Cell Physiology

OUTLINES
 Introduction
 Definition
 Cell functions
 Organization of the cell
 Membraneus & non membraneus organelles
 Plasma membrane & Transport mechanisms
 Cytoplasm
 Nucleus
 An Introduction to Cells

 Cell Theory
 Developed from Robert Hooke’s research
 Cells are the building blocks of all plants and animals
 All cells come from the division of preexisting cells
 Cells are the smallest units that perform all vital
physiological functions
 Each cell maintains homeostasis at the cellular level
Definition
 Cell is defined as structural and functional
unit of the living body
 Somatic cells (soma = body)
 All body cells except sex cells

 Sex cells (germ cells)

 Reproductive cells

 Male sperm

 Female oocyte (a cell that develops into an egg)

 Cell Functions

 Metabolism
 Use molecules for cellular functions, to make ATP and heat
 Molecule synthesis
 Different cells synthesize different molecules. Structural and
functional characteristics are based on molecules they produce.
 Communication
 Cells produce and respond to chemical and electrical signals
 Reproduction and inheritance
 Most cells have a complete copy of all of our genetic information.
This is passed down from cell to cell and from parent to child
 A cell is surrounded by a watery medium known as the extracellular fluid

 Extracellular fluid is interstitial fluid + plasma + cerebrospinal fluid +

synovial fluid

 The plasma membrane separates cytoplasm (intracellular fluid) from

the extracellular fluid (ECF)

 Cytoplasm= cytosol + organelles

 Cytosol = liquid

 Organelles are intracellular structures

 Organization of the Cell
 The different substances that make up the cell are
 collectively called protoplasm. Protoplasm is composed
 mainly of five basic substances:
 Water...70-85%
 electrolytes…(potassium, magnesium,
phosphate, sulfate, bicarbonate, and smaller quantities
of sodium, chloride, and calcium).
 proteins (structural &functional proteins)…10-20%
 Lipids
 carbohydrates.
Plasma Membrane
 Cytoplasm
 Cytosol (watery matrix)
 Dissolved materials:
 nutrients, ions, proteins, and waste products
 High potassium/low sodium levels compared to ECF
 High protein content compared to ECF
 High carbohydrate/low amino acid and fat inside cell
 Fluids
 Organelles=“little organs”
 Structures with specific functions
 Inclusions
 stored nutrients (e.g., glycogen) in plasma membrane
Non membranous Organelles

 The Cytoskeleton — structural proteins for

shape and strength
 Microfilaments

 Intermediate filaments

 Microtubules
 Organelles
 Non membranous organelles
 No membrane
 Direct contact with cytosol
 Includes the cytoskeleton, microvilli, centrioles, cilia, ribosomes,
and proteasomes
 Membranous organelles
 Covered with plasma membrane
 Isolated from cytosol
 Includes the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the Golgi
apparatus, lysosomes, peroxisomes, and mitochondria
 Plasma Membrane
 Comprised of a phospholipid bilayer-double layer of
phospholipid molecules
 Hydrophilic heads—toward watery environment, both sides
 Hydrophobic fatty-acid tails—inside membrane, some are
kinked to enhance fluidity of membrane.
 Cholesterol (amphipathic) stabilizes membrane.
 It is selectively permeable (semi-permeable). It is a barrier
to large molecules, ions and water soluble compounds.
 Plasma Membrane
 Functions of the Plasma Membrane
 Physical isolation
 Barrier

 Regulates exchange with environment

 Ions and nutrients enter
 Wastes eliminated and cellular products released

 Monitors the environment

 Extracellular fluid composition
 Chemical signals

 Structural support
 Anchors cells and tissues
 Fluid Mosaic Model-describes the plasma membrane as
fluid, not static.
 Movement of plasma membrane due to:

 Unsaturated hydrophobic fatty acid tails-kink

Membrane Fluidity Demonstrated
Plasma Membrane
 Membrane Proteins

 Integral proteins

 Span the membrane

 They are amphipathic-polar and nonpolar

 Peripheral proteins

 Bound to inner or outer surface of the membrane

 Plasma Membrane

 Several Types of Membrane Proteins

 Anchoring proteins (stabilizers)
 Attach to inside or outside structures
 Recognition proteins (identifiers)
 Label cells as normal or abnormal
 Enzymes
 Catalyze reactions
 Receptor proteins
 Bind and respond to ligands (ions, hormones)
 Carrier proteins
 Transport specific solutes through membrane
 Channels
 Regulate water flow and solutes through membrane
 Plasma Membrane

 Membrane Carbohydrates
 Proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and glycolipids
 Extend outside cell membrane
 Form sticky protection “sugar coat” (glycocalyx)
 Functions of the glycocalyx
 Lubrication and protection
 Anchoring and locomotion
 Specificity in binding (receptors)
 Recognition (immune response & tissue growth)
 Transport Mechanisms
 The plasma (cell) membrane is a barrier, but
 Nutrients must get in

