Cell Biology S1 Y1 Flashcards
How is the issue of things not being visible if there is not enough photons overcome?
Use of a condenser lens to focus the light
How is the issue of the photons not being right solved?
Use of detectors
How is the issue of an object being too small to see solved?
Use of compound lenses
How is the issue of an object not interacting with light solved?
Use of stains or labels
How is the issue of the object interacting with light the same as the surroundings solved?
Use of optics to increase contrast e.g. phase contrast or DIC
Magnification equation?
Magnification = actual object/image
What are refractive indices and why are they an issue in magnification?
Level at which a material affects resolution - different materials have a different refractive index meaning there in a mismatch and the path of light changes and signal is lost
What is numerical aperture?
The light-gathering ability and resolving power of the objective lens
How are fluorphores used in fluorescence microscopy?
Energy emitted as photons that emit a longer wavelength when hit with shorter wavelength photons - as excited electrons return to ground state, photons are released as a form of energy
What is a hybrid tagged protein?
Fluorescent proteins sequence at the start and end of a protein
2 reasons why fluorescence microscopy has a better resolution?
- Less out of focus fluorophore excitation (via dichroic mirror that splits the beam so it goes down to speciment and back up to the eyepiece in widefield fluorescence and pinholes+a laser in confocal)
- Less out of focus emitted light collection
Purpose of digital deconvolution?
Improving images using light diffraction information
What is immunolabelling?
Use of antibodies to label cellular components
How does immunolabelling work?
Antibodies bind to antigens at variable region - this recognises epitope (place it binds) - monoclonal antibodies bind to one epitope, polyclonal antibodies bind to many epitopes on one antigen
Difference between direct and indirect immunolabelling?
Direct - primary antibody binds to antigen
Indirect - primary antibody binds, then secondary antibody to this (the antigen for the secondary antibody is the antibody’s constant region)
What does fixation prevent?
Degradation and shrinking
What is rapid freezing?
Aqueous systems cooled fast enough to prevent ice crystals forming - fixation method
How is contrast established?
Staining with heavy metals exploits different electron densities in tissues
What is tomography?
Serial sections orientated to reconstruct 3D images
4 ways of localising cell components in light microscopy?
- Histochemical dyes
- Antibodies linked to FITC
- Green fluorescent proteins
- Chromogenic compounds (pigments)
3 ways of localising cell components in electron microscopy?
- Antibody linked to colloidal gold (the different sizes of gold identify different compounds)
- Product is linked to heavy metals to localise enzymes
- Electron dense products can have enzymes localised
What is central dogma?
Theory that genetic info only flows DNA to RNA to protein
Why is ribose more reactive than deoxyribose?
Extra -OH group
Purines vs pyrimidines?
Purines = A + G
Pyrimidines = T + C + U
2 poles of DNA/RNA subunits?
5’ and 3’ end
Which way does DNA polymerise?
5’ to 3’ semi-conservatively
3 stages of DNA transcription?
- Initiation (RNA pol. II binds to promoter, double helix unwinds, RNA primers bind, transcription begins)
- Elongation (RNA pol. joins nucleotides together, proof-read, RNA primer replaced with DNA)
- Termination (termination signal causes replication complex release as RNA folds into hairpin to displace from DNA)
How is start site recognised in eukaryotes vs prokaryotes?
Eukaryotes = general transcription factors bind to it (and TFII recruits RNA pol. II)
Prokaryotes = sigma factor recognises it
DNA helicase role?
H-bonds broken between base pairs between origins of replication (where DNA replication begins)
DNA primase role?
Assembles and catalyses RNA primer synthesis
- DNA polymerase role?
- What makes sure it stays on strand?
- Adds nucleotides to primer and forms new strand
- Sliding clamp that is assembled at replication fork (where double helix is unwound)
DNA ligase role?
Joins strands
What is the difference between leading and lagging strand synthesis?
-Leading strand continuously synthesised and starts with RNA primer
-Lagging strand discontinuously synthesised in Okazaki fragments that all start with a RNA primer
Role of single strand DNA binding (SSB) proteins?
Prevents ssDNA from base pairing with other template strand
Role of topoisomerases?
Break DNA and rejoin it to prevent tension during replication by relaxing supercoiled DNA
Role of telomerase?
Allows ends of chromosomes to be replicated
Where are the regulatory DNA sequences in genes?
5’ end upstream of coding region
Difference between exons and introns?
Exons are expressed, introns are not as they are internal interruptions
Structure of mRNA?
