Cell Membrane Function and Structure –

 The cell membrane (plasma membrane) is a thin semi-permeable membrane that surrounds the
cytoplasm of a cell. Its function is to protect the integrity of the interior of the cell by allowing certain
substances into the cell, while keeping other substances out.
 It also serves as a base of attachment for the cytoskeleton in some organisms and the cell wall in
others. Thus the cell membrane also serves to help support the cell and help maintain its shape.
 Another function of the membrane is to regulate cell growth through the balance of endocytosis
and exocytosis.
o In endocytosis, lipids and proteins are removed from the cell membrane as substances are
internalized.
o In exocytosis, vesicles containing lipids and proteins fuse with the cell membrane increasing cell
size.
o Animal cells, plant cells, prokaryotic cells, and fungal cells have plasma membranes. Internal
organelles are also encased by membranes.

Cell Membrane Structure

Outer layer

Inner layer

The cell membrane is primarily composed of a mix of proteins and lipids.

Depending on the membrane’s location and role in the body, lipids can make up anywhere from 20 to 80 percent of the
membrane, with the remainder being proteins.

 lipids help to give membranes their flexibility

 proteins monitor and maintain the cell's chemical climate and assist in the transfer of molecules across the
membrane.

Cell Membrane Lipids

Phospholipids are a major component of cell membranes.
Phospholipids form a lipid bilayer:

 in which their hydrophilic (attracted to water) head areas spontaneously arrange to face the aqueous cytosol
and the extracellular fluid,
 while their hydrophobic (repelled by water) tail areas face away from the cytosol and extracellular fluid.
 The lipid bilayer is semi-permeable, allowing only certain molecules to diffuse across the membrane.

Cholesterol is another lipid component of animal cell membranes.

 Cholesterol molecules are selectively dispersed between membrane phospholipids. This

helps to keep cell membranes from becoming stiff by preventing phospholipids from being too closely packed
together.
 Cholesterol is not found in the membranes of plant cells.

Glycolipids are located on cell membrane surfaces and have a carbohydrate sugar chain attached to them. They help the
cell to recognize other cells of the body.
Cell Membrane Proteins

The cell membrane contains two types of associated proteins. Peripheral membrane proteins are exterior to
and connected to the membrane by interactions with other proteins.
Integral membrane proteins are inserted into the membrane and most pass through the membrane. Portions
of these transmembrane proteins are exposed on both sides of the membrane.
Cell membrane proteins have a number of different functions:
 Structural proteins help to give the cell support and shape.
 Cell membrane receptor proteins help cells communicate with their external environment through the
use of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other signaling molecules.
 Transport proteins, such as globular proteins, transport molecules across cell membranes through
facilitated diffusion.
 Glycoproteins have a carbohydrate chain attached to them. They are embedded in the cell membrane
and help in cell to cell communications and molecule transport across the membrane.

Differentiate Passive Transport with Diffusion and Osmosis

Cellular transport

Passive transport

Naturally, molecules move from an area of high concentration to low concentration without the need of energy. This
type of movement is passive transport. Molecules with strong electrical charges such as ions cannot simply diffuse
across the cell membrane. Irrespective of their size, their charge prevents them from moving freely across the cell
membrane. Other molecules such as proteins, starch and sugar are simply too large to diffuse across the membrane.
Sometimes, some of these large molecules are transported across the cell membranes by carrier proteins; this does not
require energy and as a result is a form of passive transport. There are three types of passive transport;

Simple diffusion: Hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and oxygen are hydrophobic substances that can pass easily across the
cell membrane by diffusion and travel down the concentration gradient (Figure 8). This type of diffusion relies on the
thermal motion energy intrinsic to the molecule in question. It is a form of passive transport because the cell expends
no energy in moving the substances.

Diffusion of molecules across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration in order to achieve a
balanced concentration.
Osmosis: The movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane is osmosis. A cell has one of three
water relationships with the environment around it.

