Cell: Morphology

Organelles: Their structure

and functions
Human Physiology I (24PTH-102)
Tutor Name: Sohini Basu
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiotherapy (UIAHS)
Chandigarh University
 2024

Human
Physiology

Human Physiology
In human physiology, we attempt to explain the
specific characteristics and mechanisms of the
human body that make it a living being.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 2
 2024

Human
Physiology

The goal of physiology is

 to explain the physical and chemical factors that are
responsible for the origin, development, and
progression of life.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 3
 2024

Human
Physiology

Vast field of physiology can be divided into

Viral physiology, Bacterial physiology,
Cellular physiology, Plant physiology,
11 Aug 2024
Human physiology
Pro VC-Academic Affairs 4
 2024

Human
Physiology-1

Unit-1
• Cell and Body Fluids
• Blood
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 5
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 6
 2024

Cell

* Cell is the smallest structural and functional unit of the body.

* Cells are dynamic structures existing in fluid environment.

* A typical cell, as seen by the light microscope, consists of three

basic components:
1. Cell membrane
2. Cytoplasm
3. Nucleus
 Robert Hooke - Discovered Cell
Galen – Father of Physiology

Claude Bernard –
Father of Modern Physiology
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 8
 2024

Cell

* Cell membrane or the plasma membrane is the protective

sheath enveloping the cell body.

* Separates the contents of the cell from the external

environment and controls exchange of materials between the
fluid outside the cell (extracellular fluid) and the fluid inside the
cell (intracellular fluid).
 2024

Cell

* Cytoplasm is an aqueous substance (cytosol) containing a

variety of cell organelles and other structures.

* In eukaryotic cells, the nucleus and cytoplasm together form

the protoplasm.

* The structures dispersed in the cytoplasm can be broadly

divided into three groups: organelles, inclusion bodies and
cytoskeleton.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 11
 2024

Nucleus

• Structure
* Nucleus is an organelle that contains the cellular DNA and
is the site of transcription
* Organelles that emanate from the nucleus, including the
Endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus
* Nucleus consists of an outer nuclear membrane enclosing
nucleoplasm and nucleoli.
* Most of the cells are uninucleated, nucleus is spherical and
situated in the centre of the cell
 2024

Nucleus
*Nuclear membrane is a double-layered porous structure continuous
with the lumen of ER. Exchange of materials between nucleoplasm and
cytoplasm occurs through the nuclear membrane.
*Nucleoplasm or the nuclear matrix is a gel-like ground substance
containing large quantity of genetic material in the form of DNA. When
a cell is not dividing, the nucleoplasm appears as a dark staining
thread-like material called nuclear chromatin.
*Nucleolus: Rounded bodies one or more in number. Site of synthesis of
ribosomal RNA. More common in growing cells or in cells actively
synthesizing proteins.
 2024

Nucleus
• Functions
* Site of transcription
* Controls all the cellular activities, including reproduction of
the cell
* Control of cell division through formation of chromatin and
ultimately chromosome
* Synthesis of ribosomal RNA
* Protein synthesis
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 15
 2024

Plant Cell
Organelles
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 17
 2024

Mitochondria

* Mitochondria are the major sites for aerobic respiration

* Oval structures about 5–12 µm in length and 0.5–1 µm in

diameter, and more numerous in metabolically active cells

*“Powerhouse” of the cell

*Present in all areas of each cell’s cytoplasm

 2024

Mitochondria

*Mitochondria are concentrated in those portions of the cell that

are responsible for the major share of its energy metabolism

*Variable in size and shape.

*Some are only a few hundred nanometers in diameter and

globular in shape, whereas others are elongated—as large as 1
micrometer in diameter and 7 micrometers long; still others are
branching and filamentous.
 2024

Mitochondria
* The mitochondria consist of:
* Membranes. Two layers : outer smooth and inner folded into incomplete septa
called cristae.
* Inner membrane contains lollipop-shaped globular structures present between
the layers of membrane. Many infoldings of the inner membrane form shelves onto
which oxidative enzymes are attached.
* Inner cavity of the mitochondrion is filled with a matrix that contains large
quantities of dissolved enzymes that are necessary for extracting energy from
nutrients.
* Enzymes operate in association with the oxidative enzymes on the shelves to
cause oxidation of the nutrients, thereby forming carbon dioxide and water and at
the same time releasing energy. The liberated energy is used to synthesize a “high-
energy” substance called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
* ATP is then transported out of the mitochondrion, and it diffuses throughout the
cell to release its own energy wherever it is needed for performing cellular
functions.
 2024

Mitochondria

* Matrix of the mitochondria contains enzymes required in

Krebs cycle by which products of carbohydrate, fat and protein
metabolism are oxidized to produce energy, which is stored in
the form of ATP in the lollipop-like globular structures.

