Chapter 3 – Cells (pg.

65-88) Notes

Cell - is normally made up of four primary elements – oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and
nitrogen – plus much smaller amounts of several other elements.
- Although the 4 major elements build most of the cell’s structure (which is
largely protein), the trace elements are very important for certain cell
functions. For example, calcium is needed for blood clotting (among other
things), and iron is necessary to make hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in
the blood. Iodine is required to make the thyroid hormone that controls
metabolism. In their ionic form, many of the metals (such as calcium,
sodium, and potassium) can carry an electrical charge; when they do they
are called electrolytes.
- Living cells made up of at least 60% of water. All body cells are constantly
bathed in a dilute saltwater solution (something like seawater) called
interstitial fluid, which is derived from the blood.

Anatomy of a Generalized Cell

Although no one cell type is exactly like all the others, cells do have the same basic parts,
and there are certain functions common to all cells.

Cells are organized into three main regions

 Nucleus
 Cytoplasm
 Plasma membrane

a) Orientation diagram: The 3 main regions of the generalized cell.

b) Structure of the nucleus.

The nucleus is usually located near the center of the cell. It is surrounded by the semifluid
cytoplasm, which in turn is enclosed by the plasma membrane, which forms the outer cell
boundary.

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Structure of the Generalized Cell. No cell is exactly like this one, but this generalized cell drawing illustrates features common to many
human cells.

The Nucleus – the “control center” or “headquarters” of a cell. Contains genetic material or
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
DNA - is much like a blueprint that contains all the instructions
needed for building the whole body.
 Have instructions for building proteins.
 Absolutely necessary for cell reproduction.

- Usually shapes like how the cell shapes.

- Has three recognizable regions or structures

Nuclear Envelope
o A double membrane barrier called nuclear envelope or nuclear membrane
binds the nucleus.
o Between the two membranes is a fluid-filled “moat”, or space.
o Contain nuclear pores that allow for exchange of material with the rest of
the cell.
o Selectively permeable, but substances pass through it much more freely
because of its large pores.
o Encloses a jellylike fluid called nucleoplasm in which other nuclear
elements are suspended.

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 Nucleoli
o Nucleus contains one or more nucleoli.
o Sites of ribosome production.
o Ribosomes then migrate to the cytoplasm through nuclear pores, which
serve as the actual site of protein synthesis.

Chromatin
o Composed of DNA and protein that is scattered throughout the nucleus.
o Chromatin condenses to form chromosomes (structure that contains DNA
and proteins) when the cell divides.

Plasma Membrane
 Is a fragile, transparent barrier that contains the cell contents and separates them
from the surrounding environment (normally called cell membrane).
 Consists of 2 lipid (fat) layers arranged “tail to tail” in which protein molecules float.
 Most of lipid portion is phospholipids (some with attached sugar groups), but a
substantial amount of cholesterol is also found.
 Hydrophilic heads (“water loving”) are phospholipid molecules and are attracted to
water, the main component of both the intercellular and extracellular fluids, and so
they lie on both the inner and outer surfaces of the membrane.
 Hydrophobic tails (“water hating”) avoid water, and line up in the center of the
membrane.
 The phospholipids allow biological membranes to reseal themselves when torn.
 The hydrophobic makeup of membrane interior makes the plasma membrane
impermeable to most water-soluble molecules. The cholesterol helps keep the
membrane fluid.

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 Structure of the Plasma Membrane

Proteins
- Scattered in the lipid bilayer
- Responsible for most of the specialized functions of the membrane
- Some are enzymes
- Many of them protruding from the cell exterior are receptors for hormones or other
chemical messengers or are binding sites for anchoring the cell to fibers or to other
structures inside or outside the cell.
- Most that span the membranes are involved in transport functions.
- Some cluster together to form protein channels (tiny pores) through which water
and small water-soluble molecules or ions can move;
- Others act as carriers that bind to a substance and move it through the membrane
- Branching sugar groups are attached to most of the proteins abutting the
extracellular space.
- Such “sugar proteins” are called glycoprotein and because of their presence, the cell
surface is a fuzzy, sticky, sugar-rich area called glycocalyx.
- Glycoproteins determine your blood type, act as receptors that certain bacteria,
viruses, or toxins can bind to, and play a role in cell-to-cell interactions.

Plasma Membrane Specialization

Microvilli – finger-like projections that greatly increase the cell’s surface area for
absorption so that the process occurs more quickly.
Membrane Junctions – vary depending on their roles.
o Tight Junctions – impermeable junctions that bind cells together
into leakproof sheets that prevent substances from passing
through the extracellular space between cells.

