Cell

(Biochemical aspects)

Dr. ABID ALI

What is biochemistry?

Biochemistry= chemistry of life

Biochemistry is the branch of medical science which deals with

the chemical reactions occurring within the cell.
 Deals with the structures, functions and interactions of
biological macromolecules, such as
 Proteins
 Nucleic acids
 Carbohydrates
 Lipids
 Which provide the structure of cells and perform many of the
functions associated with life.
 The chemistry of the cell also depends on the reactions of
smaller molecules and ions.
 These can be
 inorganic, e.g. water and metal ions,
 Organic, e.g. the amino acids, which are used to synthesize
proteins.
Applications of Biochemistry

 The findings of biochemistry are applied primarily in

 In medicine, biochemists investigate the causes and cures of
diseases.
 In nutrition, they study how to maintain health and study the
effects of nutritional deficiencies.
 In agriculture, biochemists investigate soil and fertilizers, and
try to discover ways to improve crop cultivation, crop storage
and pest control.
CELL

 The cell is the structural as well as functional unit of the tissue

where it occurs

 Every cell has some general features which are common to all
cells irrespective of the tissue of its origin.
The universal features of living cells.
 Living cells are divided into two main classes:

1. Prokaryotic cells
 (Greek pro, “before”).
 those without nuclear envelopes—bacterial cells—are

2. Eukaryotic cells
Cells with nuclear envelopes are called eukaryotes
Prokaryotic cells

 Prokaryotes are usually single-celled organisms.

 Smaller in size and simple in structure

 Have only a sinlge membrane, the cell membrane

Escherichia coli Is the Most-Studied Prokaryotic Cell

 E. coli is a usually harmless inhabitant of the human intestinal

tract.
 The E. coli cell is about 2 µm long and a little less than 1µm in
diameter.
 It has a protective outer membrane and an inner plasma
membrane that encloses the cytoplasm and the nucleoid.
 Between the inner and outer membranes is a thin but strong
layer of polymers called peptidoglycans, which gives the cell
its shape and rigidity.
Common structural features of bacterial cells.
Eukaryotic Cells Have a Variety of Membranous
Organelles,

 Typical eukaryotic cells are much larger than

prokaryotic cells—commonly 5 to 100 µm in diameter,
with cell volumes a thousand to a million times larger
than those of bacteria.
 The distinguishing characteristics of eukaryotes are the nucleus
and a variety of membrane bounded organelles with specific
functions: mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi
complexes, and lysosomes.

 Plant cells also contain vacuoles and chloroplasts

Organization of cells

Eukaryotic cells contain well defined cellular organelles such as:

 Nucleus
 Mitochondria
 Endoplasmic reticulum
 Golgi apparatus
 Peroxisomes
 Lysosomes
 Ribosome (Attached to ER)
No membrane bound
 Free Ribosome (Protein shell)
 Nucleolus
 Cytoskeleton
 Centriole
MITOCHONDRIA

 In electron micrographs of cells, mitochondria appears as –

rods, spheres or filamentous bodies

 Size: 0.5µm -1µm in diameter

up to 7µm in length.
ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM

 Cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells contain a network of

interconnecting membranes.

 It consists of membranes with smooth appearance in some

areas and rough appearance in some areas-
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum and rough endoplasmic
reticulum.
Biomedical importance

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum

 These membranes enclose a lumen

 In this lumen newly synthesized proteins are modified

 Rough appearance is due to the presence of ribosomes attached

on its cytosolic side(outer side)

 These ribosomes are involved in the biosynthesis of proteins.

 These proteins are either incorporated into the membranes or
into the organelles

 Special proteins are present that are called CHAPERONES.

Theses proteins play a role in proper folding of proteins

 Protein glycosylation also occurs in ER i.e. the carbohydrates

are attached to the newly synthesized proteins
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
 Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is involved in lipid synthesis.

 Cholesterol synthesis
 Steroid hormones synthesis

 Detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances

 The enzyme system involved in detoxification is called Microsomal

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system(xenobiotic metabolism).
GOLGI APPARATUS

 Golgi complex is a network of flattened smooth membranous

sacs- cisternae and vesicles.

 These are responsible for the secretion of proteins from the

cells (hormones, plasma proteins, and digestive enzymes).

 It works in combination with ER.

 Golgi serves as a sort of post office for proteins

 Enzymes in golgi complex transfer carbohydrate units to
proteins to form of glycoroteins, this determines the ultimate
destination of proteins.

