CHAPTER III.

CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

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A. CELL CONCEPT

The Classical Cell Theory

 It was developed through the observations of Hooke, Leeuwenhoek, Schleiden,
Schwann, Virchow, and others, holds that:
1. All organisms are made up of one or more cells – Matthias Schleiden.
2. Cells are the fundamental functional and structural unit of life – Theodor
Schwann.
3. All cells come from pre-existing cells – Rudolf Virchow.

1. Robert Hooke
 1665
 English scientist and inventor
 He used a primitive compound
microscope and observed boxlike
cavities in slices of cork and leaves.
 He called these compartments “little
boxes or cells.”

2. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek

 1674
 Dutch scientist
 Master microscope maker
 Discovery of single-celled organisms (bacteria and
protozoa) which he called “animalcules” and
spermatozoa.

3. Matthias Jacob Schleiden

 1838
 German botanist
 Co-founder of the cell theory, along with Theodor
Schwann and Rudolf Virchow
 All plant tissue was composed of cells.
 He also put forth the thesis that cells were the unit of
structure in plants.

4. Theodor Schwann
 1839
 German physiologist
 He coined the term metabolism
 He contributed in the development of cell theory
 Discovered S-chwann cells in the peripheral nervous
system
 Discovered and study pepsin
 The discovery of the organic nature of yeast
 5. Rudolf Carl Virchow
 1855
 German doctor, Anthropologist, Pathologist, Pre-historian,
biologist, writer, editor, and politician.
 Known for his advancement of public health.
 Contributed in the cell theory – “Every cell stem from another
cell.”
 Disease is caused by changes in normal cells, also known as
cellular pathology.

The Modern Cell Theory

 A widely accepted explanation of how cells and living things are related and is a
foundation of biology. Modern cell theory has seven main principles:
1. All organisms are made of one or more cells
2. Cells are the basic unit of structure in all living things
3. New cells arise from existing cells through cellular division
4. All energy flow occurs within the cell
5. Cells contain genetic material passed to daughter cells during cell division
6. All cells are similar in their chemical composition
7. Activities of the organism are a result of combined actions of individual cells

CELL
 The basic structural and functional unit of life.
 The building blocks of life – the cell is capable of metabolizing its own nutrients,
synthesizing many types of molecules, providing its own energy, and replicating itself in
order to produce succeeding generations.
 Two types of Cell
1. Prokaryotic cell
2. Eukaryotic cell

Prokaryotic Cell
 Greek word pro = before; and karyon =
nut or kernel
 It literally “before the nucleus” and refers
to a cell structure where the chromosomal
DNA is not enveloped in any internal
membrane but is free in the cell cytoplasm
 They lack nucleus and other membrane-
bound organelles such as mitochondria,
plastids, Golgi apparatus, and
endoplasmic reticulum.
 They reproduce asexually through binary
fission.
 Two main groups:
1. Bacteria
2. Archaea
Eukaryotic Cell

 Greek word eu = well or good; and karyon = nut or kernel

 It is characterized by having a true nucleus.
 Its broad category involves plants, fungi, protozoans, and animals.
 They reproduce sexually as well as asexually.
 Eukaryotes are generally larger than prokaryotes and contain much more DNA.
 Within their cells are numerous membranous organelles.

The Eukaryotic Cell Structure

1. Cell membrane
2. Cytoplasm/ Protoplasm
3. Nucleus
4. Ribosome
5. Endoplasmic reticulum
6. Golgi complex or apparatus
7. Lysosome
8. Vacuole
9. Mitochondria
10. Centrosome/Centrioles
11. Peroxisome
12. Cilia
13. Flagella
14. Microvilli

1. Cell membrane
 Also called Plasma membrane
 It is a thin and selectively permeable membrane that encloses the cell.
 It also supports and protects the cell.
 It acts as selective filter for materials attempting to pass into or out of the cell.
 The cell membrane is composed of protein and lipid molecules.

2. Cytoplasm
 It is all the contents inside the cell membrane excluding the nucleus.
 Three major elements of cytoplasm
a. Cytosol
 It is a gelatinous fluid, where other components of the cytoplasm
remain suspended. It mainly consists of cytoskeleton filaments,
organic molecules, salt, and water.
 The cytoskeleton is a network of protein filaments that can be seen
criss-crossing in the cytoplasm which provides mechanical support in
the cell. The three major types of filaments are (A) the thinnest actin
filaments; (B) the thickest microtubules; and (C) intermediate
filaments.
 b. Organelles are specialized subunit in a cell that has a specific function.
c. Inclusions or cytoplasmic inclusions are non-living substances that are
not able to carry out any metabolic activity and are not bound by
membranes. Inclusions are stored nutrients, secretory products, and
pigment granules.

