Chapter 7.

MEMBRANE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

the plasma membrane exhibits selective permeability (allows some substances to cross it
more easily than others)

Concept 7.1

Cellular membranes are fluid mosaics of lipids and proteins

▪ lipid and proteins (+ carbohydrates) – staple ingredients of membranes
▪ phospholipid
o an amphipathic molecule – has both exposed hydrophilic head (“water-loving”)
and sheltered hydrophobic tail (“water-fearing”)
▪ most membrane proteins are also amphipathic
▪ fluid mosaic model – the membrane is a mosaic of protein molecules bobbing in a
fluid layer of phospholipids

The Fluidity of Membranes (fluid)

▪ Membrane held together mainly by hydrophobic interactions (weaker than covalent
bonds)
▪ Most lipids and some proteins move; other proteins are held immobile
o sideways – in the plane of membrane (rapid)
o flip-flop – across the membrane (very rare); switching from one phospholipid
layer to the other
▪ A membrane remains fluid as temperature decreases until the phospholipids settle into
a closely packed arrangement and the membrane solidifies.
▪ Factors that affect membrane fluidity:
1. Lipid composition – phospholipids with unsaturated hydrocarbon tails remain
fluid at lower temperature because of the kinks in the double bonds; cannot
pack together as closely as saturated hydrocarbon
2. steroid cholesterol
o wedged between phospholipid molecules in the plasma membranes
of animal cells
o “fluidity buffer” - resisting changes in membrane fluidity that can be
caused by changes in temperature
 - at high temperature, makes the membrane less fluid by
restraining phospholipid movement
- but lowers temperature required for the membrane to solidify as
it hinders the close packing of phospholipids

▪ the fluidity of a membrane affects both its permeability and the ability of membrane
proteins to move to where their function is needed; should not be solidified or too fluid

Membrane Proteins and their Functions (mosaic)

▪ Two major populations of membrane proteins

1. Integral proteins – penetrate the hydrophobic interior of the lipid bilayer
o majority are transmembrane proteins – span the membrane
o other proteins extend only part-way into the hydrophobic interior
o hydrophobic regions - consist of one or more stretches of non-polar
amino acids, typically 20–30 amino acids in length, usually coiled into α
helices
o hydrophilic parts - exposed to the aqueous solutions on either side of
the membrane
 o Some proteins also have one or more hydrophilic channels that allow
passage through the membrane of hydrophilic substances (even of
water itself)
2. Peripheral proteins – not embedded in the lipid bilayer; loosely bound often to
exposed parts of integral proteins
▪ Cytoplasmic side – some membrane proteins are held in place by attachment to the
cytoskeleton
▪ Extracellular side – some membrane proteins may attach to materials outside cells for
stronger framework (e.g. animal cells – membrane proteins attached to fibers)
▪ Structural and functional mosaic

▪ Application: discovery of absence of CCR5 co-receptor that prevents HIV from

entering cells

The Role of Membrane Carbohydrates in Cell-Cell Recognition

▪ Cells recognize other cells by binding to molecules, often containing carbohydrates,
on the extracellular surface of the plasma membrane.
▪ Membrane carbohydrates – usually short, branched chains of fewer than 15 sugar units
o Some are glycolipids – carbohydrates + lipids
o Mostly glycoproteins – carbohydrates + proteins
▪ function as markers that distinguish one cell from another (e.g. 4 human blood types)

Synthesis and Sidedness of Membranes

Concept 7.2

Membrane structure results in selective permeability

▪ The membrane is a supramolecular structure— many molecules ordered into a higher
level of organization—with emergent properties beyond those of the individual
molecules.
▪ Membrane controls the “traffic” of small molecules and ions in and out of the cell.

The Permeability of the Lipid Bilayer

▪ Nonpolar molecules (e.g. hydrocarbons, CO2, and O2) are hydrophobic such as lipids.
They can dissolve and cross the membrane easily.
▪ Polar molecules (e.g. glucose, other sugars, and water) are hydrophilic which pass
slowly and usually with the aid of proteins. Ions are even less likely to penetrate the
interior of the membrane.

Transport proteins
▪ Specific ions and a variety of polar molecules pass through transport proteins
▪ Specific for the substance it translocates (moves)
▪ Channel proteins – tunnel (e.g. aquaporins – facilitators of water molecules)
▪ Carrier proteins – hold onto passengers and change shape to enter the membrane

❖ the selective permeability of a membrane depends on both the discriminating barrier of

the lipid bilayer and the specific transport proteins built into the membrane

Concept 7.3

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

▪ Thermal energy – energy of molecules due to constant motion
▪ Diffusion - the movement of particles of any substance so that they spread out into the
available space without energy input
o Dynamic equilibrium – equal net passage of molecules from both directions
o Concentration gradient - the region along which the density of a chemical
substance increases or decreases; region from higher to lower concentration
o (e.g. uptake of oxygen by a cell performing cellular respiration)
o Passive transport – without energy input

