like it’s a liquid
 the fluidity of the
membrane are highly
dependent upon the lipid
composition of the
membrane

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 Function of Cell Membrane

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Transport Across the Membrane

• The plasma membrane allows only certain molecules and ions to

enter and exit the cytoplasm freely hence selectively permeable
- Small, lipid-soluble molecules, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, can pass
through the membrane easily

- Ions and large molecules such as glucose, amino acids cannot cross the
membrane without more direct assistance (transport protein)

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 Transport Across the Membrane

• Span the cell membrane

• Function as a channel
Transport
Proteins • Some also physically move passengers
• Specificity of fit ( form and function )
allows for membrane selectivity

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Types of Transport Mechanisms

Passive/Simple Facilitated Active

Diffusion Diffusion Transport

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 Passive Transport/Simple
Diffusion
Diffusion

Osmosis

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 Passive transport
includes

Diffusion
• It depends on the
concentration gradient of a
particular substance across the
membrane
• The solute passes from higher
concentration to lower
concentration till equilibrium
is reached
• The process neither requires
any carrier protein nor energy.
It operates unidirectionally

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 Passive transport
includes
Osmosis
• The diffusion of water
molecules across a selectively
permeable membrane
For example
• Hypertonic = solution with
higher [conc.] of solutes
• Hypotonic = solution with
lower [conc.] of solutes
• Isotonic = solutions are equal
in solute concentration

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 Facilitated diffusion
• It is similar to passive diffusion
in that solutes move along the
concentration gradient
• But it requires a carrier or
transport protein
• Hence the rate of diffusion is
faster than simple diffusion
• Does not require any energy
& can operate bidirectionally

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 Difference b/w Simple & Facilitated
Diffusion

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 Active Transport

• Movement of solutes, against their concentration gradient, with the

help of transport proteins

• Requires cell to expend energy / do work

• Solute becomes more concentrated or “stock- piled” in a particular
area
- Example is Sodium-Potassium Pump
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 Na-K Pump

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Types of transport system

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 Transport of Macromolecules

• Endocytosis is used for bulk transport of particles

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 Pinocytosis

Most common form of

endocytosis.
Takes in dissolved molecules
as a vesicle

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 Phagocytosis
• Used to engulf large
particles such as food,
bacteria, etc. into vesicles-
Called cell eating
• Some white blood cells are
able to take up pathogens
(disease-causing agents) by
endocytosis

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 Receptor Mediated
endocytosis
• Some integral proteins have
receptors on their surface
• To recognize & take in
hormones, cholesterol,
etc.

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 Exocytosis
• Exocytosis- moving things
out
• Molecules are moved out
of the cell by vesicles that
fuse with the plasma
membrane
• This is how many hormones
are secreted and how nerve
cells communicate with one
another

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 Membranes functions and importance
Protection
- Give boundaries to the cell and protection to protoplast
Selectively permeable
- acts as a barrier, maintaining differences in composition between the inside and
outside of the cell With help of transporters and ion channels.
Exchanges material with the extracellular
- Exocytosis
- Endocytosis
- gap junctions

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 Membranes functions and importance
Cellular interaction
- key roles in cell–cell interactions and in transmembrane signaling
Membranes also form specialized compartments within the cell
(organelles), eg,
- mitochondria,
- ER,
- sarcoplasmic reticulum,
- Golgi complexes,
- secretory granules,
- lysosomes, and
- nuclear membrane.
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 Membranes functions and importance
 Membranes localize enzymes, function as integral elements
• The most important reactions in energy conversion—i. e., oxidative phosphorylation and
photosynthesis also occur in membranes
 Changes in membrane structure affect water balance and ion flux and therefore
every process within the cell.
• Specific deficiencies or alterations of certain membrane
- Familial Hypercholesterolemia
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Wilson’s disease
- Hereditary Spheriocytosis
- Metastasis of Cancer cells

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Reference
• Biochemistry by Satyanarayana and Chakrapani

• Human biology 12th edition

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Lecturer IPMS-kmu