CELL AND THE

CELL
MEMBRANE
 MACARAEG, AIMEE ANN P.
MALEON, RIA CECILIA S.
MANLAPAZ, JOANA CHRISTIE A.
MEDINA CARLA T.
MILLARE, PAOLA M.
MONTEAGUDO, MELANIE K.
MUHAMMAD, AHMAD N.

FEU-NRMF
MED 1-F
 CELL
• The Cell is the functional basic unit
of life

• It is the smallest unit of life that is

classified as a living thing, and is
often called the building block of life

• It has 2 major parts the nucleus and

the cytoplasm. The nucleus is
separated from the cytoplasm by a
nuclear membrane and the
cytoplasm is separated from the
surrounding fluids by a cell
membrane, also called plasma
membrane.
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
CHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR
COMPOSITION
• The different substances that make up the cell are
collectively called protoplasm which is mainly
composed of the following basic substances:

1. Water

-Water is the most abundant molecule in cells,

accounting for 70% or more of total cell mass

-the interactions between water and the other

constituents of cells are of central importance in
biological chemistry.
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS

-Because of their polar nature, water molecules

can form hydrogen bonds with each other or
with other polar molecules, as well as
interacting with positively or negatively
charged ions

-As a result of these interactions, ions and polar

molecules are readily soluble in water
(hydrophilic). In contrast, nonpolar
molecules, which cannot interact with water,
are poorly soluble in an aqueous environment
(hydrophobic).
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
2. Ions

-The ions provide inorganic chemicals for cellular

reactions

-Also they are necessary for operation of some of

the cellular control mechanisms

-The most important ions in the cell are potassium,

magnesium, phosphate, sulfate, bicarbonate,
and smaller quantities of sodium, chloride, and
calcium
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
3. Nucleic Acid

-Nucleic acids are nucleotide, that store and transmit

genetic information

-made up of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar and

a phosphate group

-either ribonucleotides or deoxyribonucleotides

depending on which they are to be of function, in
the formation of DNA or RNA

-The nucleic acids DNA and RNA are the principal

informational molecules of the cell
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
4. Proteins

-roles of proteins include serving as structural components

of cells and tissues, acting in the transport and storage
of small molecules

-Proteins are amino acid polymers responsible for

implementing instructions contained within the genetic
code

-May serve as enzymes to catalyze and speed reactions (all

reactions in the living cell requires an enzyme),
transport compounds (bilirubin-binding proteins in
liver cells), act as storage proteins (myoglobin binds and
stores O2 in muscle cells), defense proteins (clotting
proteins and immunoglobulins), contractile proteins
(myosin and actin) or structural proteins (collagen and
elastin)
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
5. Lipids

-Lipids are naturally occurring, nonpolar substances

that are mostly insoluble in water, yet soluble in
nonpolar solvents.

-They serve as membrane components (cholesterol,

glycolipids and phospholipids), storage forms of
energy (triglycerides), precursors to other
important biomolecules (fatty acids), insulation
barriers (neutral fat stores), protective coatings to
prevent infection and excessive gain or loss of
water, and some vitamins (A, D, E, and K) and
hormones (steroid hormones).
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
6. Carbohydrates

-The carbohydrates include simple sugars as well as

polysaccharides

-These simple sugars, such as glucose, are the major

nutrients of cells.

-Their breakdown provides both a source of cellular energy

and the starting material for the synthesis of other cell
constituents

-Polysaccharides are storage forms of sugars and form

structural components of the cell. In addition,
polysaccharides and shorter polymers of sugars act as
markers for a variety of cell recognition processes,
including the adhesion of cells to their neighbors and the
transport of proteins to appropriate intracellular
destinations.
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
The Cell Organelles
NUCLEUS
-The nucleus is the control
center of the cell
-It is the largest organelle in
the cell and it contains the
DNA of the cell

-Inside the nucleus is another

organelle called the nucleolus.
The nucleolus is responsible
for making ribosomes.

-Circles on the surface of the

nucleus are the nuclear pores.
These are where ribosomes &
other materials move in and
out of the cell.
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS

– Rough Endoplasmic
Reticulum –
responsible in
transporting proteins
produced by the
ribosomes attached to
the endoplasmic
reticulum

– Smooth Endoplasmic
Reticulum –
important for lipid
synthesis
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS

-Made up of rRNA
and proteins

- known as the
protein factory as
it can be found in
the RER and
scattered in the
cytoplasm as
polyribosomes
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS

A stack of
interconnected,
flattened,
membranous sacs
that can synthesize,
package and release
molecules to the
outside of the cell
though secretory
vesicles
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS

A 2-layer
membrane
organelle which
produce ATP
through energy
from glucose
and other
nutrients with
the use of O2
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
LYSOSOMES

Vesicles which
contain hydrolytic
enzymes which
decompose or
hydrolyze
biomolecules; made
by the Golgi Complex
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
PERIXOSOMES

Contain
enzymes for
detoxification
of biochemicals
including
alcohol;
abundant in
liver and kidney
cells
 CELL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS
CENTROSOME

