CELL
• Smallest unit of life capable of independent existence
• Functional and structural units of all living organisms
• Contains different specialized organelles that may
either be compartmentalized or
compartmentalized
• Major parts: nucleus and cytoplasm/protoplasm
PROTOPLASM vs CYTOPLASM
• The area between the nucleolemma and the
plasmalemma
• Contains cytosol where the organelles are suspended
o Cytosol – contains hundred of enzymes for the
different metabolic pathways
• Protoplasm
o General term referring to all spaces within the
cell including spaces in the nucleus, cytoplasm,
plasmids, and mitochondria
• Cytoplasm
o Refers to the space that exclusively surround
the nucleus
• Plasmalemma
o 7. 5 – 10 nm in thickness
o Visible only using an electron microscope
o Composed of phospholipid, cholesterol,
proteins, and chains of oligosaccharides
covalently linked to proteins
o Functions as a selective barrier
o Regulates the passage of substances into and
out of the cell
o Keeps constant ion content of the cytoplasm
o Has a lipid bi-layer structure
o Capable of self assembly
non-
PROKARYOTES vs EUKARYOTES
• Eukaryotic
o Eu = true
o Karyotes = “kernel”, soft part, center
o True nucleus
• Prokaryotic
o Pre = before
o Karyotes = “kernel”, soft part, center
o “before nucleujs”
• Structures present in both:
o Cytoplasm
o Ribosomes
o DNA
o Cell membrane
• A prokaryote can be distinguished from a eukaryote
because of certain characteristics it possesses:
o The way its DNA is packaged:
- Prokaryotes have nuclear material that is not
encased in a membrane (i.e. they do not have a
nucleus).
- Prokaryotes don’t wind their DNA around
proteins called histones; eukaryotes do.
o The makeup of its cell wall:
- Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) have a cell
wall that is unique compared to eukaryotes.
- Their cell walls are made up of peptidoglycan.
o Its internal structures:
- Prokaryotes don’t have complex membrane-
bound organelles in their cytoplasm; eukaryotes
do.
 ▪ Targeting cells throughout the body o paracrine
MEMBRANE TRANSPORT signaling
▪ Chemical mediators are very rapidly to act only
on local cells
▪ Synaptic signaling
▪ Special paracrine signaling
▪ Involves neurotransmitters acting on adjacent
cells.
o Autocrine Signaling
▪ Signals bind receptors on the same cell
type.
o Juxtacrine Signaling
Endocytosis ▪ Early embryonic tissue interactions.
▪ Signaling molecule remains a part of the
o Bulk uptake of materials across the cell’s surface and bind surface receptors of
plasmalemma target cells.
o Involves formation of vesicles • Signaling Molecules
o Fuses vesicles carrying the extracellular material o Hydrophilic
with an endosomal compartment ▪ Hormones | Local chemical molecules |
▪ Early endosome: near the surface Neurotransmitters
▪ Late endosome: deep into the cytoplasm ▪ Involves activation of receptor proteins
• Phagocytosis on surface of target cells.
o Cell eating o Hydrophobic
o Involves enclosing a foreign material in an ▪ Steroid hormones | Thyroid hormones
intracellular structure called phagosome. ▪ Binds reversibly to carrier proteins in
• Fluid-phase Endocytosis the plasma.
o Cell drinking o Lipophilic molecules
o Involves the inward pinching off of pinocytic ▪ Diffuse directly to the lipid bi-layer of
vesicles from the plasmalemma. target cell binding to intracellular
• Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis receptors.
o Involves binding of a ligand to a specific receptor
leading to their caggragation forming coated pits in
the plasmalemma. CELLULAR COMPONENTS
o The coated pits form a cage-like invagination that
pinches off into the cytoplasm forming a coated CELL MEMBRANE
vesicle.
• Composed of lipids (phospholipid, glycolipid, cholesterol),
Exocytosis proteins, and carbohydrates
o Maintains the integrity of the cell
• Involves the fusion of a membrane-limited cytoplasmic
o Controls the movements of substances in and out
vesicle with the plasmalemma.
of the cell (selective permeability)
• Results in the release of its contents into the extracellular
o Regulates cell to cell interaction
space.
