Lesson 2.

The Cell Membrane

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss the functions of the Cell Membrane

• Illustrate movement of materials in the Cell Membrane
Time Frame: 1 hour

Introduction

Welcome to Lesson 2.
In this lesson, you will learn the importance of cell membrane as a part of the
cell. Knowing how the cell membrane works would help you understand how materials
enter and move out from the cell. This lesson will discuss how the cell membrane
functions.

Activity

Diagram Analysis
Examine the diagram of the Cell Membrane below and answer the analysis
questions.

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 Analysis

What did you observe about the outer and inner layers of the cell
membrane as illustrated above?
How do integral and peripheral proteins differ in location and
function?
Based on the diagram above, explain how the cell membrane
works?

Abstraction

To understand the cell membrane and its function, you read the following:
Cell membrane
The cell membrane, also called the plasma membrane, is a thin layer that
surrounds the cytoplasm of all prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, including plant and
animal cells. It is a selectively permeable cell organelle, allowing certain substances
inside the cell while preventing others to pass through. It also serves as the site of
attachment for the cytoskeleton that helps to provide shape and support to the cell.
A cell membrane is composed of lipids and proteins. The composition fluctuates based
on fluidity, external environment, and in the different stages of development of the cell.
Cell Membrane Structure
The main components that make up all cell membranes are lipids, proteins, and
carbohydrates. Their proportions vary between different types of eukaryotic cells, but
their basic characteristics remain the same. Lipids form the core of all membranes.
Lipids are ideally suited to a barrier function because they are hydrophobic (they repel
water and anything dissolved in it). Proteins allow cells to interact and communicate
with each other, and they provide pathways that allow water and hydrophilic molecules
to cross the lipid core. Carbohydrates are found on the outside surface of cells. For a
typical human cell, proteins account for about 50 percent of the composition by mass,
lipids account for about 40 percent, and the remaining 10 percent comes from
carbohydrate molecules.

Membrane Composition

1. Lipids is one of the main components of the cell membrane that makes up the cell’s
structural framework. Membrane lipids are composed of the following types:

a) Phospholipid: Major component of the cell membrane forming a bilayer

structure. The hydrophilic (water-loving) head of phospholipids points towards
the inner cytoplasmic side and outer extracellular fluid. While the hydrophobic

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 (water-hating) tail faces away from them. This lipid bilayer is semi-permeable,
meaning that it allows only certain molecules to diffuse across the membrane.

b) Cholesterol is the second most common membrane lipid. They are selectively
dispersed between phospholipid molecules. They are also hydrophobic but
contains a polar hydroxyl group and that draws it to the bilayer’s outer surface,
where it is found between adjacent phospholipids. Cholesterol works by
preventing phospholipids from being too closely packed thus preventing the cell
membrane from becoming stiff.

c) Glycolipids: The outer leaflet of the bilayer contains glycolipids, a minor but
physiologically significant lipid type comprising a fatty acid tail coupled via
sphingosine to a carbohydrate head group. Glycolipids create a carbohydrate
cell coat that is involved in cell-to-cell interactions and conveys antigenicity.
2. Proteins. It is the second major part of the cell membrane, its function is to help ions
and other charge molecules cross the lipid barrier. Membrane proteins also allow for
intercellular communication and provide cells with sensory information about the
external environment. The two main categories of membrane proteins are:

a) Integral Membrane Proteins: Also called intrinsic proteins, they penetrate the
lipid core and permanently embedded within the cell membrane. Structurally,
the integral proteins are hydrophobic in nature that penetrates the phospholipid
bilayer, thus anchoring the protein to the membrane.

b) Peripheral Membrane Proteins: Also called extrinsic proteins, they are only
temporarily associated with the membrane. Most peripheral membrane proteins
are hydrophilic, so they are usually attached to integral membrane proteins or
are loosely bound to the phospholipid head group. They help in cell signaling
and are often associated with ion channels and transmembrane receptors.
Peripheral proteins are associated with both the intracellular and extracellular
plasma membrane surface.

c) Intracellular. Proteins that are localize to the intracellular surface include

many enzymes, regulatory subunits of ion channels, receptors, and transporters.

d) Extracellular. Proteins located on the extracellular surface are enzymes,

antigens, and adhesion molecules.
3. Carbohydrates is the least abundant component of the cell membrane.
Carbohydrates are found on the outside surface of cells that exists in either of the
following two forms:

a) Glycoproteins: Proteins having carbohydrate chains attached to them. They

are embedded within the cell membrane and are important in cell-to-cell
communications and transport of substances across the membrane.

