LAILA S.

MACAPODI
Key Concepts
1 Cellular membranes are fluid mosaics of lipids and proteins

2 Membrane structure results in selective permeability

Passive transport is diffusion of a substance across a membrane with no

3
energy investment

4 Active transport uses energy to move solutes against their gradients

Bulk transport across the plasma membrane occurs by exocytosis and

5
endocytosis
 BIOMEMBRANE STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTIONS
 Selective barrier
 But also important for:
1. Compartmentalization
2. Biochemical activities
3. Transport of dissolved substances
4. Transport of ions
5. Signal transduction
6. Cell-cell interaction
7. Energy conversion
ORGANELLES CONTAINING
MEMBRANE

ORGANELLES CONTAINING MEMBRANE

The Fluid Mosaic Model of Cellular Membranes:
 Components of Membrane

Lipids

Proteins

Carbohydrates
 LIPIDS

Major lipids in biological membranes are:

 Phospholipids
 Glycolipids
 Cholesterol
 LIPIDS
- double bilayer (thickness 5-10 nm)
- Lipids in membranes are amphiphatic.
  Phospholipids
Phospholipid spontaneously form bilayers Phospholipid bilayers form a
sealed compartment surrounding an internal aqueous space

• One tail -> micelle

• Two tails -> bilayer
 Energetically most favored
distribution
 Phospholipids
  Phospholipids
Inner (cytoplasmic) Leaflet
o Phosphatidylethanolamine
o Phosphatidylserine
o Phosphatidylinositol

Outer (extracellular) Leaflet

o Phosphatidylcholine
o Sphingomyelin
  Phospholipids
Phospholipid mobility in lipid bilayer

o Flip-flop – rare (< 1x per month)

o Lateral diffusion – frequent
(~10^7per sec)
o Rotation
o Flexion
 Phospholipids
o Membrane fluidity is dependent on:
- Composition
- Temperature
  Glycolipids
o lipids with sugars
o lipid molecules with the highest asymmetry
o only in outer leaflet

Function:
• Communicative or Cellular
Recognition
 Cholesterol
o steroid - amphipathic molecule important for membrane
fluidity regulation

o eucaryotic cells.
– animal cells → cholesterol
– plant cells → cholesterol + similar compounds (sterols

Function:
• Provide stability
• Maintain the fluidity
• Bilayer stronger
• Bilayer flexible
 Cholesterol

o cholesterol inserts into the membrane with its polar

hydroxyl group close to the polar head groups of the
phospholipids

- high temp. – decreases permeability for small water-

soluble molecules
- low temp. – separates tails and prevents phase
transition
MEMBRANE PROTEINS

- membrane proteins can be associated with the lipid bilayer in various ways

Membrane proteins have various functions:

• Transporters
• Enzymes
• Cell Surface Receptors
• Cell Surface Identity Markers
• Cell-to-Cell Adhesion Proteins
• Attachments to the Cytoskeleton
MEMBRANE PROTEINS

2 major populations of membrane proteins:

o integral proteins - penetrate the Function:

hydrophobic core of the lipid • Anchorage
bilayer. • Transport

Function:
o peripheral proteins - Peripheral
• Cell-cell interaction
proteins are not embedded in the • Cell signaling
lipid bilayer at all
 SIX MAJOR FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY PROTEINS OF THE
PLASMA MEMBRANE.

c. Signal
a. Transport
transduction

b. Enzymatic d. Cell-cell
activity recognition
e. Intercellular
joining

f. Attachment to the
cytoskeleton and
extracellular matrix
(ECM).
Membrane Carbohydrates
o Bind to proteins or lipids
o Only in outer leaflet
Membrane Carbohydrates
- The lipid and proteins of plasma membrane
also covalently bound to carbohydrates (~15
sugar units)

- glycolipid and glycoprotein which are

restricted to the exterior surface and are
important for cell-cell recognition.

e.g. variation of oligosaccharides on

the RBC determines human blood
group A,B,AB and O.
 Three ways in which molecules can cross the membrane
o Passive diffusion Passive transport - down the concentration gradient!
o Facilitated diffusion
o Active transport
 Three ways in which molecules can cross the membrane
o Passive diffusion
- Involves diffusion, which requires a concentration
gradient – a differences between the concentration on
the inside of the membrane and that on outside
 Three ways in which molecules can cross the membrane
o Facilitated Diffusion
is the spontaneous (downhill) passage of molecules or
ions across a biological membrane passing through
specific transmembrane proteins.
Proteins mediating facilitated diffusion include carrier
proteins and channel proteins.
 Three ways in which molecules can cross the membrane
o Active Transport
It uses energy to move materials against a
concentration gradient and involves highly selective
protein carriers within the membrane that bind to
the transported substances, which could be an ion or
a simple molecules.
Carrier proteins used in active
transport include:

o uniporters
o symporters
o antiporters
 Two main classes of membrane
transport proteins

o Carriers → bind the specific solute to be

transported and undergo a series of
conformational changes to transfer the bound
solute across the membrane.

o Channels → interact with the solute to be

transported much more weakly.
 Channels

- simply form open pores in the membrane, allowing small molecules of the appropriate size and charge
to pass freely through the lipid bilayer
o Porins → permit the free passage of ions and small polar molecules through the outer membranes of
bacteria
o Aquaporins → water channel proteins → water molecules cross membrane much more rapidly than
they can diffuse
o Ion channels → mediate the passage of ions across plasma membranes
Aquaporins
Ion Channels
THAT’S ALL!