5’
cap
5’ UTR
exons and introns
3’ UTR
poly(A) tail
3’
What is de novo RNA synthesis?
No primers needed, nucleotides just bound
3 ways RNA is processed?
- Capping
- Polydenylation
- Splicing
What is mRNA capping?
A modified guanine nucleotide is the cap and has been methylated and acts as a recognition site for ribosomes
What is polydenylation of 3’ tail?
String of adenine nucleotides that limit impact of degradation and export from nucleus to cytoplasm
Splicing:
- What is a spliceosome?
- Role of snRNA?
- What is alternative splicing used for?
- Complex of proteins and snRNPs (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein)
- Recognise splice sites and catalyse splicing
- Creating many proteins from one gene
What are cis-regulatory elements?
DNA sequences around the protein coding regions that control (activate and inhibit) mRNA transcription synergistically and antagonistically
How is upstream regulation of transcription carried out?
- Transcription factors bind to enhancer regions upstream
- PIC (pre-initiation complex) proteins recruited by transcriptional activators
- Mediator protein complex links activator transcription factors with PIC proteins
Role of co-factors in transcription?
Extra level of regulation of transcription factors
Structure of nucleosomes?
Beads on a string with a histone core with an octamer structure
How does DNA interact with histones?
Electrostatically (- phosphate, + residues in histone)
How is the structure of nucleosomes altered?
Chromatin remodelling factors slide along DNA and exchange histone octamers and subunits and remove core histones
Histone tail modifications:
- What does methylation cause?
- Acetylation?
- Chromosome condensation and tightening (gene repression)
- Chromosome decondensation and loosening (gene expression as transcription factors can now bind)
How are embryonic stem cells able to differentiate?
De-methylate (epigentically)
What does degenerate mean?
Multiple codons for the same amino acid
What are ribosomes made of?
Proteins and rRNA
What is a ribozyme?
RNA enzyme with a complex secondary structure to catalyse
What are snoRNAs?
Small nucleolar RNA processes rRNA and comes from introns
What is tRNA?
- Has D loop, T loop and an anticodon loop where mRNA binds
- Each tRNA codes for an amino acid (said to be charged with an amino acid by amino acylation whereby a protein binds and binds an amino acid to it)
How does the translation pre-initiation complex work?
Methionini-tRNA binds with small subunit with eIF2 (eukaryotic initiation factor 2) and GTP –> makes 40S complex –> mRNA binds to the 40S complex and folds as the polyA tail interacts with eIF4 complex –> eIF2 and eIF4 bind
How does mRNA bind with the 40S complex?
eIF4 binds to mRNA cap and mRNA folds in on itself as eIF4 interacts with polyA tail
What powers scanning of mRNA?
ATP hydrolysis
What does GTP hydrolysis lead to?
eIF protein release and Met-tRNA binds to large subunit (Met-tRNA in middle of 3 tRNA binding pockets)
What are the 3 tRNA binding sites on large ribosomal subunit?
- A site = aminoacyl-tRNA
- P site = peptidyl-tRNA
- E site = empty/exit
What happens after Met-tRNA has bound?
Aminoacyl-tRNA binds to codon on A site
– EF1α (elongation factor) and GTP are bound to aa-tRNA
– Powered by GTP hydrolysis (changes ribosomal conformation to bring amino acids closer)
What is transpeptidation?
Ribozyme catalyses formation of peptide bond between 2 amino acids (after aa-tRNA has bound) and then peptidyl transferases transfer peptide onto chain
What is translocation?
Step after transpeptidation where polypeptide chain moves to the P site and empty tRNA moves to E site and is released (all powered by GTP hydrolysis)
What is termination?
Final step of translation where release factor protein complex binds to STOP codon and GTP hydrolysis causes complex to fall apart and release polypeptide
Why is base pairing loose in third position between tRNA and mRNA?
Base pair wobble accounts for redundancy in last letter of codons (can be different for same amino acid)
What are ribonucleoproteins?
RNA and protein complexes
What is the RNA world hypothesis?
Folded RNA ribozymes can act as catalysts for amino acid polymerisation, mRNA splicing and tRNA processing AND RNA can encode genetic information
What is membrane composition linked to?
Function (different membranes = different composition)
What do receptor proteins allow?
A cell to receive signals
What do transport proteins allow?
Import of molecules
- How do glycerophospholipids vary?
- 2 types?
- Other lipid in membranes?
- Different carbon chain lengths and head groups
- Sterols
- Sphingolipids (long amino alcohol with a fatty acid and varying head groups)
- Cholesterol
What do amphipathic lipids form in water?
