Georges Sarkis

Chapter 5 : Membranes

1- The structure of membranes

• The lipid layer that forms a cell’s membrane is a bilayer of phospholipids,

with the hydrophilic glycerol and phosphate “head” groups forming the two
outside layers and the hydrophobic “tail” groups arranged inside.

• Globular proteins are inserted into the lipid bilayer, with their nonpolar
segments in contact with the nonpolar interior and their polar portions
protruding out from the membrane surface.

2- Cellular membranes consist of four component groups

• Phospholipid bilayer: Every cell membrane is composed of phospholipids

in a bilayer which provides a flexible matrix and, at the same time, imposes
a barrier to permeability.
Animal cell membranes also contain cholesterol. Plant cells have other
sterols, but little or no cholesterol

• Transmembrane proteins: These proteins have a variety of functions,

including transport and communication across the membrane.

• Interior protein network: Membranes are structurally supported by

intracellular proteins that reinforce the membrane’s shape.

• Cell-surface markers: Membrane sections assemble in the endoplasmic

reticulum, transfer to the Golgi apparatus, and then are transported to the
plasma membrane. The ER adds chains of sugar molecules to membrane
proteins and lipids, converting them into glycoproteins and glycolipids.
Different cell types exhibit different varieties of these glycoproteins and
glycolipids on their surfaces, which act as cell identity markers.
3- Lipid rafts

Lipids can cluster to form microdomains. A class

of these microdomains is ‘lipid rafts’. These are
enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids.
They are involved in signal reception and cell
movement.

4- Cholesterol

Cholesterol is an abundant steroid in the animal cell membrane but is almost absent
in plants and absent in bacteria.
It regulates membrane fluidity and is involved in intracellular transport
-

(endocytosis), cell signaling and nerve conduction.

Cholesterol is equally distribution between the two layers.

5- Electron microscopy has provided structural evidence

• Transmission electron microscopes (TEM) can show the 2 layers of a

membrane.

• Freeze-fracturing a specimen is another way to visualize the inside of the

membrane.
6- Phospholipids

• The struture of phospholipids consists of :

o Glycerol : a 3-carbon polyalcohol acting as a backbone for the
phospholipid.
o 2 fatty acids attached to the glycerol.
o Phosphate group attached to the glycerol

• The fatty acids are nonpolar chains of carbon and hydrogen.

o Their nonpolar nature makes them hydrophobic
o The phosphate group is polar and hydrophilic

• The partially hydrophilic, partially hydrophobic phospholipids

spontaneously forms a bilayer

• Mammalian membranes contain hundreds of chemically distinct species of

lipids.
7- Membrane fluidity

• Phospholipid bilayers are fluid.

• Hydrogen bonding of water holds the 2 layers together.

• Individual phospholipids and unanchored proteins can move through the

membrane. This can be demonstrated vividly by fusing cells and watching
their proteins intermix with time.

• Saturated fatty acids make the membrane less fluid than unsaturated fatty
acids.
Glycerol phospholipids that are saturated, tend to make the membrane less
fluid, as they pack well. Similarly, the sphingolipids, which are usually
unsaturated, also make the membrane less fluid.

• Warm temperatures make the membrane more fluid than cold temperatures.

8- Diffusion of phospholipids
9- Membrane proteins

Membrane proteins have various functions:

1. Transporters : include channels, receptors and carriors.

2. Enzymes : Cells carry out many chemical reactions on the interior surface of
the plasma membrane, using enzymes attached to the membrane.

3. Cell-surface receptors : They detect chemical signals

4. Cell-surface identity markers : Membranes carry cell-surface markers that

identify them to other cells.

5. Cell-to-cell adhesion proteins : Cells use specific proteins to glue themselves

to one another. Some act by forming temporary interactions, and others form a
more permanent bond.

6. Attachments to the cytoskeleton : Surface proteins that interact with other cells
are often anchored to the cytoskeleton by linking proteins.

7. Proteins that affect membrane structure : Membranes tend to form spheres or

sheets in aqueous solutions. Wedge-shaped proteins can cause membranes to bend,
allowing the formation of tubes and folded sheets.
10- Types of membrane proteins

a- Peripheral proteins

Peripheral proteins are anchored to the outside surface of plasma membrane.

b- Transmembrane domains

• Each membrane-spanning region is called a transmembrane domain. These

domains are composed of hydrophobic amino acids usually arranged into α
helices or B sheets.

• Proteins need only a single transmembrane domain to be anchored in the

membrane, but they often have more than one such domain.

• Nonpolar regions of the domains are embedded in the interior of the bilayer.

• Polar regions of the domains protrude from both sides of the bilayer.

c- Pores

• Pores are transmembrane proteins that have extensive nonpolar regions with
secondary configurations of β-pleated sheets that form a cylinder called a β-
barrel.