• Functions:
• It does not compromise the integrity of the plasmalemma.
o Recognizes antigens, foreign cells, and altered
• Triggered by transient increase in cytosolic calcium. cells via receptors
Signal Reception and Transduction o Acts as an interference between cytoplasm and
external milieu
• Gap Junctions o Establishes transport systems for specific
o Communicating junctions that couple adjacent cells. molecules
o Allows passage of signal from cell to cell without • Biochemical components
reaching the extracellular fluid. ➢ Lipids
• Signaling Routes o Composed of phospholipids, glycolipids, and
o Endocrine Signaling cholesterol
▪ Signal molecules (hormones) are carried in the ▪ Phospholipids
blood - Amphipathic; most abundant
 - Arranged in a bilayer
- Trilaminar appearance
CYTOPLASM
- Lecithin (most abundant phospholipid)
▪ Glycolipids • Space between the nucleus and cell membrane
- Forms the carbohydrate moieties • Contains its fluid component called the cytosol
▪ Glycocalyx • Composed of organelles, inclusions (less active in cellular
- Cell coat for adhesion, extracellular attachment metabolism) and cytoskeleton (for cellular integrity and
and cell recognition motility)
▪ Cholesterol
- Seen in both leaflets
- Smaller than other lipids
- 2% of plasmalemma
➢ Proteins
▪ Integral membrane proteins
- Directly incorporated within the lipid bilayer
- Transmembrane proteins (ex: hydrophilic
channels)
- Penetrate the entire membrane
- Amphipathic ORGANELLES
▪ Peripheral membrane proteins
- Functions as intracellular cell messengers • MITOCHONDRIA
- For structural support
- Loosely associated with either the inner and
outer surface
- More globular
- Trilaminar – electron dense peripheral proteins
➢ Carbohydrates
▪ Glycocalyx
- Cell coat
- Cell adhesion and interaction

o 2 – 6 micrometer, variable in size

FLUID MOSAIC MODEL
• Emphasizes that a membrane consisting of a
phospholipid bilayer also contains proteins inserted
(integral protein) in it or bound to the cytoplasmic
surface (peripheral proteins) and that many of these
proteins move within the fluid lipid phase
• ↑ Fluidity, ↑ Temperature
• ↑ Fluidity, ↑ Unsaturation of hydrocarbon tails
• ↑ Fluidity, ↑ Membrane cholesterol content
o Largest organelle
o Contains enzymes for aerobic respiration and ATP
production
o Can synthesize their own DNA and proteins
o Self – replication by budding/ fission
o Moves through the cytoplasm by microtubules
o The number of mitochondria is related to the cell’s
energy needs
▪ Cell with a high-energy metabolism have
abundant mitochondria (ex. Cardiac muscle)
▪ Whereas, cells with a low-energy
metabolism have a few mitochondria
o Layers:
▪ Outer mitochondrial membrane
- Relatively porous as it contains a pore-forming
protein known as porin to allow small molecules
to pass
- Contains enzymes that convert certain lipid
substances into forms that can be metabolized
within the mitochondrion
▪ Inner mitochondrial membrane
 - Thinner, less porous because it contains an - Seen as patches (ex: Neurons)
unusual phospholipid that is highly - Found in RER, site of protein synthesis
impermeable to ions - Decode genetic messages from nucleus for
- With many folds called cristae amino acid sequence of protein synthesis
- Has subunits (ribosomes) that look like - Synthesize new protein molecules in the cell
“lollipops” o Types of ribosomes
- F1 subunit (“lollipop”) offers ATPase activity ▪ Polyribosomes or Polysomes
which releases activity - Group of ribosomes distributed along a single
o Parts of a mitochondria strand of mRNA
▪ Intermembrane space - Attached to membranes of RER
- Space between the inner and outer - Polysomes of the RER synthesize proteins to be
mitochondrial membrane, contains enzymes secreted or sequestered
▪ Intramembrane space ▪ Free ribosomes
- Contains enzymes for DNA synthesis, cDNA, and - Individual ribosomes dispersed in the cytoplasm
mitochondrial ribosomes - Free polysomes synthesize structural proteins
▪ Intercristal space and enzymes for intracellular use
- Space inside the inner membrane o Steps in protein synthesis
▪ Intracristal space ▪ mRNA is transcribed from DNA
- Space between foldings ▪ mRNA exits to cytoplasm/ ribosome
▪ Mitochondrial matrix ▪ tRNA binds to amino acids
- Contains dense matrix granules ▪ loaded tRNA bonds with mRNA in ribosome
- Protects cell from toxicity, bind with Mg and Ca ▪ polypeptide chain grows in response to mRNA
- Mitochondrial DNA and ribosomes codons
▪ Cristae ▪ completed protein is either used by the cell or is
- Complex folds in the inner mitochondrial packaged and exported
membrane, functions in ATP production
• ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM

o Anastomosing network of intercommunicating

channels
o Very complex organelle involved packaging and
• RIBOSOME synthesizing of proteins and lipids
o No membrane, found in the cytosol
o Composed of 4 segments of rRNA and app. 80
different proteins o Functions:
o Bound to mRNA, all ribosomes have 2 subunits of ▪ Synthesis of lipids
different sizes that catalyze protein translation ▪ Transport
o Either mitochondrial (smaller) or cytoplasmic ▪ Storage
(bigger) ▪ Detoxification of drugs and alcohol
o Nissl bodies o Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (sac-like)
- Structure: a network of flattened sacs that is
continuous with the nuclear membrane
- Ribosomes: present
- Functions:
o Protein Synthesis including secreted
proteins, lysosomal proteins and
integral membrane protein.
