Chapter 1 : CELL BIOLOGY

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO CELLS

Understanding 1: All living things are made of cells.

Unicellular organisms are single-celled and can carry out all of the
functions of life independently.
Multicellular organisms have specialized cells to carry out specific
functions.
cells are the smallest unit of life.
specialized structures within cells (organelles) carry out different
functions.
Organelles cannot survive alone

CELL
STRUCTURE

LOCATION

Cell Wall

Plant, Fungi,
&
Bacteria, but
not animal
cells

All cells

Cell
Membrane

DESCRIPTION

Nucleus

All
cells except
prokaryotes

Nuclear
membrane

All
cells except
prokaryotes

FUNCTION

Outer layer
Rigid &
strong
Made of
cellulose

Support (grow tall)

Protection
allows H2O, O2, CO2 to
diffuse in & out of cell

Plant inside cell

wall
Animal outer layer;
cholesterol
Double
layer of
phospholipi
ds with
proteins
Selectively
permeable

Support
Protection
Controls movement
of materials in/out of
cell
Barrier between cell
and its environment
Maintains
homeostasis

Large, oval
May
contain 1 or
more
nucleoli
Holds DNA

Controls cell activities

Contains the
hereditary material of
the cell

Surrounds
nucleus
Double
membrane

Controls movement
of materials in/out of
nucleus

Cytoplasm

All cells

Selectively
permeable

Clear, thick,
jellylike
material
(cytosol)
Organelles
found
inside cell
membrane
Contains
the
cytoskeleto
n fibers

Supports and
protects cell
organelles

Network of
tubes or
membranes
Smooth w/o
ribosomes
Rough with
embedded
ribosomes
Connects to
nuclear
envelope &
cell
membrane

Carries materials
through cell
Aids in making
proteins

Small
bodies free
or attached
to ER
Made of
rRNA &
protein

Synthesizes proteins

Peanut
shaped
Double
membrane
Outer
membrane
smooth
Inner
membrane

Breaks down sugar

(glucose) molecules
to release energy
Site of aerobic
cellular respiration

Endoplasmic
reticulum
(ER)

All
cells except
prokaryotes

Ribosome

All cells

Mitochondrio
n

All
cells except
prokaryotes

folded into
cristae
Vacuole

Plant
cells have a
single, large
vacuole

Fluid-filled
sacs
Largest
organelle in
plant cells

Small and
round with
a single
membrane

Green,
oval
containing
chlorophyll
(green
pigment)
Double
membrane
with inner
membrane
modified
into sacs
called
thylakoids
Stacks of
thylakoids
called
grana &
interconnec
ted
Gel like
innermost
substance
called
stroma

Uses energy from sun

to make food
(glucose) for the
plant
Process called
photosynthesis
Release oxygen

Found
inside the
cell's

Make ribosomes

Animal
cells have
small
vacuoles
Lysosome

Chloroplast

Plant uncommon
Animal common

Plants and
algae

nucleolus

All
cells except
prokaryotes

Store food, water,

metabolic & toxic
wastes
Store large amounts
of food or sugars in
plants

Breaks down larger

food molecules into
smaller molecules
Digests old cell parts

Golgi
Apparatus

All
cells except
prokaryotes

nucleus
May have
more than
one
Disappear
during cell
division
Stacks of
flattened
sacs

Cilia

Animal cells,
Protozoans

Flagellum

Bacterial
cells &
Protozoans

Centrioles

Animal cells

Cytoskeleton

All cells

Have
a cis & trans face
Modify proteins made
by the cells
Package & export
proteins

Have a 9-2
arrangeme
nt of
microtubule
s
Short, but
numerous

Movement

Have a 9-2
arrangeme
nt of
microtubule
s
Long, but
few in
number

Movement

Paired
structures
near the
nucleus
Made of a
cylinder of
microtubule
pairs

Separate
chromosome pairs
during mitosis

Made of
microtubule
s7
microfilame
nts

Strengthen cell &

maintains the shape
Moves organelles
within the cell

Atypical = uncommon
Cell structure

Location

Striated muscle
(skeletal muscles)

attached to the
bones by tendons

Description

Giant algae

found in colder
waters

Aseptate
fungal
hyphae

In fungus

Function

produces all
the
movements
of body
parts
usually
work in
pairs with
one
relaxing
and one
contracting
keeps
movement
smooth and
even

produces
movements
at a joint via
voluntary
contraction

used to be
used for
alginate
extraction
Alginates,
derivatives
of alginic
acids, are
used
commerciall
y.
It forms a
stable
viscous gel
in water,

toothpastes,
soaps, ice
cream,
tinned
meats, fabric
printing, and
a host of
other
applications
primary
function in
the above
applications
is as a
binder,
stabilizer,
emulsifier, or
moulding
agent.

form one
long cell
with many
nuclei

preventing
the entire
network from
being

compromise
d if one
hypha is
injured.

Calculation of magnification and actual size.