 In an isotonic solution there will be no net movement of water across the plasma membrane. Water crosses
the membrane, but at the same rate in both directions.
 In a hypertonic solution the cell will lose water to its surroundings. The hyper - prefix refers to more solutes
in the water around the cell, hence, the movement of water to the higher (hyper-) concentration of solutes. In
this case the cell loses water to the environment, shrinks, and may die.
 In a hypotonic solution water will enter the cell faster than it leaves. The hypo - prefix refers to fewer solutes
in the water around the cell, hence, the movement of water into the cell where the solutes are more heavily
concentrated. In this case the cell will expand and may burst, unless protected by a cell wall such as that
found in bacteria and plant cells.

Facilitated diffusion: Ions and polar molecules cannot pass easily across the membrane. The process by which
ions and hydrophilic substances travel across the cell membrane with the help of transport proteins is called
facilitated diffusion (Figure 9). Transport proteins are specific (like enzymes) for the substances they transport. They
work in one of two ways:

 They provide a hydrophilic channel through which the molecules in question can pass.
 They bind loosely to the molecules in question and carry them through the membrane.

Active transport
Active transport uses energy to move solutes against their gradients. Substances are moved against their concentration
gradient – that is, from the side where they are less concentrated to the side where they are more concentrated. This
type of transport requires energy, usually in the form of ATP. A common example of active transport is the sodium-
potassium pump (Figure 10). This transmembrane protein pumps sodium out of the cell and potassium into the cell. The
sodium-potassium pump is necessary for proper nerve transmission and is a major energy consumer in the body. The
inside of the cell is negatively charged compared with outside of the cell. The difference in electric charge across a
membrane is expressed in voltage and termed the membrane potential. Because the inside of the cell in negatively
charged, a positively charged ion on the outside, like sodium, is attracted to the negative charges inside the cell. Thus,
two forces drive the diffusion of ions across a membrane:

A chemical force, which is the ion’s concentration gradient, and

A voltage gradient across the membrane, which attracts positively charged ions and repels negatively charged ions
This combination of forces acting on an ion form an electrochemical gradient.
Sodium-potassium pump. ATP plus three intracellular Na+ ions bind to the pump. ATP is hydrolised causing phosphorylation of the pump which
results in a conformational change that releases ADP into the intracellular space and the Na+ ions to the extracellular space. The pump can now
bind two extracellular K+ ions causing the pump to dephosphorylate and therefore return to it's original conformational state, releasing the K+ ions
into the intracellular space.

Endocytosis and Exocytosis:

In endocytosis, molecules that are too large to be transported by other means are engulfed by an invagination of the cell
membrane and carried into the cell surrounded by a vesicle. Exocytosis is the reverse of endocytosis.

Three forms of endocytosis:

 Pinocytosis is a form of endocytosis in which the cell engulfs liquids.
 Phagocytosis is a form of endocytosis in which the cell takes in larger particles, such as a white blood cell
engulfing a bacterium.
 Receptor-mediated endocytosis allows the cell to take in very specific molecules (ligands) that pair up with
specific receptors on the cell surface.

Tonicity, Hypertonic, Hypotonic, Isotonic

Tonicity is a measure of the relative concentration of solute particles on either side of a semi-permeable membrane (e.g.
inside a cell versus outside the cell). Only solutes that cannot cross the membrane contribute to tonicity. It determines
the direction and extent to which water moves by osmosis. The higher the tonicity the greater the difference in the
concentration of solutes (dissolved substances) and therefore the concentration of water.

A hypertonic solution will have higher concentration of dissolved solutes than the solution inside the cell. Therefore a
hypertonic solution has a lower concentration of water than the solution within the cell. As a result a hypotonic solution
will force water out the cell (there is a net movement of water out the cell).

A hypotonic solution will have a lower concentration of dissolved solutes than the solution inside the cell. Therefore a
hypotonic solution has a higher concentration of water than the solution within the cell. As a result a hypotonic solution
will force water into the cell (there is a net movement of water into the cell).
An isotonic solution will have an equal concentration of solutes to the solution inside the cell. Therefore an isotonic
solution has an equal concentration of water to the solution within the cell. As a result, water moves in and out of the
cell at an equal rate. There is no net movement of water