Pale Child

• A child was brought to

hospital due to pale
skin, fatigue, anemia ,
jaundice. On
examination their was
enlargement of the
spleen, presence of
spherocytes and
reticulocytes on a
peripheral blood smear
Cell Physiology
• The “Inner Life of a Cell”
• Components and their functions
• Cell to Cell Junctions - Forming Tissues
• How it’s Integrated
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After attending this lecture,
you should be able to :

1-Describe the composition of

cell membrane
2-Describe the function of
each component in detail
3-Draw and label the
structure of cell membrane
 Cell Components
• What are the basic components of a cell?
– cell membrane

– nucleus

– cytoplasm
• cytosol
• organelles
Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• What does the cell membrane do?

– Creates separation between ECF and ICF
• Creates fluid compartments
– Regulates ECF – ICF exchange
– Allows for communication
– Provides structural support for cell and tissues
 Introduction
• Envelops the cell.
• Thin, pliable, elastic structure
• 7.5 to 10 nanometers thick.

COMPOSITION:
Proteins, lipids and carbohydrates:
 COMPOSITION

• Proteins, 55 per cent;

• Phospholipids, 25 per cent;
• Cholesterol, 13 per cent;
• Other lipids, 4 per cent;
• Carbohydrates, 3 percent
Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• The physical barrier

– Formed by the tail to tail arrangement of the
phospholipid molecules
• Self assembles into
liposomes
bi-layer membranes

miceles
Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• How does a barrier become a regulator?

1. By being having a polar surface
2. By specialized membrane components
hydrophillic heads

hydrophobic tails

hydrophillic heads
Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• Other phospholipid bilayer membrane

components
– cholesterol
– sphingolipids
Na+
– Membrane proteins
– Glycoconjugates
ECF

ICF
 Movement of Phospholipids

Phospholipids have the ability to move

laterally but only upon a rare occasion are
able to make a 180o turn.
 Saturated versus Unsaturated
Phospholipids

Membranes are more fluid when they contain

more unsaturated fatty acids within their
phospholipids. More unsaturated fatty acids
result in increased distance between the lipids
making the layer more fluid.
Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• Sphingolipids
– Group of membrane lipids with larger “heads”
– Involved in
• cell signal transduction by forming caveolae
• cell-cell communication
• Endocytosis & uptake of viruses and bacteria
– Form “lipid rafts” – more cholesterol
OH
sphingosine
CH2O R

NH
R groups –
fatty acid determine
O functionality
 Cell Membrane Proteins

• Globular masses floating in the lipid bilayer.

Two types of proteins occur:
• Integral proteins
that protrude all the way through the
membrane
• Peripheral proteins
that are attached only to one surface of the
membrane and do not penetrate all the way
through.
 Fluid Mosaic Model
• Proteins are "stuck" in the membrane like a
mosaic.
• Proteins can be on just the surface
(peripheral) or embedded in the membrane
(intrinsic).
• Proteins that span the entire membrane
are called “transmembrane”
• It is the different proteins that are
responsible for the uniqueness of different
membranes (plasma, eukaryotic,
prokaryotic, organelle etc.) 17
Evidence for the Fluid Mosaic Model

18
Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• Transmembrane Proteins
– Types:
• Most common type in mammalian cells are alpha
helical proteins
• Also beta barrels in mitochondria

Single and polytopic alpha

Beta barrel helical
helical membrane proteins
membrane proteins
 FUNCTIONS OF INTEGRAL
PROTEINS:
1.Provide structural CHANNELS (or
pores)
through which water molecules and water-
soluble substances, especially ions, can
diffuse between the extracellular and
intracellular fluids.
• These protein channels also have
selective properties that allow
preferential diffusion of some substances
over others.
Functions of Integral Proteins
2.Integral proteins act as CARRIER
 for transporting substances that otherwise
could not penetrate the lipid bilayer.
3. Act as RECEPTORS
• For water-soluble chemicals, such as peptide
hormones,that do not easily penetrate the cell
membrane.
• Interaction of cell membrane receptors with specific
ligands that bind to the receptor causes conformational
changes in the receptor protein that enzymatically
activates the intracellular part of the protein or induces
interactions between the receptor and proteins in the
cytoplasm
• that act as second messengers, thereby relaying the
signal from the extracellular part of the receptor to the
interior of the cell.
• In this way,integral proteins spanning the cell membrane
provide a means of conveying information about the
environment to the cell interior
Act as Adhesion Molecules
Some are cell adhesion molecules that anchor
cells to their neighbors or to basal laminas.
Proteins function as pumps

 actively transporting ions across the

membrane
 Sometimes these even transport
substances in the direction opposite to
their natural direction of diffusion, which is
called “active transport.”
Proteins function as Enzymes
 Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• Peripheral Proteins –
– attachments to the phospholipid bi-layer

interaction by
interaction with a covalently electrostatic or
interaction by bound ionic
alpha helix in
a hydrophobic membrane interactions
transmembrane
loop lipid (forms with membrane
protein (not shown)
many lipids
sphingolipids)
 PERIPHERAL PROTEINS:

• Peripheral protein molecules are often

attached to the integral proteins.