 Golgi is the major site for the synthesis of new membrane,

lysosomes and peroxisomes.

 It plays two major roles in the membrane synthesis:

Membrane synthesis
i. It is involved in the processing of oligosaccharide chains of
the membranes (all parts of the GA participates).

ii. It is involved in the sorting of various proteins prior to their

delivery (Trans Golgi network).
LYSOSOMES

 These are responsible for the intracellular digestion of both

intra and extracellular substances.

 They have a single limiting membrane.

 They have an acidic pH- 5

 They have a group of enzymes called Hydrolases.

Biomedical importance

 The enzyme content varies in different tissues according to the

requirement of tissues or the metabolic activity of the tissue.

 Lysosomal membrane is impermeable and specific translocators

are required.

 Vesicles containing external material fuses with lysosomes, form

primary vesicles and then secondary vesicles or digestive vacuoles.

 Lysosomes are also involved in autophagy.

 Indigestible material accumulates in the vesicles called
residual bodies and their material is removed by exocytosis.

 Some residual bodies in non dividing cells contain a high

amount of a pigmented substance called Lipofuscin.

 Also called age pigment or wear –tear pigment.

PEROXISOMES

 Called Peroxisomes because of their ability to produce or

utilize H2O2(Cytotoxic Agent)
 They are small, oval or spherical in shape.
 They have a fine network of tubules in their matrix.
 About 50 enzymes have been identified.
 The number of enzymes fluctuates according to the function of
the cells.
Biomedical importance

 Xenobiotics leads to the proliferation of Peroxisomes in the liver.

 Have an important role in the breakdown of lipids, particularly

long chain fatty acids.

 Synthesis of glycerolipids.

 Synthesis of glycerol ether lipids

 Synthesis of bile.
Ribosome
 Site of protein synthesis

 Found attached to rough ER or floating free in cytosol

 Produced in a part of the nucleus called the nucleolus

Most Organelles Have Membranes, Ribosomes
Do Not

• Free structures that float throughout the cytoplasm of the cell

• No membranes……. pick up translational RNA & free amino acids
for protein synthesis

• Ribosomes Consist of Two Units

• Ribosomes have a two units.

• The smaller unit reads the messenger RNA
• Larger unit functions to link the amino acids to form the protein chain.
• Cell can hold a few thousand ribosomes
 Hooking Up with the Endoplasmic Reticulum
 Ribosomes attached……one side of endoplasmic reticulum (RER)

 Free Floating Protein Production

 Free-floating ribosomes ---make proteins….. used in the cytoplasm

 Free ribosomes are not different from bound ribosomes

 Cell can change the number of ribosomes needed depending on need of

protein
NUCLEUS

 The nucleus is the largest cellular organelle in animals.

 In mammalian cells, the average diameter of the nucleus is
approximately 6 micrometers (μm), which occupies about 10%
of the total cell volume.
 The viscous liquid within it is called nucleoplasm
(karyoplasm) and is similar in composition to the cytosol
found outside the nucleus.
 It appears as a dense, roughly spherical organelle.
 Eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus.

 It has got two membranes- nuclear envelope.

 Outer membrane is continuous with the membrane of

endoplasmic reticulum.

 Nuclear envelope has numerous pores. That permit controlled

movement of particles and molecules between the nuclear
matrix and cytoplasm.
 The entry and exit of large molecules from the nucleus is
tightly controlled by the nuclear pore complexes

 Small molecules can enter the nucleus without regulation

 Macromolecules such as RNA and proteins require association

karyopherins called importins to enter the nucleus and
exportins to exit.
 Cargo proteins that must be translocated from the cytoplasm to
the nucleus contain short amino acid sequences known as
nuclear localization signals which are bound by importins

 While those transported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm

carry nuclear export signals bound by exportins.
Summary of Cellular Foundation

 All cells are bounded by a plasma membrane; have a cytosol

containing metabolites, coenzymes, inorganic ions, and
enzymes; and have a set of genes contained within a nucleoid
(prokaryotes) or nucleus (eukaryotes).
 Phototrophs use sunlight to do work; chemotrophs oxidize
fuels, passing electrons to good electron acceptors: inorganic
compounds, organic compounds, or molecular oxygen.
 Bacterial cells contain cytosol, a nucleoid, and plasmids.
Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus and are multicompartmented,
segregating certain processes in specific organelles, which can
be separated and studied in isolation.
 Cytoskeletal proteins assemble into long filaments that give
cells shape and rigidity and serve as rails along which cellular
organelles move throughout the cell.
THANK YOU