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 o Desmosomes – anchoring junctions that prevent cells subjected to
mechanical stress (such as skin cells) from being pulled apart.
o Gap Junctions – commonly seen in the heart and between
embryonic cells. Functions manly to allow communication.
Neighboring cells are connected by connexons, which are hollow
cylinders composed of proteins that span the entire width of the
membranes.

Cytoplasm
 Material outside the nucleus and inside the plasma membrane
 It is the site of most cellular activities. The “factory area” of the cell.
 Has three major elements: cytosol, organelles and inclusions.

Cytosol – is a semitransparent fluid that suspends the other elements.

Organelles – is the metabolic machinery of the cell. Each type is specialized to carry out
a specific function for the cell as a whole.
Inclusions – nonfunctioning unit. Most are stored nutrients or cell products.

Cytoplasmic Organelles
 “Little organs” that specialized cellular compartments, each performing its own
job to maintain the life of the cell.
 Many are bounded by a membrane similar to the plasma membrane
 Membrane boundaries of such organelles allow them to maintain an internal
environment quite different from that of the surrounding cytosol.
 Compartmentalization is crucial to their ability to perform their specialized
functions for the cell.

Mitochondria
 “Powerhouses” of the cell
 Change shape continuously
 Carry out reactions where oxygen is used to break down food
 Provides ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) for cellular energy
 “Tiny threadlike” or “sausage-shaped” organelles

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  Mitochondrial wall consists of a double membrane, equal to two plasma membranes,
placed side by side
 Outer membrane is smooth and featureless but inner membrane has shelf like
protrusions called cristae.
 Enzymes dissolved in the fluid within the mitochondria, as well as enzymes that
form part of the cristae membranes; carry out the reactions in which oxygen is used
to break down foods.

Ribosome
 Made of protein and RNA (ribonucleic acid)
 Sites of protein synthesis
 Found at two locations: Free in the cytoplasm and attached to rough endoplasmic
reticulum.
o Endoplasmic Reticulum – a network within the cytoplasm
- Fluid-filled tubules for carrying substances
- Accounts for about half of a cell’s membranes.
- Serves as a mini-circulatory system for the cell
because it provides a network channels for
carrying substances (mostly proteins) from one
part of cell to another.
- Two types of ER
 Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
o Studded with ribosomes
o Site where building materials of
cellular membrane are formed
 Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
o Functions in cholesterol synthesis
and breakdown, fat metabolism,
and detoxification of drugs

The Golgi apparatus

 Appears as a stack of flattened membranous sacs, associated with swarms of tiny
vesicles.
 Generally found close to the nucleus
 The principal “traffic director” for cellular proteins
 Major function is to modify and package proteins (sent to it by the rough ER via
transport vesicles) in specific ways, depending on their final destination.
 Produces different types of packages
 Secretory vesicles - Vesicle contains proteins destined for
extracellular release
 Cell membrane components
 Lysosomes - cube shaped organelles that contain enzymes (acid
hydrolases) that break up waste materials and cellular debris. It
functions as the cell’s demolition sites. They are specially

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 abundant in phagocytes, the cells that dispose of bacteria and cell
debris.

Peroxisomes
 Membranous sacs of oxidase enzymes that use molecular oxygen
 Detoxify harmful substances (including alcohol and formaldehyde)
 Break down free radicals
(highly reactive chemicals with unpaired electrons that can
scramble the structure of proteins and nucleic acids)
 Replicate by pinching in half
 Specially numerous in liver and kidney cells, which are very active in detoxification

Cytoskeleton
 Network of protein structures that extend throughout the cytoplasm
 Provides the cell with an internal framework by acting as the cell’s “bone and muscles”.
 Made up of microtubules, intermediate filaments, and microfilaments
 Intermediate filaments – help form desmosomes and provide
internal guy wires to resist pulling forces on the cell.
 Microfilaments – are most involved in cell motility and in
producing changes in cell shape.
 Microtubules – determine the overall shape of a cell and the
distribution of organelles.

The cytoskeleton. A) In this micrograph of the cytoskeleton of a nerve cell, the microtubules appear green; the microfilaments are blue.
Intermediate filaments form most of the rest of the network. (b-d) Diagrammatic views of cytoskeletal elements.

Centrioles
 Lie close to the nucleus
 Rod-shaped bodies (lie at right angles to each other) made of microtubules
 Direct formation of mitotic spindle during cell division
 Some cells have projections called cilia (“eyelashes”), whiplike cellular extensions that
move substances along the cell surface.

