Chapter 7 - Membranes Flashcards
Peripheral proteins
Found on the surface of the membrane
Integral proteins
Found in the interior of the plasma membrane
Hydrophobic regions (tails)
Found inside the membrane
Hydrophilic heads
Found on the outside of the membrane
Fluid mosaic model
The membrane of the cell is filled with fluid and the mosaic piece is due to the various proteins it contains
There’s a phospholipid bilayer (double)
What does the fluidity of the membrane mean for the proteins?
They can shift about laterally rapidly(but rarely if ever are transverse)
Selective permeability
The ability of a membrane to regulate what comes in and out
It not only keeps the structure of a cell intact, but also enables the cell to carry out various functions
How does the steroid cholesterol (fat) affect the plasma membrane in animal cells?
At high temps, it makes the membrane less fluid by restraining the phospholipid movement
It inhibits close packing of the phospholipids, it lowers the temperature of the membrane to solidify.
Therefore it’s called the fluidity buffer.
What role do the lipids and proteins play in the membrane?
The lipids create the structure in the fluid mosaic model and the proteins determine function of the membrane
What are the six functions of the plasma membrane proteins
- Transport -hydrolyze ATP for this purpose
- Enzymatic activity - serve as a metabolic pathway
- Signal transduction - relays messages through the membrane
- Cell-cell recognition - glycoproteins serve as ID tags
- Intercellular Joining - membrane proteins of adjacent cells combine and form junctions between each other (either gap or tight junction)
- Attachment to the cytoskeleton and ECM - micro filaments/cytoskeleton may be non-covalently bound to membrane proteins
What’s the structure of a transmembrane protein?
There’s an N-terminus end which is found on the extra cellular side
There’s an alpha helix structure found on the inside of the cell and on the cytoplasmic side, there’s a C-terminus end
What are amphipatic molecules?
Molecules that have both polar and non-polar regions (both hydrophobic and hydrophilic)
What is the singer and Nicholson model of the PM?
The fluid mosaic model
They proposed that proteins had a hydrophilic region that sticks out of the membrane and a hydrophobic region inside the membrane
Describe the characteristics of a saturated fat:
The hydrocarbon tails are densely packed making the membrane less fluid (more viscous); and there’s only a single bond between the carbons
What links a hydrophilic head to a hydrophobic tail?
An ester linkage
What’s the structural difference between a triacylglycerol and a phospholipid?
Trias have a carboxyl functional group and phospholipids have phosphate group that had an ester linkage to the hydrocarbon tails
How would a cell adapt to colder temperatures?
It would increase the number of unsaturated fats which would also make the cell more fluid, so that’s it’s not solid during the winter
High temperatures would create lipids that reduce the fluidity of their membranes
Glycolipids
Glucose covalently bonded to lipids
Crucial for cell-cell recognition
Glycoproteins
Glucose covalently bonded to protein
Plays a role in cell-cell recognition
An example is blood type which is different glycoproteins found on the surface of red blood cells
Which nonpolar molecules can dissolve in the hydrocarbon (hydrophobic) portion and easily pass through the membrane?
Oxygen
CO2
Hydrocarbons
The hydrophobic portion impedes which molecules?
Ions and polar molecules since they’re hydrophilic
Transport proteins
Enable specific ions and polar molecules to pass through the membrane easily
These are also called channel proteins