▪ Located in cells that secrete large
quantities of proteins, such as the
acinar cell of the pancreas
o Synthesis of membrane lipids
▪ All cells
o Start of Glycosylation (post-
translational modifications of proteins)
▪ All cells
- Its cisternae is continuous with the nuclear
membrane (perinuclear space)
- Participates in the synthesis of protein and its
transport into different parts of the cell
- Site where non-cystolic proteins are synthesized
- Post-translational modification (glycosylation)
- Manufacture lipids and integral proteins
(maintains a flattened appearance of RER of
membrane
- Produces integral proteins in membranes
✓ Docking protein
✓ Ribophorin I & II
✓ Pore protein
o Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
- Structure: highly curved and tubular
interconnecting network found fairly evenly
distributed throughout the cytoplasm
- Ribosomes: Absent
- Functions:
o Synthesis steroid hormones in the endocrine
cells of the gonad and the adrenal cortex.
▪ Steroid-hormone-secreting cell
o Detoxification in the liver of wide variety of
organic compound
▪ Hepatocytes
o Sequestering calcium ions within the
cytoplasm of skeletal and cardiac muscle
cells triggering contraction
▪ Striated muscle cells
- Found in hormone – producing cells
- Known as sarcoplasmic reticulum in striated
muscles
• Golgi Complex
o “post office” = for modification and packaging of
cellular materials
o Composed of smooth membranous saccules
o Shows 2 distinct sides structurally and functionally
reflects the complex traffic of vesicles within cells.
 These are transport vesicles and condensing
vacuoles
▪ Transport vesicles
- Shuttles newly synthesized proteins to the cis
face of the Golgi apparatus
▪ Condensing vacuoles
- Large structures that bud from maturing
succules and generates vesicles that carry
completed protein products away from the
trans Golgi apparatus
o Best developed in neurons and grandular cells
o Parts:
▪ Cis face
- Convex; entry face
▪ Mid face
- Packaging, storage and concentration
▪ Trans face
- Concave; exit face
• PHAGOSOME
o Arises from the ingestion of particulate matter by
phagocytosis
o Contains primary lysosomes
o Membrane-found vesicles containing phagocytosed
material destined for lysosomal digestion
o For both types, digestion begins with the fusion of
phagosomes with primary lysosomes, thereby
forming secondary lysosomes
o Types:
▪ Autophagosome
- Contain products of intracellular origin (i.e.
organelles)
▪ Heterophagosome
- Contain products of extracellular origin
• LYSOSOME
o Cellular digestive organelles
o Have more enzymes than phagosomes
o Contains acid phosphatases
o Contains 40 different hydrolytic enzymes that vary
with cell type, the most common enzymes being the
acid hydrolases, and its most common type being acid
phophatase
- Other acid hydrolases: proteases, nucleases,
phosopholipases, sulfatases, β-
glucuronidase
- Synthesized in the rER and further modified
in the Golgi apparatus, where they are
packaged in vacuoles that form primary
lysosomes
- Mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) – molecular
marker in the cis Golgi added to the N-linked
oligosaccharides of the hydrolases destined
for lysosomes; receptors in the trans Golgi
divert these from the main secretory
pathway into primary lysosomes
o 2 Types (based on enzyme activity)
- Primary Lysosome – smaller, more electron-
dense, containing inactive enzymes
- Secondary Lysosome – (primary lysosome +
phagosome) – larger, less electron-dense,
containing activated enzymes; appears
mottled in electron microscopy (EM)
o Mechanism:
- primary lysosomes fuse with phagosomal or
pinocytotic vesicular membrane →
phagosomal contents mix with lysosomal
enzymes → proton pump in the lysosomal
membrane brings in protons and lowers pH
→ activation of enzymes → digestion
(structure now called a secondary lysosome
or heterolysosome)
- Digested Nutrients – diffuse into cytosol for
recycling by the cell or extracellular release
- Undigestible Materials – retained within
vacuoles until exocytosis (called residual
bodies or telolysosomes) or accumulate in
long-lived cells such as in neurons and heart
muscle (lipofuscin granules)
-

o Particularly abundant in phagocytic cells (e.g.