* Enzyme complexes responsible for oxidative

phosphorylation illustrate the interactions between the
products of the mitochondrial genome and the nuclear genome.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 22
 2024

Mitochondria

* The enzyme complexes responsible for oxidative phosphorylation

include:
Complex I—reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase
(NADH)
Complex II—succinate dehydrogenase ubiquinone oxidoreductase
Complex III—ubiquinone-cytochrome C oxidoreductase
Complex IV—cytochrome C oxidase
* The complexes I, III and IV pump protons (H+) into
intermembranous spaces during electron transfer, and complex II along
with complexes III and IV acts with complex I, coenzyme Q and
cytochrome c and convert metabolites to carbon dioxide and water.
 2024

Mitochondria

• Functions
* Mitochondria may have a role in synthesizing membrane-bound
proteins, since they also possess DNA and ribosomes.
* Mitochondria have their own genome; however, the DNA of
mitochondrial genome is much less than the nuclear genome.
* Mitochondrial DNA encodes 13 protein subunits which are
associated with proteins and are coded by nuclear genes to form
enzyme complexes and ribosomal transfer RNA (needed by
intramitrochondrial ribosomes for protein synthesis).
 2024

Mitochondria

• Functions
* Mitochondria also have a role in apoptosis (programmed
cell death).
* As zygote mitochondria are derived from the ovum, their
inheritance is maternal. This maternal inheritance has been
used as a tool to track evolutionary descent.
* Mitochondria are self-replicative, which means that one
mitochondrion can form a second one, a third one, and so on,
whenever there is a need in the cell for increased amounts of
ATP.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 26
 2024

Endoplasmic
Reticulum
* Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a system of flattened,
membrane-bound vesicles and tubules called cisternae.
* It is continuous with the outer membrane of the nuclear
envelop, Golgi apparatus and possibly with the cell membrane.
* Morphologically, two types of endoplasmic reticulum can be
identified: rough or granular and smooth or agranular.
 2024

Endoplasmic
Reticulum
Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
* Attached to the outer surfaces of many parts of the ER are large
numbers of minute granular particles called ribosomes. Where these are
present, the reticulum is called the granular endoplasmic reticulum.
* Ribosomes are composed of a mixture of RNA and proteins, and they
function to synthesize new protein molecules in the cell.
* Rough ER is especially well developed in cells active in protein
synthesis, e.g. Russell’s bodies of plasma cells, Nissl granules of nerve cells
and acinar cells of pancreas.
 2024

Endoplasmic
Reticulum
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
* Part of the ER has no attached ribosomes. This part is called the
agranular, or smooth ER.
* Agranular reticulum functions for the synthesis of lipid substances and
for other processes of the cells promoted by intrareticular enzymes.
* Smooth ER is a site of lipid and steroid synthesis.
* Found in abundance with Leydig cells and cells of the adrenal cortex.
* In the skeletal and cardiac muscles, smooth ER is modified to form
sarcoplasmic reticulum, which is involved in the release and sequestration
of calcium ions during muscular contraction.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 30
 2024

Golgi Apparatus

* Golgi apparatus or complex is a collection of membranous

vesicles, sacs or tubules, which is generally located close to the
nucleus.
* Usually about six sacs in each apparatus, but there may be
more.
* Continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum.
* Particularly well developed in exocrine glandular cells.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 32
 2024

Golgi Apparatus

* Golgi apparatus is a polarized structure, with cis and trans sides.

* Membranous vesicles containing newly synthesized proteins bud off from the
granular endoplasmic reticulum and fuse with the cistern on the cis side of the
apparatus.
* Proteins are then passed via other vesicles to the middle cisterns and finally to
the cistern on the trans side, from which vesicles branch off into the cytoplasm.
* From the trans Golgi, vesicles shuttle to the lysosomes and to the cell exterior
involving exocytosis.
* Conversely, vesicles are pinched off from the cell membrane by endocytosis and
pass to endosomes. From there, they are recycled.
 2024

Golgi Apparatus

• Functions
* Golgi apparatus is prominent in secretory cells, where it is located on
the side of the cell from which the secretory substances are extruded.
* Golgi apparatus functions in association with ER. Small “transport
vesicles” (ER vesicles) continually pinch off from the ER and shortly
thereafter fuse with the Golgi apparatus. Substances entrapped in ER
vesicles are transported from ER to the Golgi apparatus. Transported
substances are then processed in the Golgi apparatus to form
Lysosomes, Secretory Vesicles, and other cytoplasmic components.
 2024

Golgi Apparatus

• Functions
* Much of the organization of the Golgi is directed at proper
glycosylation of proteins and lipids.

* More than 200 enzymes that function to add, remove, or

modify sugars from proteins and lipids in the Golgi apparatus.
 2024

Golgi Apparatus

 Functions
• Synthesis of carbohydrates and complex proteins.
• Packaging of proteins synthesized in the rough ER into
vesicles.
• Site of formation of lysosomal enzymes.
• Transport of the material to the other parts of cell or to cell
surface membrane and secretion.
• Glycosylation of proteins to form glycoproteins.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 37
 2024

Ribosomes

* Ribosomes are spherical particles which contain 80– 85% of the

cell’s RNA.
* May be present in the cytosol as free (unattached), or in bound
form (attached to the membrane of endoplasmic reticulum).
* Attached to the outer surfaces of many parts of the ER are large
numbers of minute granular particles called ribosomes.
* Ribosomes are composed of a mixture of RNA and proteins, and
they function to synthesize new protein molecules in the cell.
 2024