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 b) Glycolipids: Lipids having carbohydrate chains attached to them. They are
located on the surface of the cell membrane, extending from the phospholipid
bilayer into the extracellular environment. Glycolipids help to maintain
membrane stability and to facilitate cellular recognition and cell-to-cell
communication.
Cell Membrane Functions
Primary Role
Selectively Permeable: Creates a potential gradient across the membrane that allows
small uncharged molecules such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water as well as
hydrophobic substances such as lipids to get through the membrane passively inside the
cell without any loss of metabolic energy. While charged ions such as sodium,
potassium, and calcium as well as large molecules like amino acid and carbohydrates
cannot pass through. This is important for the cell to preserve its internal milieu
irrespective of any environmental changes and thus is the main function of the cell
membrane.

Other Functions

• Protection and Cell Defense: Insulates the interior of the cell and provides
mechanical support from outside shock and harmful agents
• Maintaining Homeostasis: Determines the internal milieu of the cell, the
physiological conditions such as temperature and osmotic pressure by
maintaining the salt balance
• Maintaining Concentration Gradient: Maintains the differences in
concentration of substances inside and outside the cell thus helping in their
transport
• Signal Transduction: Receives and processes the extracellular signals by
receptor molecules present in the cell membrane and relay them inside the cell
for necessary actions
• Catalysis of Chemical Reactions: Stimulates chemical reactions that help in
the growth and metabolism of the cell using enzymes
• Cell Communication: Allows exchange (receiving and sending) of messages
between adjacent cells, thus helping them to function in a coordinated fashion.
• Adaptation and Response: Helping to sense the extracellular environment and
thus regulating the fluidity of the cell membranes by altering the lipid of the cell
• Maintaining Cell Shape and Morphology: Acting as the base of attachment for
the cytoskeleton that helps in cell movement
Movement of Substances through the Cell Membrane

Cell membranes are selectively permeable, meaning that they allow some
substances, but not others, to pass into or out of the cells. Intracellular material has a
different composition than extra-cellular material, and the cell’s survival depends on
maintaining the difference. Substances such as enzymes, glycogen, and potas-sium ions
(K+) are found at higher concentrations intracellularly, whereas Na+, Ca2+, and
Cl− are found in greater concentrations extracellularly. In addition, nutrients must enter

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cells continually, and waste products must exit. Because of the permeability
characteristics of cell membranes and their ability to transport certain molecules, cells
are able to maintain proper intracellular concentrations of molecules.
Movement through the cell membrane may be passive or active. Passive
membrane transport does not require the cell to expend energy. Active membrane
transport does require the cell to expend energy, usually in the form of ATP.
Passive membrane transport mechanisms include diffusion, osmosis, and facilitated
diffusion.
Diffusion results from the natural, constant random motion of all solutes in a solution.
More solute particles occur in an area of higher concentration than in an area of lower
concentration. Because particles move randomly, the chances are greater that solute
particles will move from the higher toward the lower con-centration than from the lower
toward the higher concentration. A concentration gradient is the difference in the
concentration of a solute in a solvent between two points divided by the distance
between the two points. The concentration gradient is said to be steeper when the
concentration difference is large and/or the distance is small. When we say that a
substance moves down (or with) the concentration gradient, we mean that solutes are
diffusing from a higher toward a lower concentration of solutes. When we say that a
solute moves up (or against) its concentration gradient, this means that the substance
moves from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute
concentration. In the body, diffusion is an important means of transporting substances
through the extracellular and intracellular fluids. In addition, substances, such as
nutrients and some waste products, can diffuse into and out of the cell. The normal
intracellular concentrations of many substances depend on diffusion. For example, if
the extracellular concentration of O2 is reduced, not enough O2 diffuses into the cell,
and the cell cannot function normally.

Osmosis is the diffusion of water (a solvent) across a selectively permeable membrane,

such as the cell membrane, from a region of higher water concentration to one of lower
water concentration. Even though water is a polar molecule, it is small enough that it
can move across the cell membrane by passing either between the phospholipid
molecules or through water channels. Osmosis is important to cells because large
volume changes caused by water movement can disrupt normal cell functions. Osmosis
occurs when the cell membrane is less permeable, selectively permeable, or not
permeable to solutes and a concentration gradient for water exists across the cell
membrane. Water diffuses from a solution with a higher water concentration across the
cell membrane into a solution with a lower water con-centration. The ability to predict
the direction of water movement across the cell membrane depends on knowing which
solution on either side of the membrane has the higher water concentration. The
concentration of a solution, however, is expressed not in terms of water, but in terms of
solute concentration. For example, if sugar solution A is more concentrated than sugar
solution B, then solution A has more sugar (solute) than solution B. As the
concentration of a solution increases, the amount of water (solvent) proportionately
decreases. Water diffuses from the less concentrated solution B (less sugar, more
water), into the more concentrated solution A (more sugar, less water). In other words,
water diffuses toward areas of high solute concentration and dilutes those solutes.

