Membrane Structure and

Functions
By:
Colleen M. Ongkingco-Lumanlan, MD
Importance
• Form closed compartments to form cell
boundaries
• Act as barrier due to plasma membrane’s
SELECTIVE PERMEABILITIES
• Exchange materials with extracellular
environment through endocytosis or
exocytosis
• Changes in structure may lead to a variety of
diseases
Body water
• 60% of lean body mass is made up of WATER

– Intracellular fluid (ICF)

• 2/3 of total body water (TBW)

– Extracellular fluid (ECF)

• 1/3 of TBW
Body water
• ICF: provides specialized environment for the
cell
– Make, store utilize energy
– Repair itself
– Replicate
– Perform special functions
• ECF
– Delivery system
Ionic Compositions in ICF and ECF
SUBSTANCE EXTRACELLULAR INTRACELLULAR
FLUID FLUID
Sodium (Na+) 140 mmol/L 10 mmol/L
Potassium (K+) 4 mmol/L 140 mmol/L
Calcium (Ca2+) free 2.5 mmol/L 0.1 µmol/L
Magnesium (Mg2+) 1.5 mmol/L 30 mmol/L
Chloride (Cl-) 100 mmol/L 4 mmol/L
Bicarbonate (HCO3-) 27 mmol/L 10mmol/L
Phosphate (PO4 3-) 2 mmol/L 60 mmol/L
Glucose 5.5 mmol/L 0-1mmol/L
Protein 2 g/dL 16 g/dL
MEMBRANE STRUCTURE
Membrane Structure
• LIPIDS

• PROTEINS

• CARBOHYDRATE-CONTAINING MOLECULES
Membrane Lipids
• Phospholipids
– Phosphoglyceride
– Sphingomyelin
• Glycosphingolipids
• Cholesterol
Membrane Lipids
• Phosphoglyceride – more common, the
simplest of which is phosphatidic acid (1,2-
diacylglycerol 3-phosphate)

• Sphingomyelin
– sphingosine + FA --→ ceramide esterification of 10 hydroxyl grp

Sphingomyelin
Membrane Lipids
• Glycosphingolipids
– Sugar-containing lipids built on a ceramide
backbone
– Mainly located in the plasma membranes of cells
Membrane Lipids
• Sterols – most common is CHOLESTEROL
– intercalates among phospholipids of the
membrane
Membrane Lipids: Amphipathic
• Have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic
regions

• Saturated FA have straight tails

• Unsaturated FA have kinked tails – more kinks,
membranes become more fluid and less
tightly packed
Membrane Lipids: Bilayers
• MICELLE – hydrophobic regions are shielded
from water, hydrophilic polar groups are
immersed in water
Membrane Lipids: bilayer
• Bilayers – exists as a sheet by self-assembly
Membrane Lipids: permeability
• Small molecules (02, CO2, nitrogen) – readily
diffuse through the bilayer
• Permeability coefficients of ions (Na, K, Cl) -
cross bilayer more slowly
• water - small and relatively lacks charge
• Not lipid soluble – presence of proteins that
form channels for small molecules and
transporters for larger molecules
Membrane proteins
• Major functional
molecules of
membranes
• Consist of:
– Enzymes
– Pumps and channels
– Structural components
– Antigens
– Receptors for many
molecules
Membrane proteins
• The α-helical structure of proteins reduces
hydrophilicity of peptide bonds
• Can be amphipathic with hydrophilic regions
inside and outside the membrane with
hydrophobic regions crossing the hydrophobic
core of the bilayer
Membrane proteins
• Unique orientations of proteins make up
membrane asymmetry
• Lipid asymmetry is not well understood
Membrane proteins: integral and
peripheral
• Integral proteins:
– span the bilayer, interact
extensively with
phospholipids
– Requires detergent for
solubilization
(hydrophobic end)
Membrane proteins: integral and
peripheral
• Peripheral protein:
– No interaction with
hydrophobic core
– Do not require the use of
detergents
– Bound to hydrophilic
regions
– Released by using salt
solutions of high ionic
strength
Fluid Mosaic Model
Fluid Mosaic Model
• Cholesterol:
– Modifies fluidity of
membranes
– At Higher temp., it limits
fluidity of membrane
– At lower temp., it
interferes with
hydrocarbon tails of FA
increasing its fluidity
 Importance of Fluidity