Contain 2
hollow
cylindrical
centrioles
arranged
perpendicularly
to each other;
functions in
mitotic division
 The Cell Membrane:
Structure and Function

The cell membrane surrounds all

cells and it is selectively-
permeable, controlling the
movement of substances in and
out of cells. It contains a wide
variety of biological molecules,
primarily proteins and lipids, which
are involved in a variety of cellular
processes such as cell adhesion,
ion channel conductance and cell
signaling.
 The Cell Membrane:
Structure and Function
 The Cell Membrane:
Structure and Function
PROTEINS

Integral Proteins

– transmembrane proteins with hydrophobic

regions which span the hydrophobic area of the
double layer. The part of the protein which is
exposed to the exterior and interior of the cell is
hydrophilic. This function primarily as pores
which selectively allow the passage of ions or
nutrients into the cell. May also transmit signal
into and out of the cell.

Peripheral Proteins

– often attached to integral proteins; some serve

as anchors for the cytoskeleton or extracellular
fibers.
 The Cell Membrane:
Structure and Function

Carbohydrates

Short carbohydrates or oligosaccharides are attached

to the cell membrane to give identity to the cell. It is
also a distinguishing factor in human blood types
and transplant.

Lipids

Semi-permeable phospholipid bilayer membrane

surrounds the cell and certain intracellular structures
like the mitochondria. Allows diffusion of some
small molecules except water, charged ions or large
molecules.
 The Cell Membrane:
Structure and Function

Selective Permeability

3 ways to cross the cell membrane:

1. Passive Transport – way to cross the membrane

without additional energy being utilized

a. Simple Diffusion – small molecules cross the

plasma membrane without the need for
channels

b. Facilitated Diffusion – small molecules cross the

plasma membrane through channels

c. Osmosis – how water crosses the membrane

 The Cell Membrane:
Structure and Function

Diffusion is always through a concentration

gradient from a high concentration to a low
concentration

Osmosis is always through an osmotic gradient

from hypotonic (low solutes) to a hypertonic
(high solutes)
 The Cell Membrane:
Structure and Function
Active Transport

– movement of small molecules through the use

of special channels that use ATP because of a
movement that is against the concentration
gradient (low concentration to high
concentration)

Vesicle – used by large molecules

• endocytosis v exocytosis
• phagocytosis v pinocytosis
• phagocytosis – molecule is large and vesicle is
large
• pinocytosis – molecule is large and vesicle is
small
Neural Transmission

The function of a neuron is to transmit

information within the nervous system. Neural
transmission occurs when a neuron is activated,
or fired (sends out an electrical impulse).
Activation (firing) of the neuron takes place when
the neuron is stimulated by pressure, heat, light,
or chemical information from other cells. When a
neuron is sufficiently stimulated to reach the
neural threshold (a level of stimulation below
which the cell does not fire), depolarization, or a
change in cell potential, occurs.
Resting Stage

-The resting membrane potential before the

action potential begins

-The Action potential is the potential

produced when appropriate stimulation is
high enough to reach the neural threshold
and causes the neuron to fire, that is, alters
the membrane permeability. Alteration of
membrane permeability (polarization)
allows a change of electrical charges
(negative to positive) that runs along the
entire cell membrane.
• Depolarization

-At this time, the membrane suddenly becomes very

permeable to sodium ions, allowing tremendous
numbers of positively charged sodium ions to
diffuse to the interior of the axon.

• Repolarization

-After the membrane becomes highly permeable to

sodium ions, the sodium channels begin to close
and the potassium channels open more than normal.
Then, rapid diffusion of potassium ions to the
exterior re-establishes the normal negative
membrane potential.
Major Membrane Proteins in Erythrocyte membrane

-Anion exchange protein (band 3)

-it permits the exchange of chloride for bi-carbonate

-Glycophorins A,B&C

-bear the antigenic determinants for the Mn and Ss blood

groups.

-Spectrin

-the overall shape confers flexibility on the protein and in

turn on the membrane of the red blood cell.
-Ankyrin

-binds spectrin, securing attachment of spectin to

the membrane

-Actin

-it binds to protein 4.1

-Protein 4.1

-- it binds tight to the tail end of spectrin, also

binds to the integral proteins, glycophorins A & C
thereby attaching the ternary complex to the
membrane, it may also interact with certain
membrane phospholipids, thus connecting the lipid
bilayer to the cytoskeleton.
The Signal Hypothesis

-The signal hypothesis was proposed by Blobel

and Sabatini partly to explain the distinction
between free and membrane-bound
polyribosomes

-They found that proteins synthesized on

membrane-bound polyribosomes contained
a peptide extension (signal peptide) at their
amino terminals which mediated their
attachment to the membranes of the ER
-An important aspect of the signal hypothesis
was that it suggested as turns out to be the
case that all ribosomes have the same
structure and that the distinction between
membrane-bound and free ribosomes
depends solely on the former's carrying
proteins that have signal peptides

-Because many membrane proteins are

synthesized on membrane-bound
polyribosomes, the signal hypothesis plays
an important role in concepts of membrane
assembly.