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Osmotic pressure is the force required to prevent the movement of water across a
selectively permeable membrane. Thus, osmotic pressure is a measure of the tendency
of water to move by osmosis across a selectively permeable membrane. When placed
into a solution, a cell may swell, remain unchanged, or shrink, depending on the
concentration gradient between the solution and the cell’s cytoplasm. A hypotonic
(under) solution usually has a lower concentration of solutes and a higher concentration
of water relative to the cytoplasm of the cell. Thus, the solution has less tone, or osmotic
pressure, than the cell. Water moves by osmosis into the cell, causing it to swell. If the
cell swells enough, it can rupture, a process called lysis. When a cell is immersed in
an isotonic (equal) solution, the concentrations of various solutes and water are the
same on both sides of the cell membrane. The cell therefore neither shrinks nor swells.
When a cell is immersed in a hypertonic (above) solution, the solution usually has a
higher concentration of solutes and a lower concentration of water relative to the
cytoplasm of the cell. Water moves by osmosis from the cell into the hypertonic When
placed into a solution, a cell may swell, remain unchanged, or shrink, depending on the
concentration gradient between the solution and the cell’s cytoplasm.

Facilitated diffusion is a carrier-mediated transport process that moves substances

across the cell membrane from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower
concentration of that substance. Because movement is with the concentration gradient,
metabolic energy in the form of ATP is not required.
Active membrane transport mechanisms include active transport, secondary active
transport, endocytosis, and exocytosis.
Active transport is a carrier-mediated process that moves substances across the cell
membrane from regions of lower concentration to those of higher concentration against
a concentration gradient. Consequently, active transport processes accumulate
substances on one side of the cell membrane at concentrations many times greater than
those on the other side.
Secondary active transport involves the active transport of one substance, such as Na+,
across the cell membrane, establishing a concentration gradient. The diffusion of that
transported substance down its concentration gradient provides the energy to transport
a second substance, such as glucose, across the cell membrane. In cotransport, the
diffusing substance moves in the same direction as the transported substance;
in countertransport, the diffusing substance moves in a direction opposite to that of
the transported substance.
Endocytosis and Exocytosis. Endocytosis is the uptake of material through the cell
membrane by the formation of a vesicle. The cell membrane invaginates (folds inward)
to form a vesicle containing the material to be taken into the cell. The vesicle then
moves into the cytoplasm. Endocytosis usually exhibits specificity. The cell membrane
contains specific receptor molecules that bind to specific sub-stances. When a specific
substance binds to the receptor molecule, endocytosis is triggered, and the substance is
transported into the cell. This process is called receptor-mediated endocytosis.
Cholesterol and growth factors are examples of molecules that can be taken into a cell
by receptor-mediated endocytosis. Bacterial phagocytosis is also receptor-mediated.

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The term phagocytosis (cell-eating) is often used for endocytosis when solid particles
are ingested. A part of the cell membrane extends around a particle and fuses so that
the particle is surrounded by the membrane. That part of the membrane then “pinches
off” to form a vesicle containing the particle. The vesicle is now within the cytoplasm
of the cell, and the cell membrane is left intact. Phagocytosis is an important means by
which white blood cells take up and destroy harmful substances that have entered the
body. Pinocytosis (cell-drinking) is distinguished from phagocytosis in that much
smaller vesicles are formed, and they contain liquid rather than particles.
In some cells, membrane-bound sacs called secretory vesicles accumulate
materials for release from the cell. The secretory vesicles move to the cell membrane,
where the membrane of the vesicle fuses with the cell membrane, and the material in
the vesicle is eliminated from the cell. This process is called exocytosis (exo, outside).
Examples of exocytosis are the secretion of digestive enzymes by the pancreas and the
secretion of mucus by the salivary glands.

Application

How can you apply the above information when transferring a

fish from seawater fish cage to freshwater area or vice versa
following acclimatization process?
What will happen to the cells of the fish when it is transferred
from the saltwater environment to freshwater environment and
vice versa?

Congratulations! You have finished Lesson 2. Now, you are already prepared
to move to Lesson 3 about Homeostasis and Homeostatic Mechanisms. Enjoy and keep
reading!