3. Nucleus
 From Latin word which means kernel or
inner part.
 It is the most prominent organelle of the
cell.
 Functions as the control center of the cell,
initiating and monitoring all functions.
 Nuclear membrane
– A lipid bilayer which serves as a
selective barrier that prevent the free
passage of molecules between the
nucleus and the cytoplasm, maintain
the nucleus as a distinct biochemical
compartment.
 Nuclear envelope
– The membrane system of the nucleus which separates the content of the
nucleus from the cytoplasm and provides structural framework of the
nucleus.
 Chromatin
– A mixture of DNA and proteins that form the chromosomes within the
nucleus.
– The primary function is to package long DNA molecules into more compact,
denser structures.
 Chromosome
– A threadlike structure made of protein and a single molecule of DNA that
serve to carry the genomic information from cell to cell.
– Allosome is the sex (X and Y) chromosome which determines the
biological sex of an organism.
– Autosome is the chromosome other than allosome.
 Nucleolus
– A spherical structure found in the cell's nucleus whose primary function is
to produce and assemble the cell's ribosomes.
 – It is the location of ribosomal RNA genes transcription.

4. Ribosome
 Large macromolecular complex, composed of RNAs and proteins, that translates
a messenger RNA into a polypeptide chain.
 The function is for protein synthesis.

5. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

 An irregular maze of
interconnected spaces enclosed by
a membrane.
 It is connected/continuous to the
outer nuclear membrane.
 It is the site where most cell-
membrane components, as well as
materials destined for export from
the cell, are made.
 This organelle is enormously
enlarged in cells that are
specialized for the secretion of
proteins
 It may contain ribosome (rough) or not (smooth).
 Rough ER is associated with ribosomes and involved in the synthesis of
secreted and membrane-bound proteins.
 Smooth ER lacks ribosomes and functions in synthesis of lipids.

6. Golgi complex or apparatus

 It is usually situated near the nucleus,
receives proteins and lipids from the ER,
modifies them, and then dispatches them
to other destinations in the cell.
 Functions for modification, sorting, and
packaging of proteins and lipids for either
secretion or delivery to another
organelle.
 Secretory vesicles form from the trans
Golgi network, and they release their
contents to the cell exterior
by exocytosis in response to extracellular
signals. The secreted product can be
either a small molecule (such as
histamine) or a protein (such as a hormone or digestive enzyme).

7. Lysosome
 Membrane-enclosed organelle that breaks down worn-out proteins and
organelles and other waste materials, as well as molecules taken up by
endocytosis
 It contains digestive enzymes that are typically most active at the acid pH found
inside these organelles.

8. Vacuole
  A membrane-bound organelle that is empty of cytoplasm.
 It performs function such as storage, ingestion, digestion, excretion, and
expulsion of excess water.

9. Mitochondria
 The “power house of the cells”
 Membrane-enclosed organelle, about the
size of a bacterium, that carries out oxidative
phosphorylation and produces most of the
ATP in eukaryotic cells.
 The number of mitochondria per cell varies
widely—for example, in humans, red blood
cells do not contain any mitochondria,
whereas liver cells and muscle cells may
contain hundreds or even thousands.

10. Centrosome
 Microtubule-organizing center that sits
near the nucleus in an animal cell.
 It is composed of
two centrioles arranged at right
angles to each other
 This structure duplicates to form the
two poles of the mitotic spindle during
cell cycle.

11. Centrioles
 Cylindrical array of microtubules usually found in pairs at the center of a centrosome in
animal cells.
 Also found at the base of cilia and flagella, where they are called basal bodies
 A minute cytoplasmic organelle usually found in the centrosome and considered
to be the active division center of the animal cell.
 Organizes spindle fibers during mitosis and meiosis.

12. Peroxisome
 A small, membrane-enclosed organelles that contain enzymes involved in a
variety of metabolic reactions, including several aspects of energy metabolism.
 Its main function is the lipid metabolism and the processing of reactive oxygen
species.

Structures in surfaces of cell

1. Cilia
 Hairlike structure made of microtubules found on the surface of many
eukaryotic cells
 When present in large numbers, its rhythmic beating can drive the movement
of fluid over the cell surface, as in the epithelium of the lungs.

2. Flagella
 Long, whiplike structure capable of propelling a cell through a fluid medium
with its rhythmic beating.
  Eukaryotic flagella are longer versions of cilia while bacterial flagella are
completely different, being smaller and simpler in construction.
 The flagellum of the sperm provides a whip-like movement in order to propel it
forward. It is essential for male fertility.

3. Microvilli
 They are small, fingerlike projections consisting of tube like evaginations of the
cell membrane with a core of cytoplasm.
 They are seen clearly in the lining of the intestine where they greatly increase
the absorptive and digestive surface.
 Such specializations appear as brush borders by light microscopy.

