Answering questions:

Q1. Cholesterol: It is a common component in animal cells. The Hydroxyl group grants the polarity of the
molecule and is the one that interacts with the surface.

Glycolipids: They present a Sugar group attached to the lipid, but there is no phosphate group.

Sphingomyelin: Consists of a phosphocholine group sphingosine and a fatty acid.

Phospholipids: Are composed of a head group that determines where the phospholipid ends in the
membrane, a phosphate group, a Glycerol, and a Fatty acid chain.

Q2. Glycosphingolipids: They are a subtype of glycolipids that contain the amino: alcohol sphingosine.

Protein receptors: Are proteins specialized in the transduction of signals that may produce reactions
inside the cell.

Cholesterol: This is a tetracyclic ring that contributes to the fluidity of the cell membrane.

Q3. Temperature: As the temperature increases the fluidity of the membrane increase as well. Cooler
temperatures make the membrane more rigid

Lipid content: A high concentration of unsaturated lipids increases the mobility of the membrane as well
short chains lipids tend to move more.

Cholesterol content: The more cholesterol is present in the membranes the more rigid it becomes due
to the solid structure of the cholesterol.

Protein content: The presence of proteins decreases the flexibility of the membrane, membranes rich in
proteins have less movement in the membrane.

Q4.

Protein Energy consumption Ex. of molecules Types of transport

mediated transported
Diffusion NO NO O2, CO2
Passive YES NO H2O, NA -Facilitated Diffusion
-Osmosis
Active YES YES K, H -Ion Pump
-Symport
-Antiport
-Vesicle transport
Q5. Tight junctions: They divide the cell into 2 domains apical and basal, the proteins in the tight
junction connect to the cytoskeleton. Therefore, the phospholipid cannot move from the apical to the
basal surfaces.

Adherent junctions: Uses transmembrane receptor called cadherins that binds to the same receptor in
the neighbor cell, the more cadherins proteins bound together the stronger is the bound. Adherent
junctions act in intracellular signaling and transcriptional regulation.

Desmosomes: They provide structural integrity to the cell and bind to each other and the cytoskeleton.

Hemi-desmosomes: Are a half desmosome that attaches to the basement membrane of the epithelial
cells, strongly attaching them to the extracellular matrix.

Gap junctions: They are formed by halves, on each side, there is a protein that creates open pores, that
facilitates the direct transfer of ions and small molecules.

Q6. Collagen is the most prevalent protein in the ECM. It is formed for 3 subunits that form a triple
helix. These fibers crosslink to form fibrils that form collagen fibers.

Fibronectin is a Glycoprotein that connects the cell to collagen fibers the are expressed as dimers and
bind to the cell surface.

Elastin gives elasticity to the tissue. Elastin has hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions which facilitate
proteins to move to their original shape.

Laminins provide adhesive subtract to the cell and restrengthens the ECM. Like collagen laminins form
triple helical coils. It forms a structure that has multiple zones for binding

Proteoglycans are hydrated gels that are resistant to compressive forces. It consists of a protein
polypeptide core, with sugar residues attached.