GRQ #2 - Membrane Potentials Flashcards
besides phospholipids the main components of the plasma membrane are
membrane proteins - they carry out many of the membrane’s functions
how are membrane proteins positioned
their hydrophobic amino acids are in the fatty acid tail portion of the phospholipid bilayer - the middle - and their hydrophilic amino acids are facing the water filled cytosol and/or ECF
What is an integral protein?
they typically span the entire width of the membrane and when they do reach both sides of the membrane they are known as transmembrane proteins
what are peripheral proteins>
they are found on only one side of the membrane
are all integral proteins static?
no - some are anchored in place by the cytoskeleton but many float freely within the plane of the PBL
are peripheral proteins static?
no - they are loosely bound to the membrane surface or to integral proteins and many can also move horizontally along the membrane surface
what is one structure/function of membrane proteins?
acting as channels. many transmembrane proteins serve as protein channels that allow certain substances to cross the membrane and pass into or out of the cell
what is another function of membrane proteins? acting as _
carriers. integral proteins called carrier proteins bind and directly transport substances into and out of the cell - ex. an ion from the ECF binds to a carrier protein which changes shape and releases the ion into the cytosol
another function of the membrane proteins is acting as __
receptors. a receptor is a membrane protein that binds to a chemical messenger called a ligand and when a ligand binds to its receptor then changes are triggered within the cell
receptor - ligand interactions are an example of __ and are responsible for __
cell-cell communication core principle. They are responsible for much of the physiology of the muscular, nervous, and endocrine systems
acting as ___ is another function of membrane proteins
acting as enzymes. enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions and they are vital to plasma membrane structure and function and are often lodged within the membrane
enzymes can ___ metabolic reactions are are often found lodged within the ___
catalyze and are found lodged ex. enzymes can catalyze the formation or breakdown of bonds between substrates
providing ___ ____ is another function
structural support. membrane proteins may be bound to components of the cytoskeleton and other proteins in the ECF and cytosol which provides the cell with shape and help maintain structural integrity
___ ____ cells is another function of membrane proteins
linking adjacent cells. certain membrane proteins can attach to other membrane proteins in adjacent cells, holding the cells in a tissue together - known as “linker proteins” and they can strengthen a tissue or allow adjacent cells to communicate
what are other components of the plasma membrane? (4)
several kinds of lipids, glycolipids, glycoproteins (consist of carbohydrate chains called polysaccharides that are covalently attached to either membrane lipids or proteins) and carbohydrates
ex. cholesterol is a lipid
what does cholesterol do in the membrane?
it stabilizes the structure of the plasma membrane when the temperature changes - critical because the plasma membrane must maintain a certain state of fluidity to function
what is cell recognition?
the ability of our cells to tell one cell type from another - polysaccharides or polymers that are found on the outside of the membrane function in cell recognition
the glycoproteins and glycolipids produced by each cell are ___ to that cell type and that ___ and serve as a ___
each cell are unique to that cell type and that organism and serve as a sort of identification tag
the plasma membrane acts as a __ between the __ and the __ in our cells
fence between the extracellular fluid and the cytosol in our cells
the plasma membrane is ___ ___ and it is a property critical to the cell - it needs to pass things in and out like oxygen, nutrients etc.
selectively permeable - allows certain things to pass through but not others
the ECF and cytosol consist largely of ___ with dissolved __ and ____ of varying size & concentration
water with dissolved ions and organic compounds
The ECF contains substances the cell ___ while the cytosol contains substances that must ___
needs; leave the cell
ex: ECF = glucose, amino acids, fatty acids, water, oxygen, vitamins
cytosol = CO2, waste products
passive transport process
requires no net expenditure of energy from the cell
active transport process
do require the cell to expend energy usually in the form of ATP
what three variables does whether or not the process is active or passive depend on
- the type of substance crossing the membrane
- the membrane’s permeability
- the concentration of that substance both inside and outside the cell
what are the two basic types of passive transport?
osmosis and diffusion