Lesson 3. Homeostasis and Homeostatic Mechanisms

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss homeostasis
• Explain how homeostatic mechanisms normally maintain a constant
interior milieu.
Time Frame: 1 hour

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 Introduction

Welcome to Lesson 3
In this lesson, you will learn Homeostasis and Homeostatic Mechanisms.
Understanding homeostasis would help you to know the process by which the body
tend to maintain stability while regulating to conditions that are optimal for survival.

Activity

Diagram Analysis
Examine the diagram how the body temperature decreases and increases then answer
the analysis questions below:

Response to body temperature.

Analysis

What did you observe on the responses of the body as the

temperature increases and decreases as illustrated above?
How do thermoreceptors reacted on the changes of body
temperature?

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 Abstraction

To understand homeostasis and homeostatic mechanisms, please study the

following:

Homeostasis is the tendency of biological systems to maintain relatively

constant conditions in the internal environment while continuously interacting with and
adjusting to changes originating within or outside the system. Maintaining a stable
internal environment is the responsibility of the autonomic nervous system(ANS). The
ANS is organized similarly to the somatic nervous system and uses many of the same
neural pathways. Internal sensory receptors gather information about blood pressure
(baroreceptors), blood chemistry (chemoreceptors), and temperature (thermoreceptors)
and relay it to autonomic control centers in the brain. The principal organs of
homeostasis are the skin, liver, lungs, heart, and kidneys. The ANS modulates organ
function via two distinct effector pathways: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS)
and the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS). The actions of the SNS and PSNS
often appear antagonistic, but they work in close coordination with each other.
The maintenance of homeostasis in the body typically occurs through the use of
feedback loops that control the body’s internal conditions.

Feedback Mechanisms
Feedback occurs when reponse to either a biotic or abiotic factor has an effect
on the person of some kind (or animal). There are two types of feedback, negative and
positive feedback. Negative feedback is most common in biological systems, for
example: doing excercise creates metabolic heat which raises the core temperature of
the body, then due to cooling mechanisms such as flushed skin or sweating begin and
the temperature decreases.

Feedback loop is defined as a system used to control the level of a variable in which
there is an identifiable receptor (sensor), control center (integrator or comparator),
effectors, and methods of communication.

In feedback loops: Variables are parameters that are monitored and controlled or
affected by the feedback system. Receptors (sensors) detect changes in the variable
and sends message to the control center in the form of a chemical signal or a nerve
impulse. Control centers (integrators) compare the variable in relation to a set point
and signal the effectors to generate a response. Control centers sometimes consider
information other than just the level of the variable in their decision-making, such as
time of day, age, external conditions, etc. Effectors execute the necessary changes to
adjust the variable, receives outputs from the control center and produces a response or
effect that changes the condition, nearly every body organ and tissue can behave an
effector.

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 Methods of communication among the components of a feedback loop are
necessary in order for it to function. This often occurs through nerves or hormones, but
in some cases receptors and control centers are the same structures, so that there is no
need for these signalling modes in that part of the loop.
Feedback Cycle is defined as any situation in which a variable is regulated and the level
of the variable impacts the direction in which the variable changes (i.e. increases or
decreases), even if there is not clearly identified loop components.
With this terminology in mind, homeostasis then can be described as the totality of the
feedback loops and feedback cycles that the body incorporates to maintain a suitable
functioning status.

Feedback is a situation when the output or response of a loop impacts or influences

the input or stimulus.

Typically, we divide feedback loops into two main types:

1. positive feedback loops, in which a change in a given direction causes

additional change in the same direction. For example, an increase in the
concentration of a substance causes feedback that produces continued increases
in concentration (Annex 2).
2. negative feedback loops, in which a change in a given direction causes change
in the opposite direction. For example, an increase in the concentration of a
substance causes feedback that ultimately causes the concentration of the
substance to decrease (Annex 3).
Neural Regulation
The nervous system plays a critical role in the regulation of vascular homeostasis. The
primary regulatory sites include the cardiovascular centers in the brain that control both
cardiac and vascular functions.
The Cardiovascular Centers in the Brain

