Cell : Cytoplasm

Dr Raj
Learning Objectives
At the End of this Session, a learner will be able

Define  Cell differentiation 

Describe the structure and Function of Cell Organelles.
Plasma membrane, Ribosomes, ER, Golgi complex, Lysosomes, Peroxisomes,
Proteosomes, Mitochondria, cytoskeletal structures, Inclusion bodies
Identify the organelles in the light microscopy and EM images.
Correlate conditions that affects these structures.
Cell 9 month back
Cells are the basic structural and functional units of all
multicellular organisms.

Specific functions are identified with specific structural

components and domains within the cell

Cells can be divided into two major compartments: the cytoplasm

and the nucleus

Organelles are described as membranous (membrane limited) or

non-membranous

Membranous – Plasma membrane, rER, sER, Golgi, Lysosome,

Mitochondria, peroxisomes Now

Non-membranous- microtubules, filaments, centrioles, ribosomes,

proteasomes
Cell Differentiation

Epithelial cells in the kidney Dorsal root ganglion cells Smooth muscle cells of the small intestine
Plasma Membrane
Trilaminate appearance with two outer
electron-dense layers separated by an
electron-lucid center. (TEM )

The plasma membrane is composed of an

amphipathic lipid layer containing embedded
integral membrane proteins with peripheral
membrane proteins attached to its surfaces

Microdomains of the plasma membrane,

known as lipid rafts, control the movement
and distribution of proteins within the lipid
bilayer.

Integral membrane proteins can be visualized

in TEM with the special tissue preparation
technique of freeze fracture.
Plasma Membrane
The hydrophobic fatty-acid chains of
phospholipids face each other to form
the inner portion of the membrane,
whereas the hydrophilic polar heads of
the phospholipids form the extracellular
and intracellular surfaces of the
membrane.

Cholesterol molecules are incorporated

within the gaps between phospholipids
equally on both sides of the membrane. 

 Carbohydrate chains attach to both

integral and peripheral membrane
proteins to form glycoproteins, as well as
to polar phospholipid heads to form
glycolipids. 
Plasma Membrane
1. The plasma membrane envelops the cell
and maintains its structural and functional
integrity.
2. It acts as a semipermeable membrane
between the cytoplasm and the external
environment.
3. It permits the cell to recognize
macromolecules and other cells as well as to
be recognized by other cells.
4. It participates in the transduction of
extracellular signals into intracellular events.
5. It assists in controlling interaction between
cells.
6. It maintains an electrical potential
difference between the cytoplasmic and
extracellular
sides.
Pumps
Pumps transport certain ions actively
across membranes. 

Channels 
Channels allow the passage of small
ions, molecules, and water across the
plasma membrane in either direction.

Receptor proteins allow recognition

and localized binding of ligands
(molecules that bind to the
extracellular surface of the plasma
membrane) in processes such as
hormonal stimulation, coated-vesicle
endocytosis, and antibody reactions.
Receptors that bind to signaling
molecules transmit the signal
through a sequence of molecular
switches (i.e., second messengers) to
 Ribosomes
 Are tiny round non membranous organelle

Composed of  a small and a large subunits 

In light microscopy are seen as intensely granulated

basophilic patches,  indicating cytoplasmic regions that
are sites of active protein synthesis

In TEMs, appear as small, electron-dense cytoplasmic

granules
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Is a network (reticulum) of membranous tubules, vesicles and sacs
that are interconnected

Two types

Smooth Endoplasmic Retinaculum sER

Lipid, steroid hormones and carbohydrate synthesis

Rough Endoplasmic Retinaculum  rER

present in cells that synthesize, segregate, and store various

proteins in specific granules, and also have
granules containing the proteins ready to be secreted

Make the cell cytoplasm basophilic when viewed with the

light microscope because the ribosomes in the rER
Golgi apparatus

In EM, the Golgi apparatus

appears as a series of stacked,
flattened, membrane-limited
sacs or cisternae and tubular
extensions embedded in a
network of microtubules near
the microtubule-organizing
center

The Golgi apparatus

functions in the
posttranslational
modification, sorting, and
packaging of proteins.
Golgi apparatus
Four major pathways of protein secretion from
the Golgi apparatus disperse proteins to various
cell destinations.