• The β-barrel interior is polar and allows water and small polar molecules to
pass through the membrane .
 d- Peripheral membrane proteins

• Peripheral membrane proteins are anchored to a phospholipid in one layer of

the membrane and possess nonpolar regions that are inserted in the lipid
bilayer.

• They are free to move throughout one layer of the bilayer.

11- Passive transport

• Passive transport is the movement of molecules through the membrane in

which no energy is required and in which molecules move down their
concentration gradient.

• Diffusion is the movement of molecules from high concentration to low

concentration

• Many important molecules required by cells cannot easily cross the plasma
membrane. These molecules can still enter the cell by diffusion through
specific channel proteins or carrier proteins embedded in the plasma
membrane, provided there is a higher concentration of the molecule outside
the cell than inside. This is called facilitated diffusion.

• Channel proteins have a polar interior allowing polar molecules to pass

through.

• Carrier proteins bind to a specific molecule to facilitate its passage.

• These channels and carriers are usually selective for one type of molecule,
and thus the cell membrane is said to be selectively permeable
12- Channels

• Ions interact well with polar molecules such as water, but are repelled by
nonpolar molecules such as the interior of the plasma membrane. Therefore,
ions cannot move between the cytoplasm of a cell and the extracellular fluid
without the assistance of membrane transport proteins.

• Ion channels allow the passage of ions (charged atoms or molecules) which
are associated with water

• Gated channels are opened or closed in response to a stimulus.

The stimulus may be chemical (e.g. neurotransmitter) or electrical (e.g.
membrane potential (voltage) )

• Three conditions determine the direction of net movement of the ions:

o their relative concentrations on either side of the membrane.
o the voltage difference across the membrane and for the gated
channels.
o the state of the gate (open or closed).

13- Carriers

• Carrier proteins bind to the molecule that they transport across the
membrane.

• Facilitated diffusion is the movement of a molecule from high to low

concentration with the help of a carrier protein. It is specific, passive and
saturates when all carriers are occupied.
14- Osmosis

• Osmosis is the movement of water from an area of high to low concentration

of water or movement of water toward an area of high solute concentration.

• When 2 solutions have different osmotic concentrations

o the hypertonic solution has a higher solute concentration
o the hypotonic solution has a lower solute concentration
o the isotonic solution = same osmotic concentration

• Water diffuses out of a cell in a hypertonic solution (that is, the cytoplasm of
the cell is hypotonic, compared with the extracellular fluid). This loss of
water causes the cell to shrink until the osmotic concentrations of the
cytoplasm and the extracellular fluid become equal.

• Water flow in living cells is facilitated by aquaporins, which are specialized

channels for water.

15- Osmotic pressure

In a hypertonic solution, water moves

out of the cell, causing the cell to
shrivel. In an isotonic solution, water
diffuses into and out of the cell at the
same rate, with no change in cell size.
In a hypotonic solution, water moves
into the cell.
As water enters the cell from a
hypotonic solution, pressure is applied
to the plasma membrane until the cell
ruptures. Water enters the cell due to
osmotic pressure from the higher solute
concentration in the cell. Osmotic
pressure is measured as the force
needed to stop osmosis. The strong cell
wall of plant cells can withstand the
hydrostatic pressure to keep the cell
from rupturing. This is not the case
with animal cells.
16- Osmotic balance

• Organisms can maintain osmotic balance in different ways:

o Some cells use extrusion in which water is ejected through contractile

vacuoles
e.g. some protists

o Isosmotic regulation involves keeping cells isotonic with their environment

e.g. albumin in blood

o Plant cells use turgor pressure to push the cell membrane against the cell
wall and keep the cell rigid.

17- Active Transport

• Active transport is a process that requires ATP and that moves substances
from low to high concentration and thus against their concentration gradient.
This kind of transport requires the use of selective carrier proteins which are:
o uniporters: move one molecule at a time
o symporters: move two molecules in the same direction
o antiporters: move two molecules in opposite directions
18- Sodium-potassium (Na+-K+) pump

Most animal cells have a low

internal concentration of Na+,
relative to their surroundings,
and a high internal
concentration of K+. They
maintain these concentration
differences by actively pumping
Na+ out of the cell and K+ in.
The remarkable protein that
transports these two ions across
the cell membrane is known as
the sodium–potassium pump
(Na+/K+ pump). This carrier
protein uses the energy stored in
ATP to move these two ions.

_
18- Coupled transport

• Coupled transport uses the energy released when a molecule moves by

diffusion to supply energy for active transport of a different molecule. We
thus have an indirect use of energy

• If symporter is used = co-transport

• If antiporter is used = countertransport

• glucose-Na+ symporter captures the energy from Na+ diffusion to move

glucose against a concentration gradient.

19 – Bulk transport