macrophages and neutrophils)
o Presence of membrane protects other cytosolic
components from hydrolytic activity, although most
lysosomal enzymes activate only at pH 5.0 (lysosomal
pH) and are inactive at pH 7.2 (cytosolic pH).
o Lysosomal enzymes are sometimes released and act in
the extracellular environment; e.g. destruction of bone
matrix via osteoclasts’ collagenases; in response to
inflammation or injury
o Residual bodies
- Various size
- Various electron densities
- Contain indigestible materials such as dye,
certain lipids
- Lipofuscin = wear and tear pigments; marker for
cell aging
• PERIXOSOMES (MICROBODIES)
o Kills bacteria using hydrogen peroxide
o For detoxification and beta-oxidation
o Participates in gluconeogenesis
o Contains D- and L- amino oxidases, catalase, and
hydroacid oxidase
o Contain enzymes involved in lipid metabolism
o Membrane-bound spherical organelles that utilize
oxygen for their metabolic functions
o Functions:
▪ Oxidation of some organic substrates by the
removal of hydrogen atoms and their
subsequent transfer to molecular oxygen (O2),
producing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)
-H2O2 broken down by another peroxisomal
enzyme, catalase, that transfers its oxygen to
other compounds
- Function esp. useful in kidney and liver cells for
the oxidation of toxic substances including
prescription drugs and ethyl alcohol (degraded
to acetic aldehyde)
▪ β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids (18 carbons
or longer)
▪ Purine metabolism
o Other peroxisomal enzymes in liver and kidney cells:
D- and L-amino acid oxidases, hydroxyacid oxidase
o Formation not clearly elucidated, but appears to
involve vesicles budding off of the sER; peroxisomal
enzymes synthesized and imported from free
cytosolic polyribosomes to the peroxisomes via a
specific amino acid sequence in their carboxyl
terminals
• CYTOSKELETON
o provides structural stability for the maintenance of
cell shape, cell movement, and cell component
rearrangement
o Microtubules
▪ Organized into axonemes in the cytoplasmic
extensions called cilia and flagella
▪ Thickest
▪ Composed of tublin heterodimers
▪ Microtubules of cilia are stable; while those of
mitotic spindles are short loved
▪ Functions:
- Intracellular transport of membranous vesicles
- Axoplasmic transport in neurons, melanin
transport in pigment cells
- Movement of cilia and flagella
- Attachment of chromosomes to the mitotic
spindle and their movement during mitosis and
meiosis
- Cell elongation and movement (migration)
- Maintenance of cell shape
 ▪ Monomers are added rapidly at the (+) end with
hydrolysis of ATP
▪ Assembly and disassembly of subunits from F-
actin are promoted by profiling and cofilin
(respectively)
▪ Found in microvilli (cell extensions that increase
surface area for absorption)
▪ 5-7nm diameter (thinnest)
▪ Usually composed of actin protein
- In striated muscles: actin arranged with myosin
- In other cells: less stable and can dissociate and
reassemble
▪ Involves Ca2+ , cyclic AMP and actin-binding
proteins in cytoplasm

▪ Types:
✓ Centrosome
- Organized around two centrioles
- Before cell division, the centrosome also
duplicates itself
- During mitosis, centrosome divides into half and
move to opposite poles of the cell, becoming
the MTOC for the mitotic spindle
✓ Basal bodies
- Anchoring structures
- Controls assembly of axoneme
- Guides formation of appendages (cilia flagella)
✓ Cilia
- Present in respiratory and female reproductive
system
✓ Flagella
- Seen in tail of sperm cell and mitotic spindle
apparatus ▪ Function:
▪ Location: o Must interact with myosin to contract
- Throughout cytoplasm - In muscle cells, myosin forms thick filaments
- In cilia and flagella (form axoneme and its - In non-muscle cells) soluble forms only
anchoring basal body) o Endocytosis & exocytosis - microvilli
