4.

Membranes
And Transport
 The Structure of the
Cell Membrane
 Phospholipid

 Cholesterol

 Protein – Transport, Channel

 Glycoprotein

 Glycocalyx
 Semi-permeability

 Small, nonpolar molecules can pass through

membranes – passive diffusion
 Gases[O2, CO2, Ethanol, lipid, H2O can move
through slowly, large non-polar can still pass
through slowly]
 Charge molecules (Sodium etc. Can not pass
through)
 Large, polar molecules can not pass through
 phospholipid

 Amphipathic – Has
Fatty Acid tails which
are hydrophobic – 2
phospholipid’s tail
sections turn toward
each other
 The Phosphate heads
turn to aqueous
 A bilayer is formed
 Because the tails of phospholipids are non-
polar,it is difficult for polar molecules, or ions,
to pass through membranes, so they act as a
barrier to most water-soluble substances.

• For example, water-soluble molecules such

assugars, amino acids and proteins cannot leak
out of the cell, and unwanted water-soluble
molecules cannot enter the cell.
 Micelles

 If the phospholipids are shaken up with

water, they can form stable ball-like
structures in the water called micelles.
 Here all the hydrophilic heads face outwards
into the water, shielding the hydrophobic
tails, which point in towards each other.
 Cholesterol

 Very stable structure due

to a lot of rings
 A buffer

 Temperature decrease – it
increases the fluidity
 Temperature increase –
reduce the fluidity
 Cholesterol molecules are made up of four rings of
hydrogen and carbon atoms. They are hydrophobic
and are found among the hydrophobic tails in the
lipid bilayer.
 Cholesterol molecules are important for maintaining
the consistency of the cell membrane.
 They strengthen the membrane by preventing some
small molecules from crossing it.
 Cholesterol molecules also keep the phospholipid tails
from coming into contact and solidifying. This ensures
that the cell membrane stays fluid and flexible.
 Proteins
 Intrinsic, Extrinsic,
Transmembrance, Lipid Bound
 Functions:

1. Cell recognition

2. Intercellular joining

3. Transport

4. Enzymes

5. Signaling
Extrinsic membrane proteins are entirely
outside of the membrane.
• Intrinsic membrane proteins are
embedded in
the membrane. Many of them extend from
one side of the membrane to the other and
are referred to as transmembrane proteins.
 Transport Protein
 Channel Protein – Does not require energy –
goes with the concentration gradient – when
the cell requires certain ions or substance (eg.
porin)
 Carrier protein – take substances from outside
and pump it inside, or vice versa – go against
concentration gradient – use energy – ATPase to
break down ATP
 Channel protein

 A channel protein is a protein that allows the

transport of specific substances across a cell
membrane.
 They are intrinsic proteins, so span across
the whole membrane They basically make a
channel/pathway/hole for stuff to go through
 The channel that the channel proteins make,
is full of water. This means only water soluble
substances can pass through.
 The Glycoprotein,
Glycolipid and
Glycocalyx
 Lipid and proteins on the
cell membrane surface
often have short
carbohydrate chains
protruding out from the
cell surface, known as
glycolipids and
glycoproteins.
 Glycocalyx

 The carbohydrate chains form a

sugary coating to the cell, known
as the glycocalyx.
 It provides cushioning and
protection for the plasma
membrane, and it is also
important in cell recognition.
Based on the structure and types
of carbohydrates in the
glycocalyx, your body can
recognize cells and determine if
they should be there or not. The
glycocalyx can also act as a glue
to attach cells together
 FLUID MOSAIC MODEL

 In 1972, two scientists, Singer and Nicolson,

used all the available evidence to put forward
a hypothesis for membrane structure. They
called their model the fluid mosaic model.
 • It is described as ‘fluid’ because both the
phospholipids and the proteins can
moveabout by diffusion

 Molecular structure of cell surface membrane

 Membrane is fluid-lipids and protein move

within bilayer
 ‘Mosaic’scattered pattern of protein

 Interspersed cholesterol molecules

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Qqsf_UJcfBc
 Membrane fluidity

 Saturated fatty acid makes membrane less

fluid
 Excess unsaturated FA; more fluid; kink
introduces spaces in packaging
 Cholesterol regulate fluidity by preventing
movement of lipid molecules
 Lower temperature decreases fluidity

 Proportion of saturated, unsaturated FA and

cholesterol
 The degree of fluidity of cell surface membranes is
determined by:

1. The length of the fatty acid side chains (the longer the
chains, the lower the fluidity).

2. The proportion of the fatty acids which are saturated

(the higher the percentage of saturated fats, the lower
the fluidity).

