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Lesson 3

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3 views39 pages

Lesson 3

Uploaded by

alexandravasquez.sciencenorth
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Cell and Molecular Biology

Lipids
• Most lipids are similar in their solubility properties
rather than the chemical nature.
• One distinguishing properties of lipids is their
hydrophobic property.
• They have little to no affinity with water and are
soluble with non-polar solvent such as chloroform
and ether.
• Lipids are amphipathic, having both polar and non-
polar region
Non-Polar Polar
Roles of Lipids in the Cell

•Energy storage
•Membrane structure
•Biological functions
• Fatty acids are considered as the building
block of lipids for being a common
component of other kinds of lipids.
• A lipid molecule would have 12 to 20
carbon atoms.
• The carboxyl group is the polar head while
the hydrocarbon is the non-polar tail.
Some Common Fatty Acids in Cells
Triacylglycerols
• The triacylglycerols, also called triglycerides,
consist of a glycerol molecule with three fatty
acids linked to it.
• Fatty acids are linked to glycerol by ester bonds.
• Triacylglycerol are named based on the number
of fatty acids present.
a. Monoacylglycerol – one fatty acid
b. Diacylglycerol – two fatty acids
c. Triacylglycerol – three fatty acids
Phospholipids
• Phospholipids are important
membrane structural component
• Component of bilayer structure of the
cell.
• Essential constituent of cell membrane
due to its amphipathic nature.
• Classified as phosphoglycerides and
sphingolipids
Phosphoglycerides
consists of fatty acids that
are esterified to a glycerol
molecule.
The basic component of a
phosphoglyceride is
phosphatidic acid, which
has just two fatty acids
and a phosphate group
attached to a glycerol
backbone
• Sphingolipids are important in membrane
structure and cell signaling.
These lipids are based not on glycerol but on
the amine alcohol sphingosine
Sphingolipids are present predominantly in
the outer monolayer of the plasma membrane
bilayer, where they often are found in lipid
rafts, which are localized microdomains
within a membrane that facilitate
communication with the external
environment of the cell..
• Glycolipids are lipids containing a carbohydrate
group instead of a phosphate group and are
typically derivatives of sphingosine or glycerol.
• Those containing sphingosine are called
glycosphingolipids. The carbohydrate group
attached to a glycolipid may contain one to six
sugar units, which can be d-glucose, d-galactose,
or N-acetyl-dgalactosamine
• Glycolipids occur largely in the outer monolayer of
the plasma membrane, and the glycosphingolipids
are often sites of biological recognition on the
surface of the plasma membrane
• Steroids constitute yet another distinctive class of lipids. Steroids
are derivatives of a four-ringed hydrocarbon skeleton, which
makes them structurally distinct from other lipids.

• In fact, the only property linking them to the other classes of


lipids is that they are relatively nonpolar and therefore
hydrophobic.

• Steroids differ from one another in the number and positions of


double bonds and functional groups.

• Steroids are found almost exclusively in eukaryotic cells. The


most common steroid in animal cells is cholesterol.

• Cholesterol is an amphipathic molecule, with a polar head group


and a nonpolar hydrocarbon body and tail.

• Because most of the molecule is hydrophobic, cholesterol is


insoluble in water and is found primarily in membranes.
The Cell
Where did the first cells come from?

• (1) abiotic (nonliving) synthesis of simple organic


compounds such as amino acids and nitrogenous
bases;
• (2) abiotic polymerization of these monomers into
macromolecules such as proteins or nucleic acids;
• (3) emergence of a macromolecule capable of both
storing genetic information and replication; and
• 4) encapsulation of this first “living” molecule within
a simple membrane to form the first primitive cell.
The RNA world hypothesis
suggests that life on Earth began
with a simple RNA molecule that
could copy itself.
The RNA world hypothesis
suggests that life on Earth began
with a simple RNA molecule that
could copy itself without help
from other molecules. DNA, RNA,
and proteins are central to life on
Earth.
Cell Membrane
Functions of Cell Membrane
1 They define the boundaries of the cell and
its organelles and act as permeability barriers.
2 They serve as sites for specific biochemical
functions, such as electron transport during
mitochondrial respiration or protein
processing and folding in the ER.
3 Membranes also possess transport proteins
that
Composition of Cell Membrane
Cell and Transport Processes

Simple Facilitated Active


Diffusion Diffusion Transport
• Direct, unaided • Use of transport • must be driven by
movement of solute proteins to move an energy-yielding
molecules into and solutes across the process such as the
through the lipid cell membrane hydrolysis of ATP or
bilayer in the the simultaneous
direction dictated transport of another
by the difference in solute, usually an
the concentrations ion such as H+ or
of the solute on the Na+, down its free
two sides of the energy gradient
membrane.
Gradient Electrochemical
Concentration Potential

Movement of
Solute Across
Cell Membrane
Cell Adhesion
Cell – cell Junctions
• Multicellular organisms
have specific means of
joining cells in long-term
associations to form
tissues and organs using
specialized structures are
called cell-cell junctions.
• In animals, the most
common kinds of cell-cell
junctions are adhesive
junctions, tight junctions,
Adhesive Junction
• Adhesive junctions link cells together into tissues, thereby enabling
the cells to function as a unit.

• All junctions in this category anchor the cytoskeleton to the cell


surface.

• The resulting interconnected cytoskeletal network helps maintain


tissue integrity and to withstand mechanical stress.

• Adhesive junctions rely on specialized adhesion proteins.

• Many of these adhesion proteins are transmembrane proteins, which


means the extracellular portion of these proteins can interact with
the extracellular portion of similar proteins on the surface of a
Tight Junction
• Tight junctions
are intercellular
adhesion
complexes in
epithelia and
endothelia that
control
paracellular
permeability.
Gap Junction
• Gap junctions are aggregates
of intercellular channels that
permit direct cell–cell transfer
of ions and small molecules.

• Initially described as low-


resistance ion pathways
joining excitable cells (nerve
and muscle), gap junctions are
found joining virtually all cells
in solid tissues.

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