Lipids and membranes Flashcards

1
Q

What are fatty acids?

A

Long chain carboxylic acids

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2
Q

What can fatty acids be?

A

Saturated or unsaturated

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3
Q

What is a fat?

A

An ester between fatty acids and glycerol

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4
Q

What is an oil?

A

Fat made from unsaturated fatty acids

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5
Q

What are the two types of Unsaturated fatty acids?

A

Cis

Trans

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6
Q

How are lipids formed?

A

They are hydrolysed triglycerides

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7
Q

What are lipids?

A

Long carbon chains attached to a polar head

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8
Q

What is the simplest form of a lipid?

A

Salts of fatty acids (soap)

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9
Q

What are micelles?

A

Droplets of lipids where the hydrophilic heads point outwards and the hydrophobic tails point inwards

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10
Q

When do micelles form?

A

In water

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11
Q

Where are lipids in the cell membrane often derived from?

A

Triglycerides

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12
Q

What lipids form bilayers in water?

A

Phospholipids

Sphingolipids

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13
Q

What is found on the cell membrane?

A

Various proteins and enzymes

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14
Q

What lipids make up the cell membrane?

A

Phosphoglycerides
Sphingolipids
Sterols

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15
Q

What determines the properties of the cell membrane?

A

The composition

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16
Q

What effect do saturated lipids have on the cell membrane?

A

They form tightly packed bilayers with gel-like consistency

17
Q

What effect do unsaturated lipids have on the cell membrane?

A

Unsaturated lipids can not pack as close and the bilayer becomes more fluid

18
Q

Can cholesterol form micelles or bilayers?

A

No

19
Q

What does small amounts of cholesterol do?

A

Makes the bilayer more fluid

20
Q

What does large amounts of cholesterol do?

A

Anchors the lipid tails and makes parts of the membrane more gel-like

21
Q

Can the lipids move within the bilayer?

A

Yes

22
Q

How often does a lipid change place with it’s neighbour?

A

107 times/sec

23
Q

What distance do lipids tend to move over?

A

0.5 μm

24
Q

What does the cell membrane prevent?

A

Most molecules from freely passing through the membrane

25
Q

What does the cell membrane allow to pass through the membrane?

A

Small, uncharged polar molecules

26
Q

What two ways can transmembrane proteins be anchored?

A

α-helix

β-barrel

27
Q

What are β-barrel anchored transmembrane proteins?

A

The β-sheets form a barrel like structure of hydrophobic amino acids
The hydrophobic side chains points to the outside of the barrel

28
Q

What are α-helix anchored transmembrane proteins?

A

α-helix of about 20 hydrophobic amino acids

The hydrophobic side chains points to the outside of the helix

29
Q

What are some examples of transmembrane proteins that transport molecules across the membrane?

A

Ion channels
Aquaporins
Glucose transporters
Amino acid transporter

30
Q

What two things can transmembrane proteins do?

A

Transport molecules across the membrane

Relay signals across the cell membrane

31
Q

What are examples of transmembrane proteins that can relay signals across the cell membrane?

A

G protein-couples receptors

Protein kinases

32
Q

How can proteins be anchored to the membrane?

A

By lipids which attach to the protein

33
Q

What are glycolipids?

A

Lipids with carbohydrates attached

34
Q

Where are glycolipids found?

A

Only on the extracellular surface

35
Q

What do glycolipids do?

A

They are active in cell recognition
They protect against harsh conditions
They maintain electrical gradients

36
Q

What reactive oxygen species can oxygen form?

A

Hydroxyl radical: HO•

Hydroperoxide radical: HO-O•

37
Q

What are reactive oxygen species used for?

A

To degrade unwanted proteins and molecules

38
Q

How does lipid peroxidation occur?

A

Reactive oxygen species can react with unsaturated lipids in the cell membrane

39
Q

What prevents lipid peroxidation?

A

antioxidants

They trap the intermediates