Effects of Osmosis on Water Balance

▪ Osmosis - The diffusion of free water across a selectively permeable membrane,
whether artificial or cellular
▪ Water moves from an area of higher to lower free water concentration (lower to higher
solute concentration).
o Water Balance of Cells Without Cell Walls (e.g. animals)
- Tonicity - the ability of a surrounding solution to cause a cell to gain or
lose water
- If there is a higher concentration of nonpenetrating solutes in the
surrounding solution, water will tend to leave the cell, and vice versa.
- Isotonic to the cell (iso means “same”) – no net movement of water
across the plasma membrane; volume of cell is stable
 - Hypertonic to the cell ((hyper means “more,” more nonpenetrating
solutes) - The cell will lose water, shrivel, and probably die.
- Hypotonic to the cell (hypo means “less”) – water will enter the cell
faster than it leaves, and the cell will swell and lyse (burst)
- Osmoregulation – the control of solute concentrations and water
balance (e.g. Paramecium has less permeable to water membrane
and contractile vacuole that keeps it from bursting under its hypotonic
environment)
o Water Balance of Cells with Cell Walls (e.g. plants, prokaryotes, fungi, and some
unicellular eukaryotes)
- Isotonic to the cell – no net tendency for water to enter and the cells
become flaccid (limp); wilts
- Hypertonic to the cell – lose water and shrinks; plasma membrane pulls
away from the cell wall at multiple places (plasmolysis); wilts
- Hypotonic to the cell – cell becomes turgid (very firm) due to turgor
pressure exerted by the cell that opposes further water uptake; healthy

Facilitated Diffusion: Passive Transport Aided by Proteins

▪ Facilitated diffusion – many polar molecules and ions impeded by the lipid bilayer of
the membrane diffuse passively with the help of transport proteins that span the
membrane
▪ Ion channels - Channel proteins that transport ions; many channels function as gated
channels (open or close in response to a stimulus)

Concept 7.4

Active transport uses energy to move solutes against their gradients

▪ move solutes against their concentration gradients with energy input

The Need for Energy in Active Transport

▪ Carrier proteins are involved.
▪ Energy is usually supplied by ATP hydrolysis.
▪ Enables a cell to maintain internal concentrations of small solutes that differ from
concentrations in its environment (e.g. sodium-potassium pump)
▪ Distinction between passive transport and active transport:

How Ion Pumps Maintain Membrane Potential

▪ All cells have voltages across their plasma membranes.
▪ membrane potential – voltage across a membrane; acts like a battery
▪ Because the inside of the cell is negative compared with the outside, the membrane
potential favors the passive transport of cations into the cell and anions out of the cell.
▪ Forces that drive diffusion of ions across a membrane:
1. chemical force – the ion’s concentration gradient
2. electrical force – the effect of the membrane potential on the ion’s movement
▪ electrochemical gradient - combination of forces acting on an ion
▪ electrogenic pump - transport protein that generates voltage across a membrane
(e.g. proton pump); help store energy that can be tapped for cellular work
▪ some usage of proton gradients: ATP synthesis during cellular respiration and
cotransport

Cotransport: Coupled Transport by a Membrane Protein

▪ Cotransport - a transport protein (a cotransporter) can couple the “downhill” diffusion
of the solute to the “uphill” transport of a second substance against its own
concentration gradient
 ▪ (e.g. diarrhea patients are given a solution to drink containing high concentrations of
salt (NaCl) and glucose)

Concept 7.5

Bulk transport across the plasma membrane occurs by exocytosis and endocytosis
▪ large molecules — such as proteins and polysaccharides — generally cross the
membrane in bulk, packaged in vesicles; requires energy

Exocytosis
▪ cell secretes certain molecules by the fusion of vesicles with the plasma membrane
▪ contents of the vesicle spill out of the cell, and the vesicle membrane becomes
part of the plasma membrane

Endocytosis
▪ cell takes in molecules and particulate matter by forming new vesicles from the
plasma membrane
▪ “reverse” of exocytosis but with different proteins involved
▪ Three types of endocytosis
1. phagocytosis (“cellular eating”) – cell engulfs a particle by extending
pseudopodia around it and packaging it within a membranous sac called
a food vacuole. The particle will be digested after the food vacuole fuses
with a lysosome containing hydrolytic enzymes.
2. pinocytosis (“cellular drinking”) – cell continually “gulps” droplets of
extracellular fluid into tiny vesicles, formed by infoldings of the plasma
membrane. In many cases, the parts of the plasma membrane that form
vesicles are lined on their cytoplasmic side by a fuzzy layer of coat protein;
the “pits” and resulting vesicles are said to be “coated.”
1. receptor-mediated endocytosis – specialized type of pinocytosis that
enables the cell to acquire bulk quantities of specific substances with the
use of receptors (e.g. human cells and cholesterols)