- In centriole and mitotic spindle contraction
- In elongating process of the cell o Cell movement
o Microfilaments o Movement of organelles, vesicles and
▪ Allow cellular motility and contractile activity granules -cytoplasmic streaming
▪ Thin, polarized, shorter, and are more flexible o Cell shape maintenance
than microtubules o Equatorial constriction of dicing cells
▪ Composed of G-actin monomers, that assemble ▪ Location:
into F-actin
 o Non-muscle cells: distributed irregularly in
cytoplasm
o Locally accumulated as thin sheath
beneath plasma membrane
o Parallel strands in microvilli core
o Leading edge of pseudopod cytoplasm
o Intermediate Filaments
▪ Size is between the sizes of the other two
▪ More stable than microtubules and
microfilaments
▪ Proteins:
✓ Keratin
- Family of acidic and basic isoforms
- Compose heterodimer subunits of int. filaments
in all epithelial cells
- In epidermal cells: they accumulate via
keratinization resulting in an outer layer of non
living skin cells that reduces dehydration
✓ Vimentin
- Most common class III of int. filament protein
- Found in cells derived from mesenchyme
- Ex.: desmin – found in muscle cells glial fibrillar
acidic protein (GFAP) – found in astrocytes
✓ Neurofilament
- Major int. filaments of neurons
✓ Lamins
- Family of 7 isoforms in the nucleus
- Form the nuclear lamina inside the nuclear
envelope
o Tubulin heterodimers
- Made of ά-tubulin+ 1 β-tubulin
- Arranged in protofilaments (13 circularly
arrayed globular dimeric tubulin molecules)
o Polymerization
- Dimers polymerize in an end-to-end fashion
(head to tail); ά- of 1 dimer bound to β- of
another
- Controlled by regulation Ca2+ concentration
• PROTEASOMES
o Non-membranous cytoplasmic protein complexes
composed of four stacked rings, each with 7 proteins
(including protease), arranged in a cylinder
o At every end of a cylinder is a regulatory particle with
ATPase function
o Functions:
▪ Breakdown of denatured or non-functional
polypeptides
▪ Removal of proteins no longer useful for the
cell, thus restricting various protein activities at
each period of time
o Mechanism:
▪ Proteins targeted for destruction are
conjugated with ubiquitin to a lysine residue
by regulatory enzyme complexes →
formation of a multi-ubiquitin chain →
recognition of ubiquinated proteins by
proteasomal regulatory particles → unfolding
of proteins via ATPase (using energy from
ATP) → transport into the core particle where
they are degraded into short polypeptides →
released back into the cytoplasm, ubiquitin is
also released for reuse
• CENTRIOLES
o Cylindrical group of microtubules – 50 nm diam; 350-
500 nm long
o 9 microtubule triplets in a pinwheel way
o Location:
▪ Between cell division; near the nucleus
▪ Often surrounded by Golgi complex
o Function
▪ Structural organizers of the cell
▪ For cell division; organize the microtubules of
the spindle
▪ Give rise to basal bodies
o Basal Bodies
▪ Structurally similar to centrioles (9 triplet + 0
doublet)
o Anchoring points and microtubule organizers
Intermediate Filaments
▪ for cilia and flagella
o Intermediate Filaments
▪ Play a supporting or general structure
support; ropelike filaments
▪ Structure
 - 8 to 10 nm diameter (thickness)
- With highly variable central rod-shaped domain o Euchromatin
with strictly conserved globular domains at - Finely dispersed granular, lightly stained under
either ends light microscope
- Assembled from a pair of helical monomers that - Active
twist around each other to form coiled-coil - Contains regions of DNA undergoing active
dimers twist in antiparallel fashion(parallel but transcription
in opposite directions) - DNA in chromatin is extensively packaged by
- Composed of proteins that include: basic proteins called histones
- Cytokeratins (epithelial cells) - Each long DNA double helix with its assoc.