3. The steroid content (the higher the steroid content, the

lower the fluidity).
 Cell Signaling

 Cells communicate by sending and receiving

chemical and electrical signals.
 This molecular conversation allows the cells
in your body to coordinate their activities.
 Cell-cell signaling involves the transmission of
a signal from a sending cell to a receiving
cell. However, not all sending and receiving
cells are next-door neighbors.
 Most cell signals are chemical messengers
 Receptor molecules

 Signaling Receptors – recognize messages

from hormones or neurotransmitter eg.
Glucagon receptor in liver cell
 Endocytosis receptor – bind to molecules that
are going to be engulfed by a cell
 Cell adhesion – binds cell to cell

 Act as cell markers for recognition –

carbohydrate portions can determine the
blood type
 Cells communicate by means of extracellular signaling
molecules that are produced and released by signaling
cells.
 These molecules recognize and bind to receptors on
the surface of target cells where they cause a cellular
response by means of a signal transduction pathway.
 Cells have proteins called receptors that bind to
signaling molecules and initiate a physiological
response.
 Different receptors are specific for different molecules.
 Typical signaling pathway starts with the
signalarriving at a protein receptor in a cell surface
membrane.
 The receptor is a specific shape which recognizes
the signal. Only cells with this receptor can
recognize the signal.
 The signal brings about a change in the shape of
the receptor.
 Changing the shape of the receptor allows it to
interact with the next component of the pathway,
so the message gets transmitted.
 G proteins, also known as guanine nucleotide
binding proteins, are a family of proteins that
act as molecular switches inside cells, and
are involved in transmitting signals from a
variety of stimuli outside a cell to its interior.
 G proteins acts as a switch to bring about the
release of a ‘second messenger’,
 Movement of substances into
and out of cells

 A phospholipid bilayer around cells makes a

very effective barrier, particularly against the
movement of water-soluble molecules and
ions.
 The aqueous contents of the cell are
therefore prevented from escaping.
 There are five basic mechanisms by which
this exchange is achieved:
 Diffusion

 Facilitated diffusion

 Osmosis

 Active transport

 Bulk transport.
 Diffusion

The movement of fluid

molecules from an area
of high concentration to
an area of low
concentration down a
concentration gradient,
across a permeable
membrane.
 The rate at which a substance diffuses across a
membrane depends on a number of factors.
 The ‘steepness’ of the concentration gradient

1) The greater the difference in concentration, the

greater the difference in the number of molecules
passing in the two directions, and hence the faster
the rate of diffusion.
 Temperature. At high temperatures, molecules and
ions have much more kinetic energy than at low
temperatures. They move around faster, and thus
diffusion takes place faster.
3) The surface area across which diffusion is taking place:
The greater the surface area, the more molecules or ions
can cross it at any one moment, and therefore the faster
diffusion can occur.
 4) The nature of the molecules or ions – Large
molecules require more energy to get them moving
than small ones do, so large molecules tend to diffuse
more slowly than small molecules.

Non-polar molecules, such as glycerol, alcohol and steroid

hormones, diffuse much more easily through cell
membranes than polar ones, because they are soluble in
the non-polar phospholipid tails.
 Facilitated diffusion

 Facilitated diffusion is the diffusion of a

substance through transport proteins in a cell
membrane; the proteins provide hydrophilic
areas that allow the molecules or ions to pass
through the membrane which would
otherwise be less permeable to them.
 There are two types of protein involved,
namely channel proteins and carrier proteins.
 Each is highly specific, allowing only one type
of molecule or ion to pass through it.
 Channel proteins are water-filled pores. They allow charged
substances, usually ions, to diffuse through the membrane.
 Most channel proteins are ‘gated’. This means that part of the
protein molecule on the inside surface of the membrane can
move to close or open the pore, like a gate.
 This allows control of ion exchange.