 Products and wastes must get out

 Permeability determines what moves in and out of a cell, and a

membrane that

 Lets nothing in or out is impermeable

 Lets anything pass is freely permeable

 Restricts movement is selectively permeable

 Plasma membrane is selectively permeable/semipermeable
 Allows some materials to move freely
 Restricts other materials from crossing over (they may need a transport
protein of some type, or ATP)
 Selective permeability restricts materials based on
 Lipid solubility (lipophilic/ hydrophilic)
 Size/ shape (small/ large)
 Electrical charge (nonpolar/ polar & charged)
 Transport Mechanisms
 Passive transport-doesn’t require ATP
 Diffusion
 Osmosis
 Facilitated Diffusion
 Active transport and secondary active transport
 requires ATP
 Endocytosis/Exocytosis
 Filtration
 Passive Transport
 Passive transport – diffusion OR osmosis across the
plasma membrane in living organisms
 Energy from the cell is not required.
 Diffusion involves only very small hydrophobic
molecules, small polar molecules, or gasses.
 Osmosis is the movement of water.
 Both move down their concentration gradient
 Rate of movement depends on difference of gradient
 What about large molecules or ions????
 [high] [low]
Osmosis

 Osmosis is the passive movement of water across a

semipermeable membrane from an area of high water
concentration to an area of low concentration of water

[high] [low]

 OR mvt. of water to the side with more particles.

 water wants to dilute the side with excess particles
 Osmotic pressure

 Osmotic pressure: pressure derived from particles in a

solution. These particles influence movement of water.
The side with more particles wins.
 osmotic pressure activity
 The greater the difference in concentration the
greater the osmotic pressure will be the greater the
pull will be on water
 Why is this important for our bodies???
 Tonicity

 Tonicity –relative term that describes how a cell will behave in a

solution. It indicates the conc. of the soln.
 Isotonic – body fluids are isotonic to cells; there is an equal
concentration of solutes and water on both sides of the cell
membrane.
 No net movement of water occurs
 Hypertonic solution – the solution contains a higher concentration of
dissolved solutes than the cell.
 Net movement of water is out of the cell by osmosis
 Cell shrivels/ crenates
 Hypotonic solution – the solution contains a
lower concentration of dissolved solutes
than the cell.
 Net movement of water is into the cell
 Cell swells OR hemolyzes.
 Facilitated Diffusion

 Passive transport –facilitated diffusion

 Facilitated diffusion involves moving ions and large polar molecules down their
concentration gradient.
 They cannot diffuse through the membrane due to size or charge so they need
transportation.
 There are two categories of transport proteins
 Channel proteins
 Non-gated channel proteins and gated channel proteins (ligand +
voltage)
 Carrier proteins
Channel Proteins

Channel proteins are like pores in the membrane to let small

polar molecules OR ions through the membrane.

1. Nongated channels
Always open in normal cells.
Responsible for the permeability of the plasma membrane
to ions when the plasma membrane is at rest
2. Gated channels= open or close by certain
stimuli
Ligand gated channels open in response to
small molecules that bind to integral proteins
or glycoproteins
Voltage-gated channels open when there is a
change in charge across an area of the
plasma membrane
Carrier Proteins
 Carrier proteins are integral proteins that carry large
nonpolar, polar, or ionic molecules across the plasma
membrane down the molc. conc. gradient.
 Tranport amino acids, glucose, and proteins
 Have specific binding sites
 Protein changes shape to transport ions or molecules
 Resumes original shape after transport
 Carrier proteins exhibit the
following characteristics
similar to enzymes:
 Specificity for a single type of
molecule
 Competition among
molecules of similar shape
 Saturation: rate of transport
limited to number of available
carrier proteins
Active transport

Active transport: pumping substances across the

membrane against their concentration gradients;
this requires ATP. Usually these are referred to as
pumps.
[low]  [high]
Primary Active Transport

 1o active transport requires ATP. ATP allows the

cell to accumulate substances against its conc.
gradient
 Rate of transport depends on [substrate] and [ATP]
 Example: Na+/K+ exchange pump creates an
electrical potential across membranes
 Secondary Active Transport
 Use the concentration gradient derived from a
primary active transport pump to drive another
pump.
 Example: Na/K ATPase sets up a Na gradient
for Na/Glucose pump to pump glucose
AGAINST it’s concentration gradient.
Transport Mechanism

How do we get large molecules into the cell?

 Exocytosis and endocytosis – movement of large
molecules across the membrane
 Exocytosis occurs when a membrane-bound vesicle
carrying a substance fuses with the plasma membrane
and secretes its contents to the cell’s exterior.
 Endocytosis occurs when a substance is brought into
the cell and the plasma membrane buds inward.
Exocytosis=accumulated vesicle secretions expelled from
cell
Examples
 Secretion of digestive enzymes by pancreas
 Secretion of mucous by salivary glands
 Secretion of milk by mammary glands
 Endocytosis
 Internalization of substances by formation of a vesicle
 Types
 Phagocytosis (shown)
 Pinocytosis
 Receptor-mediated endocytosis
Pinocytosis

 Process by which cells ingest minute molecules

 Through the formation of coated pits
 And invirgination
……. Cell drinking
Filtration