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 When a cell is about to make cilia, its centrioles multiply and then line up beneath the
plasma membrane at the free cell surface. Microtubules then begin to “sprout” from the
centrioles and put pressure on the membrane, forming the projections. If the
projections formed by the centrioles are substantially longer, they are called flagella
(propels the cell).

Cell Diversity
1. Cells that connects body parts:
 Fibroblast. The elongated shape of this cell lies along the cable-like
fibers that it secretes. It has an abundant rough ER and a large
Golgi apparatus to make and secrete the protein building blocks of
these fibers.
 Erythrocyte (red blood cells). This cell carries oxygen in the
bloodstream. Its concave disk shape provides extra surface area
for the uptake of oxygen and streamlines the cell so it flows easily
through the bloodstream. So much oxygen-carrying pigment is
packed in erythrocytes that all other organelles have been shed to
make room.

2. Cell that covers and lines body organs:

 Epithelial cell. The hexagonal shape of this cell is exactly like a
“cell” in honeycomb of a beehive. This shape allows epithelial cells
to pack together in sheets. An epithelial cell has abundant
intermediate filaments that resist tearing when the epithelium is
rubbed or pulled.

3. Cells that move organs and body parts:

 Skeletal muscle and smooth muscle cells. These cells are elongated
and filled with abundant contractile filaments, so they can shorten

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 forcefully and move the bones or change the size of internal
organs.

4. Cell that stores nutrients:

 Fat cell. The huge spherical shape of a fat cell is produced by a
large lipid droplet in its cytoplasm.

5. Cell that fights disease:

 Macrophage (a phagocytic cell). This cell extends long pseudopods
(“false feet”) to crawl through tissue to reach infection sites. The
many lysosomes within the cell digest the infectious
microorganisms it takes up.

6. Cell that gathers information and controls body functions:

 Nerve cell (neuron). This cell has long processes for receiving
messages and transmitting them to other structures in the body.
The processes are covered with an extensive plasma membrane,
and a plentiful rough ER is present to synthesize membrane
components.

7. Cells of reproduction:
 Oocyte (female). The largest cell in the body, this egg cell contains
several copies of all organelles, for distribution to the daughter
cells that arise when the fertilized egg divides to become an
embryo.
 Sperm (male). This cell is long and streamlined, built for swimming
to the egg for fertilization. Its flagellum acts as a motile whip to
propel the sperm.

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Cell Physiology
 Each of the cell’s internal parts is designed to perform a specific function for the cell.
 Each cell has the ability to metabolize (use nutrients to build new cell material,
break down substances, and make ATP), digest food, dispose of wastes, reproduce,
grow, move, and respond to a stimulus (irritability).

Membrane Transport
 Movement of substance into and out of the cell
 A solution is a homogenous mixture of two or more components (e.g. air we breath
which is a mixture of gases, seawater which is a mixture of water and salts).
 A solvent is the substance present in the largest amount in a solution. (Water is the
body’s chief solvent)
 Solutes are the components or substances present in smaller amounts
 Intracellular fluid is a solution containing small amounts of gases (oxygen and
carbon dioxide), nutrients, and salts, dissolved in water. So too is interstitial fluid,
the fluid that continuously bathes the exterior of our cells.
 The plasma membrane allows some materials to pass while excluding others
 This permeability includes movement into and out of the cell
 Transport is by two basic methods:
o Passive transport
 No energy is required
 Diffusion is an important means of passive membrane transport for
every cell of the body. It is the process by which molecules (and ions)
move away from a region where they are more concentrated (more
numerous) to a region where they are less concentrated (less
numerous). Particles tend to distribute themselves evenly through a
solution. Speed of diffusion is affected by the size of the molecules
(the smaller the faster) and temperature (the warmer the faster).

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  Simple Diffusion:
 Unassisted process
 Solutes are lipid-soluble
(fats, fat-soluble vitamins,
oxygen, carbon dioxide)
materials or small enough
to pass through membrane
pores
 Osmosis - simple diffusion of water
 Highly polar water easily
crosses the plasma
membrane and it is repelled
by the (nonpolar) lipid core.
 Osmosis into and out of
cells is occurring all the
time as water moves down
its concentration gradient
 Facilitated Diffusion
 Substances require a
protein carrier for passive
transport (requires kinetic
energy)
 Provides passage for
certain needed substances
(notably glucose) that are
both lipid-insoluble and too
large to pass through the
membrane pores

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  Filtration generally occurs only across capillary walls. It is the process
by which water and solutes are forced through a membrane by fluid,
or hydrostatic pressure. The blood usually exerts hydrostatic pressure.
 A pressure gradient must exist
 Solute-containing fluid is pushed
from a high pressure area to a
lower pressure area
o Active transport
 The cell must provide metabolic energy
 Transport substances that are unable to pass by diffusion: They may
be too large, they may not be able to dissolve in the fat core of the
membrane or they may have to move against a concentration gradient
 Two common forms of active transport:
 Solute pumping – similar to the carrier-
mediated facilitated diffusion
 Amino acids, some sugars
and ions are transported by
solute pumps
 ATP energizes protein
carriers, and in most cases,
moves substances against
concentration gradients
 The sodium-potassium
pump that simultaneously
carries sodium ion out of
and potassium ions into the
cell is absolutely necessary
for normal transmission of
impulses by nerve cells.

