Chapter 9 + Quiz Questions Flashcards
What are the 6 membrane functions?
1) Separate cells from the external medium to create an intracellular environment of unique and defined composition.
2) Allow selective transport of substrates in and out of the cell.
3) Provide a location for specialized pathways and processes
4) Rapid changes in electric potential across the membranes of
neurons as basis of the nervous system.
5) Localization of receptors to facilitate response to physiological signals.
6) Mediate cell-cell recognition and interaction
What are 8 membrane characteristics?
1) Membranes are sheet-like structures, two molecules thick, that form closed boundaries between compartments.
2) Membranes consist of mainly of lipids and proteins, with
carbohydrates linked to these molecules.
3) Membranes are built from amphipathic molecules.
4) Membranes are largely impermeable to polar molecules.
5) Specific membrane proteins mediate particular biological
functions.
6) Membranes are self-assembling, non-covalent structures.
7) Membranes are fluid and dynamic structures.
8) Membranes are highly specialized in their composition and
distribution (asymmetric)
Membrane formation is a consequence of the ..?
Amphipathic nature of the membrane lipids
These molecules in self-assemble through the ____ _____
hydrophobic effect
The structure formed depends on the ____ of cross-sectional areas of the polar head group and the hydrophobic tail
ratio
Fatty acids favor formation of ______; lipids with two hydrocarbon tails tend to form _____
micelles, bilayers
Exposure of hydrophobic tails at the edge of the bilayer to water is energetically _______
unfavorable
Flat bilayer sheets are unstable and spontaneously form membrane _____. These are the basis of cells and organelles
vesicles
Lipid bilayer membranes have a very low ______ to ions and most polar molecules
permeability
Permeability of small molecules is correlated with their relative ____
solubility in water
Some small ___-____ gases and small ____ molecules can pass directly through the membrane
non-polar, hydrophobic
The cell membrane can represent a critical barrier for polar drugs intended for ______ targets
intracellular
Encapsulation of a drug within a liposome can facilitate ____ across the membrane
transport
Liposomes can also be used to target ____ cells or organelles
specific
Membranes are primarily composed of __ and ____
lipids, proteins
More active membranes have a higher ratio of ____ to ____
protein, lipid
Composition of membrane components can be _____, in
particular for prokaryotes
dynamic
Membranes are dynamic structures due to the nature of the ___-_____ interactions
non-covalent
Lipids and proteins freely ____ in the plane of the membrane
diffuse
Lateral movement of proteins and lipids within the membrane is very _____
rapid
Movements across the membrane is _____
restricted
Transbilayer movement requires a ____ head group to pass through hydrophobic environment
polar
Uncatalyzed rate of lipid molecule crossing from one sheet to the other (flip-flop diffusion) is very ___
slow
What are flippases?
Translocation of lipids from one side of bilayer to the other is catalyzed by enzymes
Lipid composition of the inner and outer sheets of the bilayer can be different, allowing for ______ of
the membrane faces
specialization
Cells need to maintain an appropriate levels of
_____ _____
membrane fluidity
Membranes undergo _____-dependent
phase transitions
temperature
Membranes undergo temperature-dependent
phase transitions. What happens to the membrane when the temperature is below, above, or at the phase transition temperature?
Below: membrane is too solid
Above: membrane is too fluid
At the: the hydrocarbon chains are partially ordered but lateral diffusion is still possible
Animals use _____ to mediate membrane
fluidity
cholesterol
While the basic features of the bilayer are simple and consistent, there are mechanisms to enable specialization: what are 3 of them?
- Composition of Membrane Components
- Distribution of Membrane Components
- Specialized Membrane Regions
In the mechanisms that enable specialization, what entails Composition of Membrane Components?
Lipids and Proteins
In the mechanisms that enable specialization, what entails Distribution of Membrane Components?
Static and Dynamic
In the mechanisms that enable specialization, what entails Specialized Membrane Regions?
Lipid Rafts
The lipid composition of membranes ____ across species and cell types
varies
____ ____ arise from the spontaneous association of lipid molecules whose hydrocarbon tails are of similar length
Lipid rafts
The longer, saturated hydrocarbons of sphingolipids form stable associations making the lipid rafts ___ and more ____ than the rest of the membrane
thicker, ordered
____ are docking points in lipid-anchored proteins that contain long-chain saturated fatty acid anchors
Rafts