Magnification,M =

image , I
actual speciment , A

Understanding 2: organism consisting of only one cell carry out all

functions of life in that cell.
Unicellular Organisms carry out all the functions of life.

Function of life
Nutrition

Explanation
Obtaining Food

Metabolism

Chemical Reaction Inside The Cell

Growth

Increasing In Size

Response

Reacting To Stimuli

Excretion

Excrete Waste By Exocytosis

Homeostasis

Controlling Condition Inside Cell

Reproduction

Producing Offspring

Understanding 3: surface area to volume ratio is important in

the limitation of cell size.
Limitations on cell size
As an organism increases in size its surface area to volume ratio
decrease.
Surface area to volume ratio is a factor that limits the size of
cells.
By dividing to make more, smaller cells, the efficiency of the exchange
processes across the membranes (into and out of the cells) can be kept
high.

Shorter diffusion paths.

More surfaces for reactions.
Removal of heat and waste

Understanding 4: multicellular organisms have properties that

emerge from the interactions of their cellular components.
Multicellular organism

Have properties that emerge from the interaction of

their cellular components.
Multicellular organisms are organisms that consist of more than
one cell, in contrast to single-celled organisms.

Emergent properties
It's the property where living things become more and more complex as it
goes from cellular level

Emergent property is like this:

Cell ---> Tissue ----> Organ ---> Organ System ---> Animal

Specialized tissues can develop by cell differentiation in multicellular

organisms.

Understanding 5: specialize tissues can develop by cell

differentiation in multicellular organism.
Cell Differentiation In Multicellular Organisms.

Specialized tissues can develop by cell differentiation in multicellular

organisms.
Different cell perform different functions.
Often a group of cells specialized in the same way to perform the
same function. They are called a tissue.
By becoming specialized, the cells in the tissue can carry out their
role more efficiently.
The development of cells in different ways to carry out specific
functions is called differentiation.

Understanding 6: differentiation involves the expression of some

genes and not others in a cells genome.
Gene expression and cell differentiation.

There are many different cell types in a multicellular organism, but

they all have the same set of genes.

Cells do not just have genes with the instructions that they need,
they have genes needed to specialize in every possible way.
When a gene is being used in a cell, we say that the gene is being
expressed (switched on).
The information in it is used to make a protein.
Cell differentiation happens because a different sequence of gene is
expressed in different cell types.
The control of gene expression is therefore the key to development.

Understanding 7: the capacity of stem cells to divide and

differentiate along dofferent pathways is necessary in embryonic
development. It also makes stem cells suitable for therapeutic
uses.
Stem cells

Stem cell are define as cells that have the capacity to self renew by
cell division and to differentiate.

Where is stem cell?

They are found in most human tissues including bone marrow, skin
and liver.

Human embryos consist entirely of stem cells in their early stage

But gradually the cells in the embryo commit themselves to a

pattern of differentiation.

Once committed ,a cell may still divide several more times ,but all of
the cell form will differentiate in the same way and so they are no
longer stem cell.

Stem Cells retain the capacity to divide and can differentiate along
divergent pathways.

Totipotent
Can differentiate into any type of cell.

Pluripotent
Can differentiate into many types of cell.

Multipotent
Can differentiate into a few closely-related types of cell.

Unipotent

Can regenerate but can only

differentiate into their associated
cell type.(e.g. liver stem cells can
only make liver cells).
Therapeutic Uses of Stem Cells.

Treatment for Leukemia

Problem

Cancer of the blood or bone

marrow, resulting in abnormally
high levels of poorly-functioning
white blood cells.

Treatment

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy

can be used to destroy the white
blood cells, but these need to be
replaced with healthy cells. Bone
marrow transplants are often used
for this.

Role of Stem Cells

Hematopoetic Stem Cells

(HSCs) can be harvested from bone
marrow, peripheral blood or
umbilical cord blood. As these can
differentiate to form any type of
white blood cell, they can be used
to repopulate the bone marrow and
produce new, healthy blood cells.
The use of a patients own HSCs
means there is far less risk of
immune rejection than with a
traditional bone marrow transplant.

Stargardts Disease

What is stargardts disease?

affects approximately one in 10,000 people

characterized by central vision loss early in life.
Result blindness

human embryonic stem cells will be transformed into retinal

pigment epithelial cells (RPE).

RPE cells degenerate in several retinal conditions including

Stargardts disease and age-related macular degeneration.

RPE cells provide essential supportive functions for photoreceptors,

the cells that provide vision.

By placing healthy RPE cells in the retina, they can save

photoreceptors and slow or halt vision loss from a variety of retinal
degenerative conditions.

Ethical issues

Embryonic stem cell research poses a moral dilemma. It forces us to

choose between two moral principles:

The duty to prevent or alleviate suffering

The duty to respect the value of human life

In the case of embryonic stem cell research, it is impossible to

respect both moral principles.To obtain embryonic stem cells, the
early embryo has to be destroyed. This means destroying a
potential human life.

But embryonic stem cell research could lead to the discovery of new
medical treatments that would alleviate the suffering of many
people.