 Channel proteins have a fixed shape, carrier proteins can flip

between two shapes. As a result, the binding site is alternately
open to one side of the membrane, then the other.
 The rate at which this diffusion takes place is affected by how
many channel or carrier protein molecules there are in the
membrane, and, in the case of channel proteins, on whether they
are open or not.
 Cystic fibrosis

 • is caused by a defect in a
channel protein that should be
present in the cell surface
membranes of cells lining the
lungs.

 This protein normally allows

chloride ions to move out of the
cells.

 If the channel protein is not

correctly positioned in the
membrane, or if it does not open
the chloride channel as and when
it should, then the chloride ions
cannot move out.
 Osmosis

 Osmosis is a special type

of diffusion involving water
molecules only.

 This movement of water

molecules from a dilute
solution to a concentrated
solution, through a
partially permeable
membrane, is called
osmosis.
 Water potential

 The tendency of water to move from one area

to another due to osmosis, gravity,
mechanical pressure, or matrix effects such
as capillary action.
 Water potential is the 'measure of the ability of water
molecules to move freely in solution'.
 All this means is that is a solution of pure water where
there is no solute, all of the water molecules are free
to move, so the water potential is high.
 If a solute is added to the solution, it is attracted to
the water molecules, so those water molecules can no
longer move freely and the water potential is lower.
 In osmosis, water molecules move down the water
potential gradient, from a high water potential to a
lower water potential.
 Redefining osmosis

 Osmosis is the net movement of water

molecules from a region of higher water
potential to a region of lower water potential,
through a partially permeable membrane.
 Solute potential Ѱs

 The presence of solute molecules in a

solution lowers its water potential.
 The greater the concentration of solutes the
lower is the water potential.
 This change in water potential as a
consequence of the presence of solute
molecules is called Solute potential.
 Pressure potential Ѱp

 Pressure potential is based on mechanical pressure.

 Pressure potential increases as water enters a cell.

 As water passes through the cell wall and cell

membrane, it increases the total amount of water
present inside the cell, which exerts an outward
pressure that is opposed by the structural rigidity of
the cell wall.
 By creating this pressure, the plant can maintain
turgor, which allows the plant to keep its rigidity.
 Without turgor, plants will lose structure and wilt.
 Osmosis in Plant cells

 Plant cells are surrounded by rigid cellulose

walls, (unlike animal cells), but plant cells still
take in water by osmosis when placed in pure
water.
 However, plant cells do not burst because
their cellulose cell walls limit how much water
can move in.
 The cell walls exert pressure, called turgor
pressure, as the cells take up water. This is
useful as plants do not have a skeleton.
 For plant cells water potential is a
combination of solute potential and pressure
potential.
 This can be expressed in the following
equation:
 ψ = ψs + ψp
 Plasmolysis

 The contraction of the protoplasm of cells

within plants due to the loss of water through
osmosis. It is when the cell membrane peels
off of the cell wall and the vacuole collapses
when placed in a hypertonic environment.

https://youtu.be/zVvHn6Sj9PQ
 Incipient plasmolysis

 The stage of plasmolysis at which the first

sign of shrinkage of cell contents from cell
wall becomes detectable is called incipient
plasmolysis.
 At incipient plasmolysis the protoplast has
just ceased to exert any pressure against the
cell wall, so the cell is flaccid.
 Active Transport

• Active transport describes what happens when a

cell uses energy to transport something.
 Active transport is against concentration
gradient, means they are pumping something
from areas of lower to higher concentration.
 The energy required for active transport is
supplied by the molecule ATP.
 The energy is used to make the carrier protein
change its shape, transferring the molecules or
ions across the membrane in the process.
 Sodium Potassium
pump
 When ions needed to be transport against its
concentration gradient
 Make use of carrier proteins

 Pump 3 sodium out, allowing 2 potassium in

 The pump has a receptor site for ATP

 ATPase to break down to ADP

 Active transport is important in reabsorption in
the kidneys, where certain useful molecules and
ions have to be reabsorbed into the blood after
filtration into the kidney tubules.
 It is also involved in the absorption of some
products of digestion from the gut.
 In plants, active transport is used to load sugar
from the photosynthesizing cells of leaves into
the phloem tissue for transport around the plant
and to load inorganic ions from the soil into root
hairs.
 Exocytosis

 Exocytosis is the
reverse of endocytosis
and is the process by
which materials are
removed from cells

https://youtu.be/c8a3e7sCr24
Endocytosis