 Works like a sieve

 Depends on pressure difference on either side of a
partition
 Moves from side of greater pressure to lower
 Example: blood pressure causes fluid movement
out of capillary  interstitium
 Water and small molecules move through the
membrane while large molecules remain in the
blood
 Other Mechanisms
 Secondary messenger systems
 cAMP and G-protein coupled mechanisms
Non membraneous organelles

 The Cytoskeleton — structural proteins for shape

and strength
 Microfilaments
 Intermediate filaments
 Microtubules
 Microfilaments—thin filaments composed of the
protein actin
 Provide additional mechanical strength
 Interact with proteins for consistency
 Pair with thick filaments of myosin for muscle movement
 Intermediate filaments—mid-sized between
microfilaments and thick filaments
 Durable (collagen)
 Strengthen cell and maintain shape
 Stabilize organelles
 Stabilize cell position
 Microtubules—large, hollow tubes of tubulin protein
 Strengthen cell and anchor organelles
 Change cell shape
 Move vesicles within cell (kinesin and dynein)
 During cellular division they form the spindle apparatus that
attaches to chromosomes to pull them to opposite ends of the
dividing cell
centrioles

 Centrioles
 Two only and housed in the centromere
 Barrel-shaped, composed of nine microtubule
triplets
 Forms spindle apparatus during cellular division
and used in cilia and sperm flagella for
movement
 Cellular Extensions

 Microvilli
 Extension of the cell to increase surface area of the cell
 Found in brush border of small intestine, stereocilia of ear, WBC, and
oocyte.
 Cilia
 Small, whip-like, motile extensions of the cell surface
 Ciliary movement move fluids across the cell surface
 Found in bronchioles and fallopian tubes
 Flagella
 Tail of sperm that consists of microtubules
Microvilli
Cilia
Ribosomes

 Ribosomes
 Composed of two subunits containing protein + RNA
 Made in nucleus and shipped to cytoplasm
 Build polypeptides in protein synthesis
 Two types
 Free ribosomes in cytoplasm:
– manufacture proteins for cell
 Fixed ribosomes attached to ER:
– manufacture proteins for cell membrane, lysosomes, or secretion
Membranous Organelles

 Membranous Organelles

 Nucleus (double membrane)

 Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Rough and Smooth ER

 Golgi apparatus

 Lysosomes

 Peroxisomes

 Mitochondria (double membrane

Nucleus

 Nucleus
 Houses the DNA
 Serves as the cell’s control center
 Surrounded by two membranes, together called the
nuclear envelope
 The nuclear envelope is studded with nuclear pores.
 Nuclear pores regulate traffic into and out of the nucleus.
 Inside the nucleus:
 Chromatin – composed of DNA + proteins
 Nucleolus – site of ribosome manufacture
 Nucleoplasm – fluid inside the nucleus
 ER

 Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

 Continuous with outer nuclear envelope
 Has cisternae are storage chambers within membranes
 Functions
 Synthesis of proteins, carbohydrates, cholesterol and lipids

 Storage of synthesized molecules and materials

 Transport of materials within the ER, to Golgi Apparatus, and extracellularly

 Detoxification of drugs or toxins

 Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER)
 No ribosomes attached
 Synthesizes lipids and carbohydrates:
– phospholipids and cholesterol (membranes)
– steroid hormones (reproductive system)
– glycerides (storage in liver and fat cells)
 Metabolizes lipids ad breaks down glycogenglucose
 Absorbs, synthesizes and transports lipids
 Detoxifies drugs, pesticides and carcinogens (liver/ kidney)
 Modified SER in skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle for storage of Ca +2
 Rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER)

 Surface covered with ribosomes:

–active in protein and glycoprotein
synthesis
–folds polypeptides protein structures

–encloses products in vesicles that go to

Golgi apparatus
 Golgi Apparatus
 A stack of membranous sacs
 Vesicles pinch off from the ER to fuse with the Golgi
apparatus and empty their digestive enzyme, protein or
lipid contents.
 The lipids and proteins are then modified, sorted, and
sent to their appropriate destination in new vesicles that
bud off from the Golgi apparatus.
 The digestive enzyme contents remain in the cell as
lysosomes
 Lysosomes=powerful, acidic, enzyme containing vesicles
Clean up inside cells
 Break down large molecules
 Digest ingested bacteria, viruses and toxins
 Recycle damaged organelles
 Eject wastes by exocytosis
Autolysis
 Auto- = self, lysis = break
 Self-destruction of damaged cells:
–lysosome membranes break down
–digestive enzymes released
–cell decomposes
–cellular materials recycle
 Peroxisomes
 Enzyme containing vesicles (oxidases + catalases)

 Oxidases use O2 to detoxify harmful substances and

neutralize byproducts of metabolism
 free radicals (unpaired e-) + hydrogen peroxide  H2O

 Breakdown and synthesize fatty acids

Mitochondria

 Mitochondria
 Uses carbs, lipids, and proteins to synthesize ATP
 Has outer and inner membranes separated by the
intermembrane space
 Inner membrane carries proteins involved in ATP production
 Matrix is site of reactions that release energy from nutrients
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