- Vimentin (fibroblasts, chondrocytes) proteins is a chromatid
- Desmin (muscle cells) - After DNA replication, two chromatids held
- Glial fibrillary acidic protein (glia) together by cohesion proteins make up a
- Neurofilament protein (neurons) chromosome
o Function – Maintenance of cell shape
o Location
▪ Throughout the cytoplasm
▪ Tonofilaments in desmosomes NUCLEOLUS

NUCLEUS • Spherical, highly basophilic subdomain of nuclei in cells

• Not membrane bound
• Contains code for all cell’s enzymes and proteins • Active in making proteins
• Command center • Detectible only in interphase
• Contains machinery to replicate DNA and synthesize RNA • Molecules of rRNA are processed in the nucleolus
• Components: • Areas:
o Nuclear envelope o Pars Amorpha
o Chromatin - Nucleolar organizer region, carries the code for
o Nucleolus rRNA
o Nucleoplasm o Pars Granulosa
- Contain dense granules that represent maturing
ribosomal subunits undergoing assembly
NUCLEAR ENVELOPE o Pars Fibrosa
- Newly – synthesized fibers by rRNA
• Double membrane with nuclear pores o Nucleolar matrix
• Forms a selectively permeable barrier bet nuclear and - Network of fibers found throughout the inside
cytoplasmic compartments of a cell nucleus
• Nuclear lamina
o Closely associated meshwork of proteins to the NUCLEOPLASM
nucleus
o Stabilizes the nuclear envelope
• Protoplasm enveloped by the nuclear membrane
• Has two concentric membranes separated by a narrow
(karyoplasm)
perinuclear space
• Interchromatin granules (IGs)
- enriched in pre- mRNA splicing factors
CHROMATIN • Perichromatin granules (PCGs)
- located at the margins of heterochromatin;
• Mass of DNA and associated proteins involved in the storage of various RNAs and in
• Types: messenger RNA transport
o Heterochromatin • Heterogenous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs)
- Coarse, electron dense material, intensely - help package the pre-mRNA into functional
basophilic complexes; involved in the transport of mRNA
- Inactive to the cytoplasm
- Barr body = sex chromatin in females
• Small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs)
- participate in splicing, cleaving, and
transporting hnRNPs
INCLUSION BODIES
• composed mainly of accumulated metabolites or other
substances
• often transitory components of the cytoplasm
• non-motile and with little or no metabolic activity
• not considered an organelle
LIPOFUCSIN GRANULES
• LIPOCHROME or WEAR-AND-TEAR PIGMENT
• Small pigmented (golden-brown), finely granular
cytoplasmic, often perinuclear pigment/bodies present in
many cells.
• Insoluble pigment composed of polymers of lipids and
phospholipids in complex with protein derived from
residual bodies after lysosomal digestion.
• Accumulate with age in stable non-dividing cells
• Seen in cells undergoing slow, regressive changes
prominent in the liver and heart of aging patients or
patients with severe malnutrition and cancer
GLYCOGEN GRANULES
• Aggregates of carbohydrate polymer in which glucose is
stored
• Excessive intracellular deposits of glycogen are seen in
patients with an abnormality in either glucose or glycogen
metabolism
• Visible in several cell types (esp. in liver cells)
• Form of irregular clumps of PAS-positive or electron-
dense material.
• Not enclosed with membrane.
• Appear as clear vacuoles within the cytoplasm.
• Staining with Best carmine or PAS reaction imparts a rose-
to-violet (magenta) color to glycogen.
FAT DROPLETS
• Accumulation of lipid molecules that is prominent in
adipocytes, adrenal cortex cells, liver cells and other cells.
OTHER CELLULAR INCLUSIONS
HEMOSIDERIN
• Hemoglobin-derived, golden yellow-to-brown, granular or
crystalline pigment that serves as one of the major storage
forms of iron.
• When there is a focal or systemic excess of iron, ferritin
forms hemosiderin granules
• Usually seen in spleen – major organ for sequestration of
senescent RBCs
• LOCAL EXCESS results from hemorrhages in tissues. (e.g.
common bruise)
• Systemic overload of iron hemosiderin may be deposited
in many organs and tissues – HEMOSIDEROSIS
• Causes:
o Increased iron absorption of dietary iron o Hemolytic
anemias
o Repeated blood transfusions

• G1 Phase
MELANIN
• S Phase (Synthesis)
• Derived from the Greek word MELAS (black)
• An endogenous, non-hemoglobin-derived, brown-black
pigment formed when the enzyme tyrosinase catalyzes
the oxidation of tyrosine of dihydrophenylalanine in
melanocytes.