• One common way is attachment to

glycosylated forms of
phosphatidylinositol.
• Proteins held by these
glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)
anchors include:
1. enzymes such as alkaline phosphatase,
2. various antigens,
3. a number of cell adhesion molecules,
and
4. three proteins that combat cell lysis
5. as CONTROLLER of transport of
substances through the cell membrane
“pores.”
Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• Peripheral Protein Functions

– Enzyme function
• Mediate chemical reactions
– Structural
• Mediate attachment
– Transporters
• Between/among cell membrane proteins
– Electron carriers
• In electron transport chain
– Regulators
• Such as apoptosis
Plasma Membrane Proteins

PROTEINS CAN
MOVE IN THE
MEMBRANE, TO
O!
Channel protein
Carrier protein
Cell recognition protein
Receptor protein
Enzymatic protein
 Cell Components The Cell Membrane

• Glycoconjugates
– Includes glycolipids & glycoproteins
– Form a glycocalyx on the exoplasmic surface
– Many functions Integrated with other membrane
molecules/structures such as sphingolipids
Membrane Carbohydrates—The
Cell “Glycocalyx

• The entire outside surface of the cell often

has a loose carbohydrate coat called the
glycocalyx.

• It is composed of
1.Glycoproteins
2.Glycolipids
3.Proteoglycans
 The Glycocalyx
• Membrane carbohydrates occur almost invariably in
combination with proteins or lipids in the form of
glycoproteins or glycolipids.

• Most of the integral proteins are glycoproteins,

• and about one tenth of the membrane lipid molecules
are glycolipids.

• The “glyco” portions of these molecules almost

invariably protrude to the outside of the cell, dangling
outward from the cell surface.
 The Glycocalyx
• ProteoglycanS are mainly carbohydrate
substances bound to small protein cores,
are loosely attached to the outer surface of
the cell as well.
 Functions of Glycocalyx
– Protection
• Cushions the plasma membrane and protects it from
chemical injury
– Immunity to infection
• Enables the immune system to recognize and
selectively attack foreign organisms
– Defense against cancer
• Changes in the glycocalyx of cancerous cells enable
the immune system to recognize and destroy them
– Transplant compatibility
• Forms the basis for compatibility of blood
transfusions, tissue grafts, and organ transplants
 Functions of Glycocalyx
– Cell adhesion
• Binds cells together so that tissues do not fall
apart
– Inflammation regulation
• Glycocalyx coating on endothelial walls in blood
vessels prevents leukocytes from rolling/binding
in healthy states
– Fertilization
• Enables sperm to recognize and bind to eggs
– Embryonic development
• Guides embryonic cells to their destinations in
the body
Functions of Glycocalyx
• Many of them have a negative electrical charge,
which gives most cells an overall negative
surface charge that repels other negative objects.

• Act as receptor substances for binding

hormones, such as insulin; when bound, this
combination activates attached internal proteins
that, in turn, activate a cascade of intracellular
enzymes.
Basement Membrane/Basal
Lamina
 The basement membrane
• Underlying most cells is a thin, "fuzzy" layer plus
some fibrils that collectively make up the
basement membrane or, more properly, the
basal lamina.
• The basal lamina and, more generally, the
extracellular matrix are made up of many proteins
that:
• hold cells together,
• regulate their development,
• and determine their growth.
• These include collagens, laminins, fibronectin,
tenascin, and various proteoglycans
 Cholesterol and Phospholipids

It is found in the cell membranes of animals

but not plants. It affects the fluidity of the
membrane.
Cholesterol Functions in 3
ways
1. It can weakly bind to hydrocarbon tails making it
more difficult for smaller molecules to cross
membrane.
2. If the phospholipids are saturated, it prevents
them from being packed too closely, making the
membrane more fluid.
3. if the phospholipids are unsaturated there are
kinks in the tails where the cholesterol molecules
can fill in and anchor them making the membrane
less fluid.
48
Summary