Exam 2: January 23-27 Flashcards
what are the functions of the plasma membrane?
1) it’s the boundary around our cell that acts as a discriminating barrier
2) it binds chemical messengers through the proteins on the surface of the cell
3) it sets cell characteristics such as shape and motility
how does the plasma membrane set cell characteristics?
it can set the shape and motility
cells can move themselves sometimes instead of being immobile
it can also be a connection to other cells which is needed to make tissues which turn into organs
also connects cells with the EC matrix
what are the components of the plasma membrane?
1) phospholipids
2) cholesterol
3) proteins
4) glycocalyx
what form does the plasma membrane have?
it’s a fluid mosaic model
you expect it to be constantly moving and made of lots of components
what are phospholipids?
part of the plasma membrane - the main building block of the PM
it has a polar head with 2 non polar tails = amphipathic
polar heads like being associated with intercellular fluid while tails don’t so they group together and bond due to hydrophobic bonding and a bilayer forms spontaneously
what is cholesterol?
part of the plasma membrane
1:1 relationship with the phospholipids
how does cholesterol prevent certain molecules from getting through the PM?
small polar molecules can’t go through the membrane as easily
Na+ get’s bounced easily by the hydrophobic tails because it’s charged however, water isn’t charged but it’s polar and it can slip through the gaps in the membrane but cholesterol fills those gaps
what function does cholesterol serve?
increases stiffness of the PM
allows for controlled bending of phosphomembrane and without cholesterol you couldn’t make a sphere shape
also helpful for vesicle formation!
what is a protein?
1:50 ratio with phospholipids but they’re actually half the mass of the plasma membrane aka they’re really big
what are the two types of proteins?
1) integral
2) peripheral
what are integral proteins?
ALWAYS amphipathic because part of it is in the phospholipid membrane and the other is associated with the interstitial/intercellular fluid
most are transmembrane proteins but not always
cannot be removed from the membrane without destroying the PM
what are the types of integral proteins?
1) channels
2) receptors
what are channels?
a type of protein which allow polar compounds to cross the membrane without having to associate with the non polar region
what are receptors?
a type of protein that is on the surface of the cell and receives signals and can also be anchors
what are peripheral proteins?
predominantly on the intracellular cellular fluid side aka the inside of the cell
can impact the shape and motility of the cell
proteins on the outside are extracellular matrix proteins
what is the glycocalyx?
the branch sugar structures that we find on the extracellular fluid side of our membrane - we don’t see it on the inside
it can be attached to phospholipids and integral proteins
causes a fuzzy appearance – glycocalyx is 3D and you can only focus on one plane at a time so it’s easy to focus in inside of PM but not the outside with a microscope
what are the functions of the glycocalyx?
1) identification
2) mechnical protection
3) limits cell growth
how does the glycocalyx serve as identification?
the glycocalyx on Bronson’s cells are different than mine
how does the glycocalyx serve as mechanical protection?
glycocalyx kind of stick out and look like hairs on our arm and they help us to prevent things from getting to our skin so the glycocalyx gives us mechanical protection for our cells so things can’t get to integral proteins or our phospholipids
how does the glycocalyx limit cell growth?
it limits how close cells can be to each other so it limits cell growth
what are junctions?
direct linkage of cells
what are the types of junctions?
1) gap junctions
2) desmosomes
3) tight junctions
what are gap junctions?
they are direct linkages that are small channels created by proteins called connexons
it’s multiple connexons that help make the gap junction
not that strong
what are gap junctions made by?
proteins called connexons
is there ICF or ECF flow with gap junctions?
ICF flow? Yes! Things can move from cell to cell without leaving either cell - whomever this is also limited because you can’t move huge things through them, only small things
ECF flow? Yes! water can just go around the gap junctions and get around them like it it’s raining and you’re standing under a walkway you’ll still get wet because water can go around the tunnels
what are desmosomes? what are they made up of?
made up by cadherin protein linkages where cadherin linkages are proteins that both cells have
it’s the strongest connection
is there ICF or ECF flow with desmosomes?
ICF flow? No! there’s not peace for anything to move because it’s just proteins linking up and forming a bond
ECF flow? Yes! because just like gap junctions you can go right around it
like two people’s arms stuck together by gum
what are tight junctions? what are they made up of?
they create the sealing of our plasma membrane
they’re made of claudin protein linkages which are also proteins that come from both cells
we’re creating a zipper around the cell, not buttons - multiple cells are connecting all the way around
forces movement through the cell aka transcellular so you have more control since your membrane is selective
you want this in epithelial cells because they’re supposed to be a barrier and you don’t want things to be slipping through them
is there ICF or ECF flow with tight junctions?
ICF flow? No!
ECF flow? No!
why is ATP an energy source for cellular metabolic pathways?
Phosphates are high energy bonds because it’s a covalent bond which is very strong and breaking it releases a lot of energy
aka equation 1: ATP ADP + Pi + energy
you don’t invest ATP, you have to make it
what are the two ways to make ATP?
1) substrate level phosphorylation
2) oxidative phosphorylation
what is substrate level phosphorylation? where does it happen?
bound Pi transferred to ADP to create ATP
ADP + XP ←→ ATP + X
happens in glycolysis and TCA cycle
what is oxidative phosphorylation? what’s an example of it?
you create an energy input that allows us to transfer an unbound Pi to ADP
equation 1
happens in the electron transport chain
what is glycolysis?
breaking down of sugar = catabolism of sugar/carbohydrate
a series of 10 enzymatic reactions