• The only endogenous brown-black pigment
• G2 Phase
CELL CYCLE AND DIVISION
• cell cycle – interval; between mitotic divisions
• Cell division that increases the number of cells, permits
• produces two daughter cells, each containing
chromosomes identical to those of the parent cells
• Process of chromosome segregation and nuclear division
• two phases:
o interphase – continuous growth of the cell
o M phase (Mitosis phase) – partition of genome
INTERPHASE
o Between end of M phase and beginning of S
phase
o Synthesis of macromolecules essential for DNA
duplication begins
o Cell volume restored to normal
o Centrioles begin to duplicate themselves
o Cylin: cell cycle halted
o Cycline: cell cycle resumes
o Cell gathers nutrients and synthesize RNA and
proteins necessary for DNA synthesis and
chromosome replication
o Checkpoints:
- Restriction Points – sensitive to the size of the
cell, the state of cell’s physiologic process, and
interaction with extracellular matrix
- G1 DNA-damage Checkpoint – monitors the
integrity of newly replicated DNA
o When DNA is duplicated/ replication
o Beginning of the duplication of the centrosome
with their centrioles
o Checkpoint:
- S DNA – damage checkpoint – monitors quality
of replicating DNA
o Increase in cell volume
o Tubulin and accessory proteins accumulate
o RNA and proteins essential to cell division is
synthesized
o Centriole duplication completed
o Cell examines its replicated DNA in preparation
for cell division
o Period of cell growth and reorganization of
cytoplasmic organelles before entering the
mitotic cycle
o Checkpoints:
- G2 DNA-damage Checkpoint
- Unreplicated-DNA Checkpoint – prevent
progression of the cell into M-phase before DNA
synthesis is complete
MITOSIS
renewal of cell populations, and allows wound repair
followed by cell division that produces two daughter cells
 with the same chromosome number and DNA content as
the parent cell
• Includes both karyokinesis (nuclear division) and
cytokinesis (cytoplasm division)
• Checkpoints:
- Spindle-assembly Checkpoint – prevents
premature entry into anaphase
- Chromosome-segregation Checkpoint – prevent
the process of cytokinesis until all of the
chromosomes have been correctly separated
• Stages:
✓ Prophase
▪ Chromosomes condense
▪ Nucleolus disappears
▪ Astral arrays begin to form
▪ Dissolution of nuclear envelope
▪ Replicated chromosomes condense and
become visible
o Chromatid – condense chromosome
o Centromere – ring of protein that
hold sister chromatids together
✓ Prometaphase or Late Prophase
CLEAVAGE FURROW
▪ Begins when nuclear envelope disappears
▪ Chromosomes are arranged randomly in
the cytoplasm
▪ Nuclear envelope begins to disintegrate
into small transport vesicles and resembles
the sER
• Nucleolus disappears
• Kinetochore appears on each
chromatid opposite to
centromere
✓ Metaphase
▪ Newly duplicated chromosomes align
themselves on the equator of the mitotic
spindle (metaphase plate configuration)
▪ Mitotic spindle becomes organized around
the microtubule-organizing centers
(MTOCs) located at opposite poles of cells
▪ Kinetochore microtubules and their
associated motor proteins direct the
movement of the chromosomes to a plane
in the middle of the cell equatorial or
metaphase plate
✓ Anaphase
▪ Sister chromatids separate and begin to
migrate to opposite poles of the cell
▪ Cleavage furrow begins to develop
▪ Initial separation of sister chromatid
cohesion (holding the chromatids together)
breaks down
▪ Chromatids begin to separate and pulled to
opposite poles by dyneins (molecular
motors) sliding along kinetochore
microtubules toward the MTOC
✓ Telophase
▪ Each set of chromosomes has reached its
respective pole
▪ Reconstitution of the nucleus and the
nuclear envelope
▪ Disappearance of the mitotic spindle
apparatus
▪ Unwinding of the chromosomes into
chromatin
▪ Reconstitution of nuclear envelope around
the chromosomes at each pole
▪ Chromosomes uncoil and become
indistinct
▪ Nucleoli reappear
▪ Cytoplasm divides to form two daughter
cells
▪ 2 daughter cells are formed: (2d) in DNA
content and (2d) in chromosome number
✓ Cytokinesis
- Contractile ring consisting of very thin array of
actin filaments positioned around the perimeter
of the cell
MEIOSIS
• With two successive mitotic divisions without
additional S phase between the two divisions
• Specialized type of cell division in the formation of
germ cells – the ova and the spermatozoa
• Has 2 crucial results
o Reduction in the number of chromosomes from
diploid (2n) to haploid (1n)
o Recombination of genes, ensuring genetic
variability and diversity of the gene pool
• involves two sequential nuclear division followed by
cell division that produce gametes containing half the