Cell Junctions
1. Tight juctions
 These are regions of actual fusion of cell membranes between two adjacent
cells.
 It seals neighboring cells together in an epithelial sheet to prevent leakage of
extracellular molecules between them.

2. Adherens Junction
 It functions for the initiation and stabilization of cell-cell adhesion, regulation of
the actin cytoskeleton, intracellular signaling and transcriptional regulation.
3. Desmosome
 It act like spot welds between adjacent epithelial cells which joins their
intermediate filaments.
 It ensures that cells in organs and tissues that stretch, such as skin and
cardiac muscle, remain connected in an unbroken sheet.
4. Gap Junction
 It forms channels that allow small, intracellular, water-soluble molecules,
including inorganic ions and metabolites, to pass from cell to cell
5. Hemidesmosome
 It anchors intermediate filaments of basal epithelial cells to the
underlying basement membrane.
Membrane Transport System
 To survive and grow, cells must be able to exchange molecules with their environment.
They must import nutrients such as sugars and amino acids and eliminate metabolic
waste products. They must also regulate the concentrations of a variety of inorganic ions
in their cytosol and organelles. A few molecules, such as CO2 and O2, can simply
diffuse across the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane. But the vast majority cannot.
Instead, their movement depends on specialized membrane transport proteins that span
the lipid bilayer, providing private passageways across the membrane for select
substances.
 Membrane transport refers to the collection of mechanisms that regulate the passage
of solutes such as ions and small molecules through biological membranes, which
are lipid bilayers that contain proteins embedded in them.
 Active transport
 The movement of a solute against its concentration gradient.
1. Primary active transport
- The energy is utilized by the breakdown of the ATP to transport molecules
across the membrane against a concentration gradient.
- An example is the Sodium-potassium pump which is the most important pump
in the animal cell.
- Endocytosis
 the process of capturing a substance or particle from outside the cell by
engulfing it with the cell membrane.
 Phagocytosis, or cellular eating, occurs when the dissolved materials
enter the cell. The plasma membrane engulfs the solid material, forming a
phagocytic vesicle.
 Pinocytosis or cellular drinking, is a type of endocytosis that occurs
when the plasma membrane folds inward to form a channel allowing
dissolved substances to enter the cell.
- Exocytosis
 The process of vesicles fusing with the plasma membrane and releasing
their contents to the outside of the cell.
 Exocytosis occurs when a cell produces substances for export, such as a
protein, or when the cell is getting rid of a waste product or a toxin.
2. Secondary active transport
- A kind of active transport that uses electrochemical energy.
- It takes place across a biological membrane where a transporter protein
couples the movement of an electrochemical ion (typically Na+ or H+) down
its electrochemical gradient to the upward movement of another molecule or
an ion against a concentration or electrochemical gradient.

 Passive transport
 Substances will spontaneously flow “downhill” from a region of high concentration to
a region of low concentration, substances will spontaneously flow “downhill” from a
region of high concentration to a region of low concentration, without expenditure of
energy.
1. Simple Diffusion
- The movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of
lower concentration of the particles or molecules
2. Facilitated diffusion
 - The passive transportation of ions or molecules across the cell membrane
through specific transmembrane integral protein.
- The molecules, which are large and insoluble require a carrier substance
for their transportation through the plasma membrane.
- Example: Glucose transporter
3. Osmosis
- The movement of water down its concentration gradient—from an area of
low solute concentration (high water concentration) to an area of high
solute concentration (low water concentration).
4. Filtration -
- The process of separating solids from liquids and gases. In the process of
filtration, the cell membrane permits only those substances which are
soluble and could easily pass through its pores.
- The selective absorption of nutrients in the body is an example of filtration.
- The kidneys are an example of a biological filter. The blood is filtered by the
glomerulus and the necessary molecules are reabsorbed.

Cell Respiration

 The process by which cells harvest the energy stored in food molecules.
 It is usually accompanied by the uptake of O2 and the release of CO2.

Food Molecules Are Broken Down in Three Stages

 The proteins, fats, and polysaccharides that make up most of the food we eat must
be broken down into smaller molecules before our cells can use them—either as a
source of energy or as building blocks for making other organic molecules. This
breakdown process—in which enzymes degrade complex organic molecules into
simpler ones—is called catabolism.
 Stage I:
- Enzymes convert the large polymeric molecules in food into simpler
monomeric subunits: proteins into amino acids, polysaccharides into sugars,
and fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
 Stage II:
- A chain of reactions called glycolysis splits each molecule of glucose into two
smaller molecules of pyruvate.
- This takes place in the cytosol.
- The pyruvate is transported from the cytosol into the mitochondrion.
 Stage III:
- Pyruvate is converted to acetyl CoA. Then it is transferred to an oxaloacetate
molecule to form citrate, which enters a series of reactions called the citric acid
cycle.
- In these reactions, the transferred acetyl group is oxidized to CO2, with the
production of large amounts of NADH. Finally, the high-energy electrons from
NADH are passed along a series of enzymes within the mitochondrial inner
membrane called an electron-transport chain, where the energy released by
their transfer is used to drive oxidative phosphorylation—a process that
produces ATP and consumes molecular oxygen (O2 gas).
 E. Animal Cell and the cell division