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Neurological regulation of blood pressure and flow depends on the cardiovascular
centers located in the medulla oblongata. This cluster of neurons responds to changes
in blood pressure as well as blood concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and
hydrogen ions. The cardiovascular center contains three distinct paired components:
• The cardioaccelerator centers stimulate cardiac function by regulating heart rate
and stroke volume via sympathetic stimulation from the cardiac accelerator
nerve.
• The cardioinhibitor centers slow cardiac function by decreasing heart rate and
stroke volume via parasympathetic stimulation from the vagus nerve.
• The vasomotor centers control vessel tone or contraction of the smooth muscle
in the tunica media. Changes in diameter affect peripheral resistance, pressure,
and flow, which affect cardiac output.
Baroreceptors are specialized stretch receptors located within thin areas of blood
vessels and heart chambers that respond to the degree of stretch caused by the presence
of blood. They send impulses to the cardiovascular center to regulate blood pressure.
Vascular baroreceptors are found primarily in sinuses (small cavities) within the aorta
and carotid arteries: The aortic sinuses are found in the walls of the ascending aorta
just superior to the aortic valve, whereas the carotid sinuses are in the base of the
internal carotid arteries. There are also low-pressure baroreceptors located in the walls
of the venae cavae and right atrium.
When blood pressure increases, the baroreceptors are stretched more tightly and initiate
action potentials at a higher rate. At lower blood pressures, the degree of stretch is lower
and the rate of firing is slower. When the cardiovascular center in the medulla oblongata
receives this input, it triggers a reflex that maintains homeostasis.
• When blood pressure rises too high, the baroreceptors fire at a higher rate and
trigger parasympathetic stimulation of the heart. As a result, cardiac output falls.
• When blood pressure drops too low, the rate of baroreceptor firing decreases.
This will trigger an increase in sympathetic stimulation of the heart, causing
cardiac output to increase.

Chemoreceptors monitor levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen ions (pH),
and thereby contribute to vascular homeostasis. Chemoreceptors monitoring the blood
are located in close proximity to the baroreceptors in the aortic and carotid sinuses.
The chemoreceptors respond to increasing carbon dioxide and hydrogen ion levels
(falling pH) by stimulating the cardioaccelerator and vasomotor centers, increasing
cardiac output and constricting peripheral vessels.

Three homeostatic mechanisms ensure adequate blood flow, blood pressure,

distribution, and ultimately perfusion: neural, endocrine, and autoregulatory
mechanisms. They are summarized in Figure below.

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Figure 1. Adequate blood flow, blood pressure, distribution, and perfusion involve
autoregulatory, neural, and endocrine mechanism.

Application

Make an example of a body activity and apply the responses of

the body by integrating the reactions of variables, receptors,
control centers and effectors in positive and negative feedback
loop.
Based on the diagram above, explain how the homeostatic
mechanisms applied to regulate body temperature?

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 Congratulations! You did a great Job! You have finished this module.

Module Summary
It is hoped that after finishing this module, you are now more familiar about the
structure and functions of the different cell parts and functions of the cell in general. It
is assumed also that you know already how the different substances coming in and out
of the cell through the cell membrane. It is hoped also that you understand already how
the body maintain its normal state through homeostasis. Congratulations!
To sum up Module 6 Highlights:
• Cells are not only the building blocks of the organisms, you must remember that
they are also the functional units of life.
• Cells are responsible for providing structure to the organisms and performs several
functions necessary for carrying out life’s processes.
• Different tissues like skin, muscle, and blood have different types of cells.
• The cell membrane provides mechanical support that facilities the shape of the cell
while enclosing the cell and its components from the external environment.
• Endocytosis results in the uptake of materials by cells, and exocytosis allows the
release of materials from cells. Vesicle formation for both endocytosis and
exocytosis requires energy in the form of ATP.
• Homeostasis is the process by which internal variables, such as body temperature,
blood pressure, etc., are kept within a range of values appropriate to the system.
When a stimulus changes one of these internal variables, it creates a detected signal
that the body will respond to as part of its ability to carry out homeostasis.

REFERENCES
Cinnamon, V.,Regan, J., Russo, A. (2013). Seeley’s Essentials of Anatomy and
Physiology. (8th Ed.) McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Johnson, G. (2017). Essentials of the Living World (5th Ed.) McGraw-Hill Education,
2 Penn Plaza, New York.

Mader, S., Windelspecht. (2016). Human Biology (14th Ed.) McGraw-Hill Education,
2 Penn Plaza, New York.
Mason, K., Losos, J., Singer, S. (2017). Biology. McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn
Plaza, New York.

Russell, P. Hertz, P., McMillan, B. (2017). Biology The Dynamic Science (4th Ed.)
Cengage Learning Solution. Melbourne.

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Saladin, K. (2017). Human Anatomy (5th Ed.) McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza,
New York.

Starr, C., Evers, C., Starr, L. (2016). Biology Today and Tomorrow with Physiology
(5th Ed.) Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd (Philippine Branch)

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