• As membrane fluidity increases so does its

permeability to water and other small
hydrophilic molecules
Plasma Membrane: Specialized
features
• Lipid rafts
– Involved in signal transduction
• Caveolae
– May derive from lipid rafts
– Many contain caveolin-1
• Tight junctions
Plasma Membrane: Specialized
features
• Lipid rafts
– Specialized exoplasmic
areas of lipid bilayer rich
with cholesterol,
sphigolipids and proteins
– many think they serve as
communication hubs by
recruiting proteins that
need to come together
in order to transmit a
signal
Plasma Membrane: Specialized
features
• Caveolae
– are invaginations of the
plasma membrane
enriched in cholesterol
– Caveolin-1 acts as a
scaffolding protein to
concentrate and
functionally regulate
signaling molecules
Plasma Membrane: Specialized
features
• Tight junctions
– Prevents diffusion of
macromolecules
between cells
MEMBRANE FUNCTIONS
 Membrane functions
• Simple diffusion
• Facilitated diffusion
• Active transport
 Simple diffusion
• Passive flow of solute
from higher to lower
concentration
• Limited by:
– Thermal agitation
– Concentration gradient
across the membrane
– Solubility of solute in the
hydrophobic core of
bilayer
Simple diffusion
• Factors affecting net
diffusion:
– Concentration gradient
– Electrical potential
– Permeability coefficient
– Hydrostatic pressure
gradient across
membrane
– temperature
 Facilitated diffusion
Transporters Ion channels
• Bind solute and undergo • Form pores in membranes
conformational changes,
transferring the solute
across the membrane
• Involved only in passive
• Involved in passive transport
(facilitated diffusion) and
active transport
• Transport is significantly • Transport is significantly
slower than via ion channels faster than via transporters
 Facilitated diffusion
• Types of transporters:
– Uniport – moves 1 type of molecule bidirectionally
– Cotransport:
• Symport - moves 2 solutes in the same direction
• Antiport – moves 2 molecules in the opposite direction
Facilitated
diffusion:
“PING-PONG” MECHANISM:
In the PING state – exposure
to high solute concentration --
-→ bind to carrier protein --→
conformational change ---→
exposes carrier to lower
concentration (the PONG
state)
FACTORS THAT AFFECT RATE:
1. Concentration gradient
2. Amount of carrier
available
3. Affinity of solute-carrier
interaction
4. Rapidity of conformational
change
 Facilitated diffusion
• Ion channels
– Pore-like structures composed of proteins
– Permeability depends on size and extent of
hydration and charge density on the ion
– Highly selective
 Facilitated diffusion
• Ion channels
– Ligand-gated channels:
• molecule binds to
receptor and opens the
channel
– Voltage-gated channels:
• Opens due to changes in
membrane potential
– Mechanically-gated:
• Respond to mechanical
stimuli like pressure or
touch
 Active transport
• Molecules are transported against a
concentration gradient
• Requires ATP from hydrolysis, electron
movement or light
 Active Transport
TYPE EXAMPLE with Subcellular
Location
P-type Ca2+ ATPase (SR);
Na+-K+ - ATPase (PM)
F-type Mt ATP synthase of oxidative
phosphorylation
V-type The ATPase that pumps protons
into lysosomes and synaptic
clefts
ABC Transporter CFTR protein (PM);
MDR-1 Protein (PM)
Active Transport
• Na+ - K+ pump
– Maintains a low
intacellular Na conc and
a high intracellular K
conc
– Pumps Na out and K in
– 3 Na out; 2 K in making
the inside of the cell
more negative than the
outside
 GLUCOSE TRANSPORT
• Glucose must enter cells as the 1st step in
energy utilization
• Adipocytes and skeletal muscle
– Enters by specific transport system enhanced by
insulin
• Small intestine
– Binds with Na+ symporter at the apical surface
 GLUCOSE TRANSPORT
• Na+ -- Glucose symport
in apical surface of
intestine
– Na+ moves down the
electrochemical gradient
and drags glucose with it
– A uniport allows glucose
that accumulates in the
cell to move across the
basolateral membrane
into the ECF
 Endocytosis and Exocytosis
• Process which cells take • Process where cells
up large molecules release macromolecules
• Regulates contents of exteriorly
membranes • Involves in membrane
• 2 general types: remodeling
– Phagocytosis
– pinocytosis
 Endocytosis

Endocytosis usually requires:

1. ENERGY – usually from hydrolysis of ATP
2. Calcium
3. Contractile elements in the cell
 endocytosis
Phagocytosis Pinocytosis
• Property of all cells; uptake
• Occurs only in specialized
of fluid and fluid contents
cells like macrophages and
– Fluid phase: nonselective
granulocytes
process
• Ingestion of large particles – Absorptive: Receptor-
mediated selective process
where there is a number of
binding site in PM
 Exocytosis
• Process of releasing macromolecules
exteriorly
• Signal of which involves a hormone that
induces a local and transient change in Ca2+
concentration
 Others
• Gap junctions: structures that permit direct
transfer of molecules from one cell to another
due to the presence of connexins
 Summary
• Membranes are complex structures made up of lipids,
proteins and carbohydrate-containing molecules
• Basic structure is a lipid bilayer
• Fluid mosaic model forms a useful basis for membrane
structure
• Various passive and active mechanisms are employed to
maintain gradients of molecules across the membrane
• Large molecules can enter or leave cells through endocytosis
or exocytosis
• Mutations that affect the structure of membrane proteins
may cause diseases
Thank you