Sorting and packaging of proteins into transport

vesicles occurs in the trans-Golgi network. 

1. Cis to Trans Golgi (COP-II coated)

2. Cis to rER /retrograde (COP-I coated)
3. Trans to Lysosome (M-6-P Coated)
Disease association
Defects in various aspects of Golgi function can result
in congenital glycosylation disorders, some forms of muscular
dystrophy, and may contribute to diabetes, cancer, and cystic fibrosis
 Lysosomes
Membrane bound vesicles acid hydrolases

Uniformly granular, electron-dense

appearance in the TEM

Synthesized and segregated in the rER and

then transferred to the Golgi apparatus. The
marker mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) is added
destined for lysosomes. Membrane receptors
for M6P-containing proteins in the trans
Golgi network then bind these proteins and
divert them lysosomes.
Peroxisomes

Peroxisomes are single membrane-bounded organelles containing

oxidative enzymes

Peroxisomes are self-replicating

Peroxisomes in hepatocytes are responsible for the detoxification of

ingested alcohol by converting it to acetaldehyde.

Zellweger syndrome
 Proteosomes
Protein complexes without membrane,  
Degrade denatured or otherwise
nonfunctional polypeptides. 
cylindrical structure made of four stacked
rings, each composed of seven proteins
including proteases. 
recognizes proteins with ubiquitin 
(chaperones conjugate  ubiquitin to a lysine
residue in the protein
Ubiquitinated proteins are degraded  by
proteosomes)
 Mitochondria
Mitochondria are present in all cells
except red blood cells and terminal
keratinocytes. 

Mitochondria possess two membranes

that delineate distinct compartment

Mitochondria contain the enzyme system

that generates ATP by means of the citric
acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation

Release of cytochrome c from the

mitochondrial intermembranous space
into the cell cytoplasm  initiates the
cascade of proteolytic enzymatic
reactions that leads to apoptosis and
regulated by the Bcl-2 protein family.
Cytoskeletal components
Microtubules
Microtubules are nonbranching and
rigid hollow tubes of polymerized
protein that can rapidly assemble
and equally rapidly disassemble. 

originate from the MTOC.

The length of microtubules

changes dynamically as tubulin
dimers are added or removed in a
process of dynamic instability. 

Movement of intracellular
organelles is generated by
molecular motor proteins
Centrioles
Centrioles represent the focal point
around which the MTOC assembles.

The pericentriolar matrix of MTOC

contains numerous ring-shaped structures
that initiate microtubule formation. 

Centrioles provide basal bodies for cilia

and flagella and align the mitotic spindle
during cell division
Microfilaments
Composed of actin which  allows cellular
motility and most contractile activity in cells,
by reversible assembly of the actin filaments.
  
Actin  composed of globular G-actin
monomers 

Transport of various organelles, vesicles, and

granules 
Contractile rings of microfilaments and with
myosin II that constrict to produce two cells
at the end of mitosis (cytokinesis)

Membrane-associated molecules of myosin I

whose movements along microfilaments are
important in the cell surface changes that
underlie phagocytosis and pinocytosis

 Contraction of cytoplasm that shortens cells

or rapidly retracts cellular extensions
Intermediate Filaments
Intermediate filaments are formed from nonpolar and
highly variable intermediate filament subunits. 

Class 1 and 2: Keratins 

Class 3: Vimentin and Vimentin-Like 

Class 4: Neurofilaments 

Class 5: Lamins 

Class 6: Beaded Filaments

Intermediate filament-associated proteins are

essential for the integrity of cell-to-cell and cell-to-
extracellular matrix junctions.
 Inclusion Bodies
Inclusions contain products of metabolic activity of the cell and consist largely of pigment granules,
lipid droplets, and glycogen. Another eg Lipofuscin in nerve cells

Lipid droplets in adrenal cells (TEM) Glycogen granules in Liver cell (TEM) Hemosiderin in Liver (Giemsa stain)
END SLIDE
References

Junqueira’s Basic Histology 13th Edition.

Histology  Text and Atlas With Correlated Cell and Molecular Biology
Wojciech Pawlina. 7th edition.

Images Creative Commons CC4