Cell Membranes

Cell Membranes: The Fluid Mosaic Model

The plasma membrane is composed of a bilayer of phospholipids, with
their hydrophobic, fatty acid tails in contact with each other.
The membrane is studded with proteins, some of which span the
membrane. Some of these proteins serve to transport materials into or out
of the cell.
Carbohydrates are attached to some of the proteins and lipids on the
outward-facing surface of the membrane. These form complexes that
function to identify the cell to other cells.
Cell Membranes: The Fluid Mosaic Model
The fluid nature of the membrane owes itself to the configuration of the
fatty acid tails and the presence of cholesterol embedded in the
membrane (in animal cells).
The mosaic nature of the membrane owes itself to the proteins and
protein-carbohydrate complexes found throughout the membrane. These
are not firmly fixed in place.
Plasma membranes enclose the borders of cells, but rather than being a
static bag, they are dynamic and constantly in flux.
The Fluid Mosaic Model
Phospholipids

Phospholipids form an
excellent two-layer cell
membrane that separates
fluid within the cell from
the fluid outside of the cell
because of their hydrophilic
heads and hydrophobic tails.
Phospholipids in Aqueous Solutions
In an aqueous solution, phospholipids tend to arrange themselves with
their polar heads facing outward and their hydrophobic tails facing
inward.
Selective Permeability

Plasma membranes are selectively permeable —they allow some

substances to pass through, but not others.
They allow:
 Lipid-soluble material with a low molecular weight ie. Fat soluble
vitamins or hormones
 Molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide
The substances below cannot pass through the membrane and must pass
through channels:
 sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride (all charged ions)
 Simple sugars and amino acids
Passive Transport

Passive transport does not require the cell to exert any of its energy.
Substances move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower
concentration.
A physical space in which there is a range of concentrations of a single
substance is said to have a concentration gradient.
Diffusion is one example of passive transport.
Diffusion

Diffusion through a permeable membrane moves a substance from an area

of high concentration (extracellular fluid, in this case) down its
concentration gradient (into the cytoplasm).
Factors that Affect the Rate
of Diffusion
 Extent of the concentration gradient
 Mass of the molecules diffusing
 Temperature
 Solvent density
 Solubility
 Surface area and thickness of the plasma membrane
 Distance travelled
Facilitated Transport

Ions or polar molecules that are repelled by the

hydrophobic parts of the cell membrane enter the cell
through facilitated transport.
Facilitated transport proteins shield these materials from
the repulsive force of the membrane, by acting as channels
or carriers, allowing them to diffuse into the cell.
 Channel Proteins

Channel proteins have hydrophilic

domains exposed to the intracellular
and extracellular fluids; they
additionally have a hydrophilic channel
through their core that provides a
hydrated opening through the
membrane layers. Some channels are
open while others may need to bind to
certain ions to open.
Carrier Proteins

Carrier proteins binds a substance and, in doing so, triggers a change of

its own shape, moving the bound molecule from the outside of the cell to
its interior.
Carrier proteins are slower than channel proteins.
Osmosis
Osmosis is specifically the movement of water through a semipermeable
membrane according to the concentration gradient of water across the
membrane, which is inversely proportional to the concentration of
solutes.
Tonicity

Tonicity describes how an extracellular solution can change

the volume of a cell by affecting osmosis. A solution’s
tonicity often directly correlates with the osmolarity of the
solution. Osmolarity describes the total solute
concentration of the solution.
 Hypotonic - The extracellular fluid has lower osmolarity
than the fluid inside the cell, and water enters the cell.
 Hypertonic - The cell has a relatively higher
concentration of water, water will leave the cell.
 Isotonic – The osmolarity of the cell matches that of the
extracellular fluid, there will be no net movement of
water into or out of the cell
Tonicity: Red Blood Cell
Tonicity: Plant Cell
How Do Plants Control the Effects of
Osmosis?
Plants, fungi, bacteria, and some protists, have cell walls that prevent
cell lysis in a hypotonic solution.
The cytoplasm in plants is always slightly hypertonic to the cellular
environment, and water will always enter a cell if water is available,
producing turgor pressure, which stiffens the cell walls of the plant. In
nonwoody plants, turgor pressure supports the plant. This is why plants
wilt when they are too dry.
Active Transport

Active transport requires the use of the cell’s energy.

Small-molecular weight material and small molecules move
in two ways:
 Primary active transport moves ions across a
membrane and creates a difference in charge across
that membrane, which is directly dependent on ATP.
 Secondary active transport describes the movement of
material that is due to the electrochemical gradient
established by primary active transport. It does not
directly require ATP.
Primary Active Transport.

Primary active transport moves ions across a membrane, creating an

electrochemical gradient.
Electrochemical Gradients

Electrochemical gradients arise from the combined effects of

concentration gradients and electrical gradients.
Carrier Proteins for Active
Transport
A uniporter carries one molecule or ion. A symporter carries
two different molecules or ions, both in the same
direction. An antiporter also carries two different
molecules or ions, but in different directions.
Secondary Active Transport

As sodium ion concentrations build outside of the plasma membrane

because of the action of the primary active transport process, an
electrochemical gradient is created.
If a channel protein exists and is open, the sodium ions will be pulled
through the membrane.
This movement is used to transport other substances that can attach
themselves to the transport protein through the membrane such as amino
acids and glucose.
This process, secondary active transport, is shown on the next slide.
Secondary Active Transport
Diagram
Active Transport: Large or
Bulk Materials
Some materials are simply too large to enter or exit a cell
but passive or simple active transport.

Large materials may be brought into a cell by endocytosis.

Large materials may be expelled from a cell by exocytosis.

Endocytosis

In endocytosis the plasma membrane of the cell

invaginates, forming a pocket around the target particle.
The pocket pinches off, resulting in the particle being
contained in a newly created intracellular vesicle formed
from the plasma membrane. The three types are:
 Phagocytosis
 Pinocytosis
 Receptor-mediated endocytosis
Phagocytosis

Cells ingest large

particles, including other
cells, by enclosing the
particles in an extension
of the cell membrane and
budding off a new
vacuole.
Pinocytosis

Cells take in
molecules such as
water from the
extracellular fluid.
Receptor-
Mediated
Endocytosis

Receptor proteins in the

plasma membrane ensure
only targeted substances
are brought into the cell.
Exocytosis
Exocytosis is the bulk expulsion
of materials. Waste material for
example is enveloped in a
membrane and fuses with the
interior of the plasma
membrane. This fusion opens
the membranous envelope on
the exterior of the cell, and the
waste material is expelled into
the extracellular space. This is
also used for secretion of
proteins and neurotransmitters.
 Methods of Transport, Energy
Requirements, and Types of Material
Transported
Transport Method Active/Passive Material Transported

Diffusion Passive Small-molecular weight material

Osmosis Passive Water
Facilitated
Passive Sodium, potassium, calcium, glucose
transport/diffusion
Primary active transport Active Sodium, potassium, calcium

Secondary active transport Active Amino acids, lactose

Large macromolecules, whole cells,

Phagocytosis Active
or cellular structures

Pinocytosis and potocytosis Active Small molecules (liquids/water)

Receptor-mediated
Active Large quantities of macromolecules
endocytosis
Waste materials, proteins for the
Exocytosis Active extracellular matrix,
neurotransmitters