Ribosomes

* Ribosome is made up of a large and a small subunit called, on the basis

of rates of sedimentation in the ultracentrifuge, the 60S and 40S subunits.
* Ribosomes are complex structures, containing many different proteins
and at least three ribosomal RNAs.
* Ribosomes that become attached to the ER synthesize all transmembrane
proteins, most secreted proteins, and most proteins that are stored in the
Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, and endosomes.
* Free ribosomes synthesize cytoplasmic proteins such as hemoglobin and
the proteins found in peroxisomes and mitochondria.
 2024

Ribosomes

 Functions
* Site of protein synthesis.
* Synthesize all transmembrane proteins,
secreted proteins and most proteins that are
stored in Golgi apparatus, Lysosomes and
Endosomes.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 41
 2024

Lysosomes

* Lysosomes, are vesicular organelles that form by breaking

off from the Golgi apparatus and then dispersing throughout
the cytoplasm.
* Lysosomes provide an intracellular digestive system that
allows the cell to digest
(1) damaged cellular structures,
(2) food particles that have been ingested by the cell, and
(3) unwanted matter such as bacteria.
 2024

Lysosomes

* Lysosome is quite different in different cell types.

* Surrounded by a typical lipid bilayer membrane and is filled with large numbers of
small granules, which are protein aggregates of as many as 40 different hydrolase
(digestive) enzymes.
* These enzymes are all acid hydrolases, in that they function best at the acidic pH of
the lysosomal compartment. This can be a safety feature for the cell; if the lysosome
were to break open and release its contents, the enzymes would not be efficient at the
near neutral cytosolic pH (7.2), and thus would be unable to digest cytosolic enzymes
they may encounter.
 2024

Lysosomes

• Lysosomes are particularly abundant in the cells involved in

phagocytic activity, e.g. neutrophils and macrophages.
• There are three forms of lysosomes:
1. Primary lysosomes or storage vacuoles are formed from the
various hydrolytic enzymes synthesized by rough ER and packaged
in the Golgi apparatus.
2. Secondary lysosomes or autophagic vacuoles are formed by
fusion of primary lysosomes with parts of damaged or worn-out cell
components.
3. Residual bodies are undigestible materials in the lysosomes.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 45
 2024

Peroxisome

* Peroxisomes, also known as microbodies, are spherical structures enclosed by a

single layer of unit membrane.
* Predominantly present in hepatocytes and tubular epithelial cells.
* Physically similar to Lysosomes but differences are
• Formed by self-replication (or perhaps by budding off from the smooth
endoplasmic reticulum) rather than from the Golgi apparatus.
• Contain oxidases rather than hydrolases.
* Peroxisomes are are surrounded by a membrane, and contain enzymes that can
either produce H2O2 (oxidases) or break it down (catalases).
* Proteins are directed to the peroxisome by a unique signal sequence with the help
of protein chaperones, peroxins.
 2024

Peroxisome

* Peroxisome membrane contains a number of peroxisome-specific

proteins that are concerned with transport of substances into and out of
the matrix of the peroxisome.
* Matrix contains more than 40 enzymes, which operate in concert with
enzymes outside the peroxisome to catalyze a variety of anabolic and
catabolic reactions (eg, breakdown of lipids).
* Peroxisomes can form by budding of ER, or by division.
* Number of synthetic compounds were found to cause proliferation of
peroxisomes by acting on receptors in the nuclei of cells.
 2024

Peroxisome

 Functions
They essentially contain two types of enzymes:
• Oxidases which are active in oxidation of lipid, and
• Catalases which act on hydrogen peroxide to liberate
oxygen.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 49
 2024

Centrosome

* Centrosome consists of two short cylindrical structures called centrioles

and surrounding amorphous pericentriolar material. .
* It is situated near the centre of the cell, close to the nucleus
* Centrioles are short cylinders arranged so that they are at right angles to
each other.
* Microtubules in groups of three run longitudinally in the walls of each
centriole.
* Nine of these triplets are spaced at regular intervals around the
circumference.
 2024

Centrosome

* Centrosomes are microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs) that contain

γ-tubulin. The microtubules grow out of this γ-tubulin in the
pericentriolar material.
* Centrioles are responsible for movement of chromosomes during cell
division.
* When a cell divides, the centrosomes duplicate themselves, and the
pairs move apart to the poles of the mitotic spindle, where they monitor
the steps in cell division. In multinucleate cells, a centrosome is near
each nucleus.
 Recap
2024

• Which cell organelle is known as the ‘powerhouse’ of the cell?

• What is the cellular energy currency?
• Name the two main enzymes of peroxisome.
• Which cell organelle is involved in phagocytosis?
• Name the organelles involved in protein synthesis.
• Which organelle is responsible for lipid biosynthesis?
• Which organelle is known as the ‘controller’ of cell?
• Who invented cell?
• Which organelle has a maternal descent of origin?
• Name the proteins from which centrioles are formed.
11 Aug 2024 Pro VC-Academic Affairs 52