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Operation of the sodium-potassium pump, a solute pump. ATP provides the energy for a “pump” protein to move three sodium ions
out of the cell and two potassium ions into the cell. Both ions are moved against their concentration gradients.

 Vesicular Transport
 Some substances can’t get
through the plasma
membrane by passive or by
active transport.
 It involves help from ATP,
moves into or out of cells
without their actually
crossing the plasma
membrane.
 Exocytosis
 Moves materials out of the
cell
 Material is carried in a
membranous vesicle
 Vesicle migrates to plasma
membrane
 Vesicle combines with
plasma membrane
 Material is emptied to the
outside

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 Exocytosis. (a) A secretory vesicle migrates to the plasma membrane, and the two membranes fuse. The fused site opens and releases
the contents to the outside of the cell.

 Endocytosis
 Extracellular substances
are engulfed by being
enclosed in a membranous
vesicle
 Types of endocytosis:
 Phagocytosis – cell eating. A
protective mechanism as it
acts as scavenger cells that
police and protects the
body by ingesting bacteria
and other foreign debris.
 Pinocytosis – cell drinking.
It ‘gulps’ droplets of
extracellular fluid. It is a
routine activity of most
cells.

Cell Life Cycle – the series of changes of a cell goes through from the time it is formed until
it divides. Has two major periods:
 Interphase
o Cell grows
o Cell carries on metabolic processes
 Cell division
o Cell replicates itself
o Function is to produce more cells for growth and repair processes

DNA Replication
 Genetic material duplicated and readies a cell for division into two cells

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 Occurs toward the end of interphase
 DNA uncoils (nucleotide chains) and each side serves as a template
 The upright parts of the DNA “ladder” are alternating phosphate and sugar units, and
the runs of the ladder are made f pairs of nitrogen-containing bases

Replication of the DNA molecule during interphase. The DNA helix unwinds (center), and its nucleotide strands are separated. Each
strand then acts as a template for building a new complementary strand. As a result, two helixes, each identical to the original DNA helix,
are formed.

Events of Cell Division

Mitosis
 Division of the nucleus
 Results in the formation of two daughter nuclei with the exact same genes as the
mother nuclei.
 Stages of mitosis:
o Interphase
 No cell division occurs

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  The cell carries out normal metabolic activity and growth
o Prophase
 First part of cell division
 Chromatin threads coil and shortens so that chromosomes
appear
 Because DNA has already been replicated, each chromosome is
actually made up of two strands called chromatid, held
together by a small buttonlike body called centromere.
 Centrioles separate from each other and begin to move toward
opposite side of the cell, directing the assembly of a mitotic
spindle between them as they move.
 Centromeres migrate to the poles
o Metaphase
 Spindle from centromeres are attached to chromosomes that
are aligned in the center of the cell
o Anaphase
 The centromeres that have held the chromatids together split.
 Daughter chromosomes are pulled toward the poles
 The cell begins to elongate
o Telophase
 Daughter nuclei begin forming
 A cleavage furrow (for cell division) begins to form

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Cytokinesis
 Division of the cytoplasm
 Usually begins during late anaphase and completes during telophase.
 Contractile ring made of microfilaments forms a cleavage furrow over the midline of
the spindle, and it eventually squeezes or pinches the original cytoplasmic mass into
two parts (two daughter cells).

Protein Synthesis
 Gene – DNA segment that carries a blueprint for building one protein
 Proteins have many functions
o Building materials for cells
o Act as enzymes (biological catalysts)
 RNA is essential for protein synthesis

Role of RNA
 Transfer RNA (tRNA)
o Transfers appropriate amino acids to the ribosome for building the protein
 Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
o Helps form the ribosomes where proteins are built
 Messenger RNA
o Carries the instructions for building a protein from the nucleus to the ribosome

Transcription - Transfer of information from DNA’s base sequence to the complimentary

base sequence of mRNA

Translation
 Base sequence of nucleic acid is translated to an amino acid sequence
 Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins

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 Protein Synthesis. (1)Transcription. (2-5) Translation.

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