A bilayer (normally 5nm wide) to form a sealed compartment so that there is no edges where tails could be in contact with water
4 ways phospholipids move?
- Lateral diffusion
- Flexion
- Rotation
- Flip-flop (flip sides of bilayer)
3 factors that affect membrane fluidity?
- Temperature
- Acyl chain length
- Acyl chain saturation
What is lipid asymmetry?
Different phospoholipids and glycolipids on extracellular and cytosolic sides of membrane
- What are lipid bilayers impermeable and permeable to?
- What requires transporters?
- Impermeable = solutes and ions
Permeable = small hydrophobic molecules and small uncharged polar molecules - Ions and large uncharged polar molecules
3 types of membrane proteins?
- Integral (through whole membrane)
- Peripheral (one side, lipid or protein associated)
- Lipid anchored (covalently attached)
What membrane proteins would fall off in high salt washings?
Peripheral
What amino acids are best suited to the hydrophobic environment of the lipid bilayer?
Non-polar aliphatic
What are peptide bonds and why are they an issue sometimes?
- Polar (neg. carbonyl O, pos. amide H)
- Not energetically favourable in hydrophobic core of lipid bilayer but this is overcome with hydrogen bond between carbonyl O and amide H
- How many residues per turn in alpha helix?
- Where do side groups on each residue point?
- 3.6 (1.5A per residue)
- Away from one another
How do antiparallel beta sheets run?
- Adjacent beta-strands run in opposite directions and every other R group is above or below sheet
How thick is lipid bilayer?
50A (3/5 is hydrophobic core)
How many amino acids needed to span hydrophobic core in:
- Extended conformation?
- Alpha helix?
- 8 or 9 (each is about 3.5A)
- 20 (each is 1.5A) BUT needs more if it goes back through membrane
- How can you predict membrane protein structure?
- When does it not work?
- Hydrophobicity analysis (each amino acid has different value (hydrophobic are negative) - use average value over a number of amino acids)
- Beta barrels as there is not a deep enough trough
4 things integral proteins can be?
- Transporters
- Linkers
- Receptors
- Enzymes
2 types of membrane transport proteins?
- Carrier proteins (specific binding site, switch conformation as only open to one side of membrane at a time - never continuous channel)
- Channel proteins (open or closed, will be continuous channel if open, selective and gated)
3 types of gradient-driven pumps that carrier proteins transport by?
- Uniport (one type of molecule in at a time)
- Symport (one type of molecule in at a time but requires an ion conc gradient)
- Antiport (as one type goes in, another moves out)
How do symporters (secondary active transporters) work?
- Use pumps to pump ions out with energy to create an ion concentration gradient so the molecules can move in
What is electrochemical gradient?
Concentration gradient and membrane potential (most effective if concentration gradient and membrane potential work in the same direction) - influences passive transport
What does active transport do?
Moves solutes against concentration and electrochemical gradients using symporters, pumps (e.g. ATP driven, light driven) - usually uses electrochemical gradient made by another molecule/ion to provide uphill transport for a second solute
Ion channels:
- How is gating controlled?
- How are ion channels measured?
- What are they like during refractory periods?
- By conditions inside and outside of cell
- Patch clamping - glass capillary used to remove small area and seals the end - can also measure activity of membrane as current only flows if they are open
- Inactivated (not closed)
Difference between channels and transporters?
Channels allow molecules with specific charge and size through
Transporters bind with specific solutes to allow them through
BOTH CAN MEDIATE PASSIVE TRANSPORT
What is osmolarity?
Total concentration of solute particles in a cell
Differences in approach to water in the cell between protozoans, animal cells and plant cells?
Protozoans = contractile vacuole to remove excess
Animal = osmotic equilibrium by pumping Na+ out to draw water in
Plant = use water in for turgor pressure
How does glucose cross plasma membrane?
- Passive transport via a transporter that conformationally changes when glucose binds
- Uses electrochemical Na+ gradient (symport) for uptake in gut lumen
- Uses uniport to release it to other tissues
How do pumps usually operate?
Linked to another factor e.g. ATP-driven pump also driven by gradient
How and why is cytosolic Ca2+ kept low?
- Ca2+ ATPase pumps transport out and return to their original conformation without a second ion binding
- Kept low so cell is more sensitive to a Ca2+ influx
What drives solute transport in plants, fungi and bacteria?
Electrochemical proton gradients generated by ATP or light-driven pumps