THE CELL MEMBRANE

Usman Sumo Friend Tambunan

Arli Aditya Parikesit
Bioinformatics Group
Faculty of Mathematics and Science
University of Indonesia

OVERVIEW

Cell membrane separates living cell from

nonliving surroundings

thin barrier = 8nm thick

Controls traffic in & out of the cell

selectively permeable
allows some substances to cross more easily
than others
hydrophobic vs hydrophilic

Made of phospholipids, proteins & other

macromolecules

PHOSPHOLIPIDS

Phosphate

Fatty acid tails

hydrophobic

Phosphate group head

hydrophilic

Arranged as a bilayer

Fatty acid

PHOSPHOLIPID BILAYER
polar
hydrophilic
heads

nonpolar
hydrophobic
tails

polar
hydrophilic
heads

MORE InTHAN
LIPIDS
1972, S.J. Singer & G. Nicolson proposed that
membrane proteins are inserted into the
phospholipid bilayer

MEMBRANE IS A COLLAGE OF PROTEINS & OTHER

MOLECULES EMBEDDED IN THE FLUID MATRIX OF THE
LIPID BILAYER
Glycoprotein

Extracellular fluid
Glycolipid

Phospholipids
Cholesterol
Peripheral
protein

Cytoplasm

Transmembrane
proteins
Filaments of
cytoskeleton

MEMBRANE FAT COMPOSITION

VARIES
Fat composition affects flexibility

membrane must be fluid & flexible

about as fluid as thick salad oil

% unsaturated fatty acids in phospholipids

keep membrane less viscous

cold-adapted organisms, like winter wheat

increase % in autumn

cholesterol in membrane

MEMBRANE
PROTEINS
Proteins determine membranes specific functions
cell membrane & organelle membranes each have
unique collections of proteins

Membrane proteins:
peripheral proteins
loosely bound to surface of membrane
cell surface identity marker (antigens)

integral proteins
penetrate lipid bilayer, usually across whole membrane
transmembrane protein
transport proteins
channels, permeases (pumps)

PROTEINS DOMAINS ANCHOR

MOLECULE
Polar areas
Within membrane

nonpolar amino acids

of protein

hydrophobic
anchors protein
into membrane

On outer surfaces of
membrane
polar amino acids

hydrophilic
extend into extracellular
fluid & into cytosol

Nonpolar areas of
protein

EXAMPLES

Retinal
chromophore

H+

NH2

water channel
in bacteria
Porin monomer
-pleated sheets
Bacterial
outer
membrane

Nonpolar
(hydrophobic)
-helices in the
cell membrane

COOH
H+

Cytoplasm

proton pump channel

in photosynthetic bacteria
function through
conformational change
=
shape change

MANY FUNCTIONS OF MEMBRANE PROTEINS

Outside
Plasma
membrane
Inside
Transporter

Cell surface
identity marker

Enzyme
activity

Cell adhesion

Cell surface
receptor

Attachment to the
cytoskeleton

MEMBRANE
CARBOHYDRATES
Play
a
key
role in cell-cell recognition

ability of a cell to distinguish one cell from another

antigens

important in organ &

tissue development

basis for rejection of

foreign cells by
immune system

THE CELL MEMBRANE

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE
TRANSPORT

CELL MEMBRANE
Phospholipid bilayer: hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic
tails

Semi-permeability
Transport proteins (passive transport channels)
Ion pumps (active transport pumps)
Receptor proteins (neurons, hormones, immune system)
Carbohydrate chains ( identification cards)

What is passive transport? What are

the three types of passive transport?

PASSIVE TRANSPORT
Diffusion - process by which molecules tend to move
from an area where they are more concentrated to an
area where they are less concentrated

PASSIVE TRANSPORT
In Passive Transport - Molecules move down the

concentration gradient (no energy required)

1) simple diffusion -molecules are small enough and soluble can
pass directly through the lipid bilayer
2) facilitated diffusion need transport proteins (molecules are
either to large or cant pass through the lipid bilayer themselves)
3) osmosis molecules cant pass through lipid bilayer at all, but
water can(movement of water)
Depends on molecule size, lipid solubility, and concentration gradient

PASSIVE DIFFUSION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JShwXBWGMyY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0p1ztrbXPY

