Mader/Biology, 11/e – Chapter Outline

Chapter 5

5.1 Plasma Membrane Structure and Function

A. Components of the Plasma Memebrane
1. The plasma membrane is a phospholipid bilayer with embedded proteins and cholesterol.
2. Phospholipids are amphipathic molecules, having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions;
nonpolar tails (hydrophobic) are directed inward, polar heads (hydrophilic) are directed
outward to face both extracellular and intracellular fluid.
3. Proteins in the plasma membrane can be peripheral (on one side of the membrane), or
integral (embedded in the plasma membrane).
4. Integral proteins are usually found in the membrane and are held in place by the
cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix (ECM).
5. ECM are only found in animals and their functions include supporting the plasma membrane
and communicating between cells.
A. Fluid-Mosaic Model
1. The fluid-mosaic model describes the plasma membrane.
2. The fluid component refers to the phospholipids bilayer of the plasma membrane.
3. Fluidity of the plasma membrane allows cells to be pliable.
4. Fluidity is affected by cholesterol molecules in the plasma membrane.
5. The mosaic component refers to the protein content in the plasma membrane.
6. Proteins bond to the ECM and/or cytoskeleton to prevent movement in the fluid
phospholipid bilayer.
B. Carbohydrate Chains
1. Glycolipids have a structure similar to phospholipids except the hydrophilic head is a variety
of sugar; they are protective and assist in various functions.
2. Glycoproteins have an attached carbohydrate chain of sugar that projects externally.
3. In animal cells, the glycocalyx is a “sugar coat” of carbohydrate chains and has several
functions.
4. Cells are unique in that they have highly varied carbohydrate chains (a “fingerprint”).
5. The immune system recognizes foreign tissues that have inappropriate carbohydrate chains.
6. Carbohydrate chains are the basis for A, B, and O blood groups in humans.

C. The Functions of the Proteins

1. Channel proteins allow a particular molecule to cross membrane freely (e.g., Cl - channels).
2. Carrier proteins selectively interact with a specific molecule so it can cross the plasma
membrane (e.g., Na+-K+ pump).
3. Cell recognition proteins are glycoproteins that allow the body’s immune system to
distinguish between foreign invaders and body cells.
4. Receptor proteins are shaped so a specific molecule (e.g., hormone) can bind to it.
5. Enzymatic proteins carry out specific metabolic reactions.
6. Junction proteins join animal cells so tissues can function.
D. Permeability of the Plasma Membrane
1. The plasma membrane is selectively permeable; only certain molecules can pass through.
a. Small non-polar lipid molecules (alcohol, oxygen) pass through the membrane freely.
b. Small polar molecules (carbon dioxide, water) move “down” a concentration gradient,
i.e., from high to low concentration.
c. Cells have channel proteins called aquaporins that allow water to cross a plasma
membrane more quickly than expected.
d. Ions and charged molecules cannot readily pass through the hydrophobic component of
 the bilayer and usually combine with carrier proteins.
2. Both passive and active mechanisms move molecules across membrane.
a. Passive transport moves molecules across membrane without expenditure of energy;
includes diffusion and facilitated transport.
b. Active transport requires a carrier protein and uses energy (ATP) to move molecules
across a plasma membrane; includes active transport, exocytosis, endocytosis, and
pinocytosis.
3. The presence of a membrane channel protein called an aquaporin allows water to cross
membranes quickly.
4. Substances enter or exit a cell through bulk transport.
E. How Do Cells Talk to One Another? (Biological Systems reading)
1. Cell Signaling
a. Molecules, or chemical messengers, “talk” to other cells and may change cells, tissues,
or organs.
b. These cells do not respond to all molecules. They require binding to a receptor protein.
c. Once the signaling molecule is bound to a receptor, the signal follows through a
transduction pathway.
d. The cell’s response to the transduction pathway can change the shape or movement of
the cell, alter the metabolism or function of the cell, or alter the gene expression and
amount of a cell protein.