number of chromosomes and half the DNA found in
somatic cells
o Zygote – fusion of an ovum and a sperm
o Homologous Chromosome – similar but not
identical
o Gametes – having only one member of each
chromosome pair (haploid 1n)
o Gametogenesis
- Reduction in chromosome number to the
haploid state (23 chromosomes in human)
- Necessary to maintain a constant number of
chromosomes
 - Reduction in chromosome (1n) in first meiotic
division folloed by the reduction in DNA content
to haploid (1n) in the second division
o Crossing-over – altering genetic composition of
the chromosomes; genetic exchange
• In Males:
o Division of primary spermatocyte – 4
identical, genetically unique, haploid
spermatids
• In Females:
o Division of primary oocyte – 1 haploid ovum
(functional gamete), and 3 polar bodies
(degenerate)
• Stages:
✓ Meiosis I
- Chromosome number is reduced from (4n) to
(2n)
▪ Interphase
- Each chromosome consists of identical sister
chromatids held together
▪ Prophase I
- Commencement of meiosis, begins after DNA
has been doubled to 4n in the S phase
- Pairing of homologous chromosomes, synapsis
(close association of homologous
chromosomes), and recombination of genetic
material on homologous chromosomes
- Divided into five phase
❖ Leptotene
- Interphase chromatin material begins to
condense, and the chromosomes, although still
extended become visible
- Condensation of chromatin and by the
appearance of chromosomes
- Sister chromatids condense and become
connected with each other
- Pairing of homologous chromosomes of
maternal and paternal origin is initiated
❖ Zygotene
- Homologous pairs of chromosomes
approximate each other and make synapses via
the synaptonemal complex, forming a tetrad
- Synapsis (close homologous chromosomes)
continuous throughout pachytene
❖ Pachytene
- Chromosomes continue to condense, becoming
thicker and shorter
- Synapsis is complete
- Crossing-over occurs and transposition of DNA
strands between two different chromosomes
❖ Diplotene
- Chromosomes continue to condense and the
begin to separate, revealing chiasmata (crossing
over sites)
- Synaptonemal complex dissolves, and the
chromosomes condense further
- Homologous chromosomes begin to separate
from each other and appear to be connected by
newly formed junctions (Chiasmata)
❖ Diakinesis
- Chromosome pull farther apart; nucleolus and
nuclear envelope break down; two centromeres
of each tetrad attach to the recently formed
spindle fibers
- Homologous chromosome condense and
shorten (maximum thickness)
- Nucleolus disappears
- Nuclear envelope disintegrate
▪ Metaphase I
- Homologous pairs of chromosomes (each
composed of two chromatids) line up on the
equatorial plate of the meiotic spindle
- Paired chromosomes are aligned at the
equatorial plate with one member on either
side
- Late Metaphase – chiasmata are cleaves and
chromosomes separate
- Chromosomes undergo movement to
ultimately align their centromere along the
equator of the spindle
▪ Anaphase I
- Homologous chromosomes migrate away from
each other, going to opposite poles
- Unlike in mitotic anaphase where the sister
chromatids are separated from each other, in
meiosis, the four sister chromatids are
separated to form two pairs of sister chromatids
▪ Telophase I
- Migrating chromosomes (each consisting of two
chromatids), reach opposite poles
- each cell possesses 23 chromosomes
- DNA is still diploid (each chromosome is
composed of two sister chromatids)
▪ * Anaphase I and Telophase I
- Similar to the same phases in mitosis except
that centromere do not split
- Maternal and paternal member of each
homologous pair moves to each pole
- Segregation or random assortment occur
- Resulting daughter cell (secondary
spermatocyte or oocyte) is haploid in
chromosome number (1n) and contains one
member of each homologous chromosome pair
✓ Meiosis II
- Enzymes separate
- Cleaves of the cohesion complexes between
sister chromatids
 - Sister chromatids separate (anaphase II) and
move to opposite poles of cells
- Same as mitosis except that they involve haploid
set of chromosomes (1n) and produce daughter
cell that have only haploid DNA content (1n)
▪ Prophase II
- Each dyad is composed of one pair of sister
chromatids attached by a common centromere
▪ Metaphase II
- The centromeres are positioned to the
equatorial plate
▪ Anaphase II
- Sister chromatids of each dyad are pulled to
opposite poles
▪ Telophase II
- Each chromosome is a combination of paternal
and maternal genetic information
- Four haploid gametes may result
Note:

• (+) means most members of the group exhibit this

characteristic
• (-) means most lack it
• (±) means some members have it and some don’t
• (*) The prokaryotic type is functionally similar to the
eukaryotic, but structurally unique.