SOLUTIONS
A mixture of solid particles (solute) and liquid (solvent)
Most common solvent is water
Cells are surrounded by solutions
Three types: isotonic, hypotonic, and hypertonic solutions

ISOTONIC SOLUTIONS
Particles are equal inside and outside of the cell
Water molecules are equal inside and outside of the cell

HYPOTONIC SOLUTIONS
There are more particles inside than outside
There is more water outside the cell
Water will move INTO the cell

HYPERTONIC SOLUTIONS
There are more particles outside
There is more water inside
Water will move OUT OF the cell

ACTIVE TRANSPORT
Molecules move against the concentration gradient
Requires energy
1. Solute Pumps (Na+-K+-ATPase pump)
2. Bulk Transport

 Na+-K+-ATPase pump
https://mail.xavierhs.org/exchange/UngerJ/Inbox/No%20Sub
ject-748.EML/07_16ActiveTransport_A.swf/C58EA28C-18C0-4a
97-9AF2-036E93DDAFB3/07_16ActiveTransport_A.swf?attach=1

TRANSPORT ACROSS THE MEMBRANE

Endocytosis (pinocytosis, phagocytosis): phagocytes
(macrophages)- molecules are coming into cells

Exocytosis: release of proteins, hormones,

neurotransmitters- release of proteins, hormones,
neurotransmitters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gLtk8Yc1Zc&NR=1

TRANSPORT SUMMARY
simple
diffusion
facilitated
diffusion

ATP
active
transport

HOW ABOUT
LARGE MOLECULES?
Moving large molecules into & out of cell

through vesicles & vacuoles

endocytosis

phagocytosis = cellular eating

pinocytosis = cellular drinking

exocytosis

exocytosis

ENDOCYTOSIS
phagocytosis

pinocytosis

receptor-mediated
endocytosis

fuse with
lysosome for
digestion

non-specific
process

triggered by
molecular
signal

THE SPECIAL CASE OF

WATER
MOVEMENT OF WATER
ACROSS
THE CELL MEMBRANE
2007-2008

OSMOSIS IS DIFFUSION OF WATER

Water is very important to life,
so we talk about water separately

Diffusion of water from

high concentration of water to
low concentration of water
across a
semi-permeable
membrane

CONCENTRATION
OF
WATER
Direction
of
osmosis
is
determined by

comparing total solute concentrations

Hypertonic - more solute, less water
Hypotonic - less solute, more water
Isotonic - equal solute, equal water

water
hypotonic

hypertonic

net movement of water

MANAGING
WATER
BALANCE
Cell
survival
depends
on balancing water

uptake & loss

freshwater

balanced

saltwater

MANAGING
WATER
BALANCE
Isotonic

animal cell immersed in

mild salt solution

example:
blood cells in blood plasma

problem: none

no net movement of water

flows across membrane equally, in

both directions

volume of cell is stable

balanced

MANAGING
WATER
BALANCE
Hypotonic

a cell in fresh water

example: Paramecium
problem: gains water,
swells & can burst

ATP

water continually enters

Paramecium cell

solution: contractile vacuole

pumps water out of cell

ATP

plant cells

turgid

freshwater

WATER REGULATION

Contractile vacuole in Paramecium

ATP

MANAGING WATER BALANCE

Hypertonic

a cell in salt water

example: shellfish
problem: lose water & die
solution: take up water or pump out
salt

plant cells

plasmolysis = wilt

saltwater

1991 | 2003

AQUAPORINS
Water moves rapidly into & out of cells

evidence that there were water channels

Peter Agre

Roderick MacKinnon

John Hopkins Rockefeller

OSMOSIS

.05 M

.03 M

Cell (compared to beaker) hypertonic or hypotonic

Beaker (compared to cell) hypertonic or hypotonic
Which way does the water flow? in or out of cell

REFERENCES
http://bioap.wikispaces.com/file/view/Ch%207%20Cell
%20Membrane.ppt

http://www.xavierhs.org/s/717/images/editor_documents/facul
ty/tanzmanj/Cell%20Membrane%20Transport.ppt

http://www.lf3.cuni.cz/opencms/export/sites/www.lf3.cuni.cz/e
n/applicant/premedical/studymaterials/biology/8_Premedical_Cell_communication.ppt