Cell Membrane Flashcards
The plasma membrane and cytoplasmic membrane serve as attachment surface for what?
Cytoskeleton and extracellular structures
The compartmentalization of the cell membrane allows separation of antiparallel processes, allowing anabolic and catabolic processes to be held in separate compartments to avoid competition for substrates. What is an example of this?
Fatty acid synthesis in cytosol and fatty acid oxidation in mitochondria.
The compartmentalization of the cell membrane allows separation of similar reactions serving different purposes. What is an example of this?
Fatty acid oxidation occurring in the mitochondria for energy production but occurring in the peroxisomes for heat production.
The compartmentalization of the cell membrane allows for coordination of different reactions which involve the same pathway for energy efficiency. What is an example of this?
TCA and ETC are the central point of energy metabolism in cells and are both located in the mitochondria.
The following are properties of cell membranes, EXCEPT:
A) Separates cellular interior and exterior
B) Exchanging information w/ environment
C) Non-selective barriers
D) Get info about metabolic status
E) Membranes are extremely dynamic
C) Non-selective barriers
The rest are true, but cell membranes have selective barriers allowing for transport of molecules into and out of the cell.
True or False
Membrane fusion and fission ultimately cause damage to the cell membrane.
False
Transport vesicles from the ER fusing with the Golgi apparatus is an example of what?
Membrane fusion
Formation of vesicles by the ER/GA to transport lipids and proteins to other organelles and to the cell membrane, is an example of what?
Membrane fission
This process involves splitting of a membrane into 2 parts.
Fission
This process involves 2 separate lipid bilayers merging to become one.
Fusion
True or False
Fission and Fusion involve membrane reorganization without loss of continuity
True
What are 3 lipid components of the cell membrane?
Phospholipids, sterol and glycolipids
What are the two types of proteins in cell membranes?
Transmembrane and peripheral
What are the components of the cell membrane?
Lipids
Proteins
Carbs
Water
Divalent cations
Most membrane proteins are _____________ proteins and mediate many functions such as ______ and ________ of reactions.
transmembrane, transport and catalysis
_________ _______ are targets of over 50% of all modern medicinal drugs
Membrane Proteins
Numerous different _______ are necessary for proper cell function and interaction
Proteins
True or False
The lipid bilayer is permeable to most polar molecules
False
The lipid bilayer is relatively impermeable to most water-soluble (polar) molecules
What are the most abundant membrane lipids?
Phospholipids
True or False
All lipid molecules in cell membranes are amphipathic
True
Explain the general structure of the lipid bilayer
Thin film of lipid and protein molecules, held together mainly by noncovalent interactions.
All cell membranes share a characteristic _______ appearance, meaning the plasma membrane appears as three layers.
Trilaminar
What are eukaryotic cell membranes composed of?
Mixtures of different phospholipids and large amounts of cholesterol
True or False
Prokaryotic cell membranes are composed of many types of phospholipids
False
Prokaryotic cell membranes are made up of one main phospholipid
What type of molecules dissolve readily in water and form either favorable electrostatic interactions or hydrogen bonds with water molecules?
Hydrophilic
What type of molecules are insoluble in water due to uncharged, non-polar atoms, and are therefore unable to form energetically favorable interactions with water molecules?
Hydrophobic
What two ways can lipid molecules assemble?
Spherical micelles
Bilayers (biomolecular sheets)
What do lipids spontaneously form in aqueous environments?
Micelles or bilayers
What provides the bilayer’s self-healing property?
It’s ability to become a closed structure where all free edges are avoided by closing in on itself.
What microscopy method is used to study the cell membrane’s internal structures?
Freeze-fracture technique
What two things do structure and flexibility of the lipid bilayer depend on?
Lipids composition
Changes with temperature
Intra and extra-cellular structures consisting of liquid enclosed by a lipid bilayer
Vesicles
Vesicles form naturally during…
Secretion (exocytosis)
Uptake (endocytosis)
Membrane transport
Bilayers as closed spherical vesicles
Liposomes
Planar bilayers, formed across a hole in a partition between two aqueous environments
Black membrane
What are commonly used to measure the permeability properties of synthetic membranes?
Black membranes
What are commonly used as model membranes in experimental studies?
Liposomes