Cells Flashcards
What are the three main regions of a cell?
Cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm
What is the organized mesh that holds cells together?
Extracellular matrix
Describe the extracellular matrix.
Gelatinous substance composed of proteins and carbohydrates
Fluids make up what percentage of body mass in women and what percentage in men?
55% in women, 60% in men
What percentage of human body fluid is intracellular?
67%
What is the fluid mosaic model?
A model of the plasma membrane depicting a phospholipid bilayer with integral proteins.
What is the main function of extracellular fluid (ECF)?
Dissolve and transport substances
What is the function of interstitial fluid?
Surrounds and bathes cells in tissues; contains amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, regulatory substances, and wastes. Cells must extract from this mix the exact amounts of substances they need.
What molecule makes up 20% of the plasma membrane’s lipids and provides structure to the membrane?
Cholesterol
What are peripheral proteins?
Proteins that are not embedded in the plasma membrane but lie adjacent to the cytoplasmic side of it, helping to support it. They attach loosely to integral proteins or anchor to the plasma membrane.
What is the glycocalyx?
The fuzzy, sticky, carbohydrate-rich area at the cell surface composed of glycoproteins and glycolipids
What cell feature is unique to each type of cell and helps to serve as an identity molecule for cell to cell recognition?
The glycocalyx
What kind of cell junction involves a series of occludins that fuse to form an impermeable junction that prevents molecules from passing through? Where is this type of junction found?
Tight junction; between epithelial cells of the digestive tract
What type of cell junction involves the mechanical coupling of cadherins to prevent cell separation? Where would you find this type of junction?
Desmosomes; abundant in the skin and in heart muscle, which are both subjected to great mechanical stress
What type of cell junction involves connection via hollow cylinders called connexons? Where are these junctions found?
Gap junctions; in electrically excitable tissue such as heart and smooth muscle
What molecules is the plasma membrane permeable to?
Nonpolar molecules such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and steroids, as well as small polar molecules such as water
What molecules is the plasma membrane impermeable to?
Large polar molecules such as glucose and ions (Na+, K+, Cl-)
What is resting membrane potential?
The potential difference across a cell membrane due to separation of oppositely charged particles on either side.
Where does voltage due to resting membrane potential occur in the cell? Why does it only occur there?
Only at the membrane surface because the rest of the cell and the extracellular fluid are neutral.
What is the difference between a chemical gradient and an electrical gradient?
Chemical gradient refers to the concentration gradient (high to low) while the electrical gradient refers to the potential of ions to cross membranes (positive to negative)
Potassium moves out of the cell due to its __________ gradient and into the cell due to its _________ gradient.
Chemical, electrical
What kinds of solutes move through the plasma membrane via facilitated diffusion?
Some ions, some amino acids, and monosaccharides
What are two types of facilitated diffusion?
Channel-mediated and carrier-mediated
What channels are always open and allow ions or water to move according to concentration gradients?
Leakage channels
What channels open or close due to changes in chemical or electrical gradients?
Gated channels
What are aquaporins?
Transmembrane proteins that construct water-specific channels in the plasma membrane that allow single-file diffusion of water molecules
Where are aquaporins abundant?
Red blood cells, kidney tubule cells, and other cells involved in water balance
What term describes the total concentration of solute particles in a solution?
Osmolarity
What is hydrostatic pressure?
The “pushing” force on water due to the presence of more fluid in one region than another (pushes water out of a cell)
What is osmotic pressure?
The “pulling” force on water due to the presence of solutes in solution (draws water into the cell)
What is tonicity?
The ability of a solution to change the shape of cells by altering the cell’s water volume
What happens to a cell when it is placed in a hypotonic solution?
Swelling and lysis
What happens to a cell when it is placed in hypertonic solution?
Crenation
What is the difference between osmolarity and tonicity?
Osmolarity is based on the total solute concentration, tonicity is based on both concentration and solute permeability of the plasma membrane
What is primary active transport?
Transport of a molecule across the plasma membrane directly driven by hydrolysis of ATP by transport proteins called pumps
What is secondary active transport?
Transport across the plasma membrane driven by energy stored in concentration gradients of ions created by the primary active transport pumps. Always move more than one substance at a time.
Describe the action of the sodium-potassium pump.
1 molecule of ATP drives 3 sodium ions out of the cell and two potassium ions into the cell
Describe the mechanism of secondary active transport. What is its source of energy?
Uses a cotransport protein to couple the downhill movement of one solute to the uphill movement of another. The electrochemical gradient created by primary active transport is its source of energy.
What is a symport system? What is an example of this?
Two transported substances being moved through a pump in the same direction; sodium diffusion assisting glucose into the cell via a cotransporter protein
What is an antiport system? What is an example of this?
Transported substances move through a membrane in opposite directions; sodium/hydrogen ion cotransporter uses the sodium gradient to pump hydrogen out of the cell
What is transcytosis? Where is this type of transport commonly found?
Vesicular transport that moves substances through a cell membrane from one side to the other; common in epithelial cells lining blood vessels
What is vesicular trafficking?
A vesicular transport that moves substances from one area to another; energized by ATP or GTP
What are three types of endocytosis?
Phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and receptor-mediated endocytosis
What is the main mechanism for specific endocytosis and transcytosis of most macromolecules by body cells?
Receptor-mediated endocytosis
_________ causes ionic imbalances that polarize the membrane, while ___________ maintain that membrane potential.
Diffusion; active transport processes
Resting membrane potential is maintained mainly by what two things?
The concentration gradient of potassium and the differential permeability of the plasma membrane to potassium and other ions