LECTURE 2

The Chemical Components of

Cells
Campbell & Reece. 7th Edn. Ch 5, pp. 68-80, 86-89

By
Dr Mohamed Abumaree
Molecular Reproductive Biology & Immunology
College of Medicine
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science
Riyadh
2009

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 Objectives
1.To know macromolecules in human cells

2.To recognize the structures of

macromolecules

3.To know the functions of macromolecules

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 Macromolecules
 Four types of macromolecules:
1) Carbohydrates
2) Lipids
3) Proteins
4) Nucleic acids

 NOT all macromolecules are polymers: a repeating

units of monomers: building blocks linked by covalent
bonds
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 Polymers: made by
a dehydration
reaction: 2
monomers are
covalently added to
each other & H2O
molecule is lost

 Each monomer contributes to the lost of water

molecule: One provides OH group & other provides H
 Dehydration reaction is repeated to form a polymer
with the help of energy & enzymes
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Polymers are disassembled to monomers by
hydrolysis reaction (bonds broken)
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 The digestion process in humans is an example of
hydrolysis

1. The hydrolysis of organic components in our food

(polymers) releases monomers

2. Then monomers are absorbed into the

bloodstream and distributed to all body cells

1. Also, cells can assemble monomers into new

polymers (differ from the digested ones) to
perform specific functions required by the cell

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 Carbohydrates

Monosaccharides Polysaccharides

Disaccharides

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 Monosaccharides
 Simple or single sugars. For example, glucose
 Classification according to:
1.The carbon skeletons length or
2.The arrangement around asymmetric
carbons,
carbons a carbon attached to 4 different
partners or
3.The location of carbonyl group
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 Monosaccharides,
Monosaccharides particularly glucose, are
major:
1.Nutrients for cells
2.Fuel for cellular work
3.Raw materials for amino & fatty acids synthesis

Not used sugar molecules will be incorporated

into disaccharides/polysaccharides

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 Disaccharide

 2 monosaccharides are joined covalently (a glycosidic

linkage) to form a disaccharide (a dehydration
reaction). Examples:

1. Lactose (milk) consists of glucose & galactose

2. Sucrose (sugar) consists of glucose & fructose
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 Polysaccharides
Monosaccharides are joined
together by glycosidic linkages to
form polysaccharides

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 Storage Polysaccharides
 Example:
1. Starch in plant
2. Glycogen in animals (Humans)
 Glycogen is hydrolyzed into glucose when
there is a demand for sugar
 In humans, glycogen stores are depleted in
about a day unless they are replenished by
food consumption
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 Structural Polysaccharides
 Cellulose (insoluble fiber) (plant cell wall)

 NOT all organisms can digest cellulose

 Cellulose is an important part of a healthful diet

 Humans cannot digest cellulose:

 But cellulose aids in the smooth passage of
food through the digestive tract in order to
be eliminated with the feces
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 Lipids
 Macromolecules but NOT polymers
 Hydrophobic (Little or no affinity for water)
 Have some polar bonds associated with
oxygen,
 But they consist mostly of hydrocarbons
 Biologically important types of lipids:
Fats, phospholipids, & steroids

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 Fat
Constructed
from a glycerol
(alcohol) &
fatty acids

 A fatty acid has a carboxyl (functional) group

attached to a long nonpolar hydrocarbon chain
(16/18 carbon atoms in length)
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 Triacylglycerol (triglyceride)
Constructed from 3 fatty acids molecules,
molecules each is joined
to a glycerol by an ester linkage (a bond between –OH & a
carboxyl group, one water molecule is released

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 Saturated Fatty Acid
 No double bonds between carbon atoms (so many
hydrogen atoms are bonded to the carbon skeleton; so
saturated with hydrogen)
hydrogen

 Most animal fats (such as butter) are solid at room

temperature (RT)

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 Unsaturated Fatty Acid
 One/more cis double bonds
 Example, plant & fish fats
 Liquid at room temperature

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 Cis Fat (Naturally found)
H H
| |
-C = C-

Hydrogen atoms are on the same side of the

chain of carbon atoms at the carbon-carbon
double bond
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 Hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans double
bonds):
 Unsaturated fats are synthetically converted to
saturated fats (Peanut butter, margarine…)

 Saturated fats may contribute to the

cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis)

 But trans fat may contribute more than

saturated fats to atherosclerosis & other
problems

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 Trans Fat
(Synthetically Made)

Hydrogen atoms are on

H
opposite sides of the chain |
of carbon atoms at the -C = C-
carbon-carbon double |
bond H

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The major function of fats is energy
storage

A gram of fat stores more than twice

as much energy as a gram of a
polysaccharide, such as starch
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 Phospholipids
 Composed of 2 fatty
acids,
acids glycerol,
glycerol
phosphate group & a
small molecules, such as
choline (charged/polar)

 Phospholipid diversity
is based on differences in
fatty acids & polar
groups 24
 Phospholipids show ambivalent behavior toward water,
because phospholipids have:
1. Hydrophilic (polar) head
2. Two hydrophobic (non-polar) tails
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 Steroids

 Have a carbon
skeleton consisting
of 4 rings attached to
different functional
groups

 Many hormones (sex hormones) are steroids produced

from cholesterol
 So, cholesterol is a essential in animals, although a high
level of it in the blood may contribute to atherosclerosis
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 Nucleic acids (Polynucleotides)

 Nucleic acids consist of

nucleotide monomers

 Composed of
nitrogenous base, pentose
and phosphate group

 A nucleoside: a
nucleotide without a
phosphate group
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 Nitrogenous Bases

NO oxygen atom on
the second carbon in
the ring of
deoxyribose
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• Because the atoms in both the nitrogenous
base & the sugar are numbered, the sugar atoms
have a prime (′) after the number to distinguish
them

Deoxyribose in DNA Ribose in RNA

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 Nucleotide Polymers
 The phosphate group is
attached to the 5′ carbon of the
sugar giving a nucleotide

 Nucleosides are joined

covalently (phosphodiester
linkages:
linkages between the –OH group
on the 3′ carbon of one nucleotide
& the phosphate on the 5′ carbon
of the next) 30
 There are 2 free ends of the
polymer:

1. One end has a phosphate

attached to a 5′ carbon (5′ end )

2. The other end has a hydroxyl

group on a 3′ carbon (3′ end)

 So, DNA strand has a built-in

directionality along its sugar-
phosphate backbone, from 5′ to 3′

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 The sugar phosphate backbone
are attached to the nitrogenous
bases

 The sequence of bases along a

DNA polymer is unique for each
gene

 The of bases in a gene specifies

the protein’s structure & function
in the cell
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DNA molecules have 2 polynucleotides (double helix)

The double helix run in opposite 5′ → 3′ directions

from each other (antiparallel)
 The bases are held
together by hydrogen
bonds

 Compatibility:

 A pairs with T

 G pairs with C