The cell cycle

 “Where a cell arises, there must be a previous cell, just
as animals can only arise from animals and plants from
plants.” (Rudolf Virchow, 1858)
• A cell reproduces by carrying out an orderly sequence of
events in which it duplicates its contents and then
divides in two. This cycle of duplication and division,
known as the cell cycle.
• Stages of Cell Cycle
1. M phase
- The mitosis phase or the phase of the equational division.
- The most dramatic events in cell cycle.
- Consist of two processes: Mitosis and Cytokinesis.
- Mitosis is the process by which a eukaryotic cell separates the nuclear DNA
and chromosomes and divides into two different but similar sets of nuclei.
a. Prophase
 The duplicated chromosomes, each consisting of two closely
associated sister chromatids, condense. Outside the nucleus, the
mitotic spindle assembles between the two centrosomes, which
have begun to move apart.
b. Prometaphase
 It starts abruptly with the breakdown of the nuclear envelope.
 Chromosomes can now attach to spindle microtubules via their
kinetochores and undergo active movement.
c. Metaphase
 The chromosomes are aligned at the equator of the spindle,
midway between the spindle poles.
 The kinetochore microtubules on each sister chromatid attach to
opposite poles of the spindle
d. Anaphase
 The sister chromatids synchronously separate and are pulled
slowly toward the spindle pole to which they are attached.
 The kinetochore microtubules get shorter, and the spindle poles
also move apart, both contributing to chromosome segregation.
e. Telophase
 The sister chromatids synchronously separate and are pulled
slowly toward the spindle pole to which they are attached.
 The kinetochore microtubules get shorter, and the spindle poles
also move apart, both contributing to chromosome segregation.
- Cytokinesis is the phase where the cytoplasm is divided in two by a
contractile ring of actin and myosin filaments, which pinches the cell into two
daughters, each with one nucleus.
 2. Interphase
- The period between two M phase.
- Consist of 3 phases:
a. G1 phase (Gap 1)
 The phase of the cell between mitosis and initiation of replication
of the genetic material of the cell.
 During this phase, the cell is metabolically active and continues
to grow without replicating its DNA.
b. S phase (Synthesis)
 DNA replication takes place during this phase.
 The centriole also divides into two centriole pairs
c. G2 phase (Gap 2)
 The RNA, proteins, other macromolecules required for
multiplication of cell organelles, spindle formation, and cell
growth are produced as the cell prepares to go into the mitotic
phase.

Meiosis

 Most of the creatures we see around us reproduce sexually. Sexual reproduction involves
the mixing of DNA from two individuals to produce offspring that are genetically distinct
from one another and from both their parents. Organisms that reproduce sexually are
generally diploid: their cells contain two sets of chromosomes—one inherited from each
parent. However, unlike the majority of cells in a diploid organism, the specialized cells
that carry out the central process in sexual reproduction—the gametes— are haploid: they
each contain only one set of chromosomes.
 The term meiosis was coined to describe the cell division of gamete
 It comes from a Greek word meaning “diminution,” or “lessening.”
 Gametes are produced by a special kind of “reductive” division in which the number of
chromosomes is precisely halved
 Meiosis generates four nonidentical haploid nuclei, whereas mitosis produces two
identical diploid nuclei.

1. Meiosis I
- The division of cell producing 2 non-identical haploid daughter cells.
a. Prophase 1
 The nuclear envelope disintegrates, chromosomes begin to condense,
and spindle fibers appear.
b. Metaphase 1
 The homologous chromosomes align at the equatorial plate ensuring
genetic diversity among offspring.
c. Anaphase 1
 The homologous chromosomes are pulled towards the opposite poles.
d. Telophase 1
 Spindle fibres disappear and nuclear envelope is reformed.
2. Meiosis II
- The division of cell producing 4 non-identical haploid daughter cells.
a. Prophase 2

 The chromatin condenses into chromosomes, nuclear envelope

disintegrates, centrosomes migrate to either poles, and spindle fibers are
reformed.
b. Metaphase 2
 The chromosomes align along the equatorial plate.
c. Anaphase 2
 Sister chromatids are pulled to the opposite poles.
d. Telophase 2
 Nuclear envelope redevelops and the spindle fibers disappear.