5.2 Passive Transport Across a Membrane

1. Diffusion is the movement of molecules from higher to lower concentration (i.e., “down” the
concentration gradient).
a. A solution contains a solute, usually a solid, and a solvent, usually a liquid.
b. In the case of a dye diffusing in water, the dye is a solute and water is the solvent.
c. Once a solute is evenly distributed, random movement continues but with no net
change.
d. Membrane chemical and physical properties allow only a few types of molecules to cross
by diffusion.
e. Gases readily diffuse through the lipid bilayer; e.g., the movement of oxygen from air
sacs (alveoli) to the blood in lung capillaries depends on the concentration of oxygen in
alveoli.
f. Temperature, pressure, electrical currents, and molecular size influence the rate of
diffusion.
A. Osmosis
1. Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a differentially (selectively) permeable membrane.
a. Osmosis is illustrated by the thistle tube example:
1) A differentially permeable membrane separates two solutions.
2) The beaker has more water (lower percentage of solute) and the thistle tube has
less water (higher percentage of solute).
3) The membrane does not permit passage of the solute; water enters but the solute
does not exit the membrane.
4) The membrane permits passage of water with a net movement of water from the
beaker to the inside of the thistle tube.
b. Osmotic pressure is the pressure that develops in such a system due to osmosis.
c. Osmotic pressure results in water being absorbed by the kidneys and water being taken
up from tissue fluid.
2. Tonicity is strength of a solution with respect to osmotic pressure.
a. Isotonic solutions occur where the relative solute concentrations of two solutions are
equal; a 0.9% salt solution is used in injections because it is isotonic to red blood cells
(RBCs).
 b. A hypotonic solution has a solute concentration that is less than another solution; when
a cell is placed in a hypotonic solution, water enters the cell and it may undergo cytolysis
(“cell bursting”).
c. Swelling of a plant cell in a hypotonic solution creates turgor pressure; this is how plants
maintain an erect position.
d. A hypertonic solution has a solute concentration that is higher than another solution;
when a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, it shrivels (a condition called crenation).
e. Plasmolysis is shrinking of the cytoplasm due to osmosis in a hypertonic solution; as the
central vacuole loses water, the plasma membrane pulls away from the cell wall.
3. Facilitated Transport
a. Facilitated transport is the transport of a specific solute “down” or “with” its
concentration gradient (from high to low), facilitated by a carrier protein; glucose and
amino acids move across the membrane in this way.
5.3 Active Transport Across a Membrane
A. Active transport is transport of a specific solute across plasma membranes “up” or “against” (from
low to high) its concentration gradient through use of cellular energy (ATP).
1. Iodine is concentrated in cells of thyroid gland, glucose is completely absorbed into lining of
digestive tract, and sodium is mostly reabsorbed by kidney tubule lining.
2. Active transport requires both carrier proteins and ATP; therefore cells must have high
number of mitochondria near membranes where active transport occurs.
3. Proteins involved in active transport are often called “pumps”; the sodium-potassium pump
is an important carrier system in nerve and muscle cells.
4. Salt (NaCl) crosses a plasma membrane because Na+ are pumped across, and the Cl- is
attracted to Na+ and simply diffuses across specific channels in the membrane.
5. Cystic fibrosis results from a faulty chloride channel protein, causing this mucus in bronchial
tubes and pancreatic ducts.
B. Bulk Transport
1. In exocytosis, a vesicle formed by the Golgi body fuses with the plasma membrane as
secretion occurs; insulin leaves insulin-secreting cells by this method.
2. During endocytosis, cells take in substances by vesicle formation as plasma membrane
pinches off by phagocytosis, pinocytosis, or receptor-mediated endocytosis.
3. In phagocytosis, cells engulf large particles (e.g., bacteria, food particles), forming an
endocytic vesicle.
a. Phagocytosis is commonly performed by ameboid-type cells (e.g., amoebas and
macrophages).
b. When the endocytic vesicle fuses with a lysosome, digestion of the internalized
substance occurs.
4. Pinocytosis occurs when vesicles form around a liquid or very small particles; this is only
visible with electron microscopy.
a. Cells that use pinocytosis to ingest substances are: blood cells, cells that line the kidney
tubules or intestinal wall, and plant root cells.
5. Receptor-mediated endocytosis, a form of pinocytosis, occurs when specific
macromolecules bind to plasma membrane receptors.
a. The receptor proteins are shaped to fit with specific substances (vitamin, hormone,
lipoprotein molecule, etc.), and are found at one location in the plasma membrane.
b. This location is a coated pit with a layer of fibrous protein on the cytoplasmic side; when
the vesicle is uncoated, it may fuse with a lysosome.
c. Pits are associated with exchange of substances between cells (e.g., maternal and fetal
blood).
d. This system is selective and more efficient than pinocytosis; it is important in moving
substances from maternal to fetal blood.
e. Cholesterol (transported in a molecule called a low-density lipoprotein, LDL) enters a cell
from the bloodstream via receptors in coated pits; in familial hypocholesterolemia, the
 LDL receptor cannot bind to the coated pit and the excess cholesterol accumulates in the
circulatory system.
5.4 Modification of Cell Surfaces
A. Cell Surfaces in Animals
1. The extracellular matrix is a meshwork of polysaccharides and proteins produced by animal
cells.
a. Collagen gives the matrix strength and elastin gives it resilience.
b. Fibronectins and laminins bind to membrane receptors and permit communication
between matrix and cytoplasm; these proteins also form “highways” that direct the
migration of cells during development.
c. Proteoglycans are glycoproteins that provide a packing gel that joins the various proteins
in matrix and most likely regulate signaling proteins that bind to receptors in the plasma
protein.
2. Junctions Between Cells are points of contact between cells that allow them to behave in a
coordinated manner.
a. Adhesion junctions mechanically attach adjacent cells.
b. In desmosomes, internal cytoplasmic plaques, firmly attached to cytoskeleton within
each cell, are joined by intercellular filaments; they hold cells together where tissues
stretch (e.g., in heart, stomach, bladder).
c. In tight junctions, plasma membrane proteins attach in zipper-like fastenings; they hold
cells together so tightly that the tissues are barriers (e.g., epithelial lining of stomach,
kidney tubules, blood-brain barrier).
d. A gap junction allows cells to communicate; formed when two identical plasma
membrane channels join.
1) They provide strength to the cells involved and allow the movement of small
molecules and ions from the cytoplasm of one cell to the cytoplasm of the other
cell.
2) Gap junctions permit flow of ions for heart muscle and smooth muscle cells to
contract.

B. Plant Cell Walls

1. Plant cells are surrounded by a porous cell wall; it varies in thickness, depending on the
function of the cell.
2. Plant cells have a primary cell wall composed of cellulose polymers united into threadlike
microfibrils that form fibrils.
3. Cellulose fibrils form a framework whose spaces are filled by non-cellulose molecules.
4. Pectins allow the cell wall to stretch and are abundant in the middle lamella that holds cells
together.
5. Non-cellulose polysaccharides harden the wall of mature cells.
6. Lignin adds strength and is a common ingredient of secondary cell walls in woody plants.
7. Plasmodesmata are narrow membrane-lined channels that pass through cell walls of
neighboring cells and connect their cytoplasms, allowing direct exchange of molecules and
ions between neighboring plant cells.