Membranes Flashcards
What are the three main functions of the membrane?
- Nerve transmission (action potentials). 2. Membrane trafficking. 3. Signalling.
What can biochemical systems be described as?
Modular.
Why is it thought at biochemical systems are modular?
As this would have been the simplest way for it to evolve.
Why would membranes first have arose?
As a barrier.
What was suspected to be in the membranes of early organisms?
Channels.
What evolved in membranes after channels?
Pumps (the ability to move things with a concentration gradient.)
What is an example of something regulated via pumps in membranes?
Glucose intake.
What can membranes convert a membrane potential gradient into?
Energy- such as with the ATP pumps.
Cell recognition is different in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Why is thought to be the case?
The last universal common ancestor didn’t do this- thought to have evolved later as a late evolutionary adaptation.
Is signalling universal?
No, only similar.
What type of cell does compartmentalisation occur in?
Eukaryotes.
What is the average dimensions of E.coli?
1um by 2um.
How much bigger is a mammalian eukaryotic cell compared to a E.coli cell?
1000x bigger (10X bigger along each dimension).
Fibroblasts in the skin layer are not as thick as the epithelial cells. How much times wider are they?
4.
How much longer is a nerve axon compared to an epithelial cell?
500,000 times longer.
Why is compartmentalisation vital in eukaryotes?
As the cell is much bigger and diffusion will not be fats enough.
How much plasma membrane is in in a eukaryotic cell?
700 um2.
How much internal membranes are in the prokaryotic cell?
7000 um2.
What can you make membranes spontaneously aggregate into in a lab?
Lipid bilayer, liposome, vesicle.
Are vesicles or liposomes spherical?
Liposomes.
Are vesicles or liposomes made of layers?
Vesicles.
What direction of movement is fast in a membrane?
Lateral.
In cells what will membranes spontaneously aggregate into?
Just bilayers.
Lipid anchor proteins are solvable proteins with what added to them?
Hydrophobic tail.
Lipid anchor proteins are often involved in directing cells. Can the cells move these?
Yes.
What process is being described here? Proteins are made fluoresce. A certain region has this removed via bleaching. Monitored how long it takes for the fluoresce to come back. Some will not.
FRAP.
Why will some of the fluorescence not return in FRAP?
As the proteins are fixed.
What did Atomic Force Microscopy show in regards to the membrane surface?
Showed that the membrane was pretty flat with membrane proteins sticking up out of it.
What is an example of an organelle with lots of membrane proteins?
Mitochondria.
Why is it a disadvantage for an organelle to have lots of surface proteins?
Barrier to movement.
What is the issue with he fluid mosaic model?
It concentrates on proteins and not lipids.
What two other things can a phospholipid be called?
A phosphoglycerides or glycerolipids.
What type of double bonds are often found in phospholipids?
Cis.
What type of bonds are often found in sphingolipids?
Trans.
What is present instead of O in sphingolipids?
NH.
Name one example of a sterol.
Cholesterol.
Sterols can be described as what compared to other membrane proteins?
Shorter and fatter.
What type of double bonds do membranes prefer due to their lower energy?
Trans.
How high can the molar % of cholesterol be in some membranes?
Up to 50%.
What shape is cholesterol?
Fairly flat.
Is cholesterol polar?
Yes but it does not contain a polar head group, it only contains one polar OH.
Archae membranes are similar to those found in prokaryotes and eukaryotes?
False they are completely different.
What bonds are found in the fluid phase of the membrane?
Cis bonds as they are more flexible.
What bonds are found in the gel phase of the membrane?
Trans bonds.
What stage does the cell want the membrane to be?
Fluid.
How can you change from the gel phase to fluid phase?
Heat. The change is sudden.
Apart from regulating the fluidity what else does changing the phase of the membrane from gel to fluid do?
Makes the membrane thinner.
What does patch clamping measure?
Change of current in a membrane due to the flow of ions.
Describe the basic process of patch clamping.
The glass electrode is pulled to a very small point on the membrane and tiny currents are measured between the two electrodes. The pipette pushing on the cell is called the on cell positioning. A very tight seal is formed between the tip and the membrane so nothing leaks.
What does ‘Inside out’ geometry refer to?
What was inside the cell corresponds to whats outside the tip.
Why is it good that patch clamping involves a very small surface area of the membrane?
As only a very small number of channels will be present. Allows you to study the channels individually.
What does ‘outside out’ geometry used for?
To study external ligands linked with channels.
What do voltage gates across a membrane cause?
Channels to open.
How much current is present across the membrane when the channel is closed?
0.
What charge value corresponds to a channel being open?
5pa.
Do all channels have the same current when open?
Yes.
What two types of channels are present only axons of nerve cells?
Na+ specific and k+ specific.
What is the resting voltage of an axon membrane?
-70mv.
What happens when the axons membrane potential reaches 0?
Maximum ion flow.
When does the plug attach to the voltage gated Na+ channel ?
1ms. It will detach a few sections after the membrane potential has returned to normal.
What does ‘whole cell geometry’ in patch clamping allow?
Allow the cells total response to be monitored.
What is the voltage gated Na+ plug made from?
4 identical a helices with positive residues.
Why can the plus on the Na+ voltage pump close after depolarisation has occurred?
The plug is made of positive helices. When the cell depolarises and becomes more positive the plug will move to the positive side of the membrane.
What way does Na+ flow through the axons Na+ voltage gated channel?
Either way.
When is the axon said to be refracting?
When the plug is in the whole.
What is the main difference between the Na+ voltage gated channel and the K+ voltage gated channel in the axon?
The K+ channel opens and closes slower.
What is the K+ voltage channel of the axon also called?
The delayed K+ channel.
When the current is bigger why is it easier to driveK+ through the voltage gated axon channel?
The difference in charge is greater meaning it is easier to drive the positive ion through. THE CHANNEL DOES NOT OPEN MORE.
What two pumps are present in the membrane of all cells?
- Na+/K+ pump. 2. Resting K+ channel (K+ lack channel.)
What does the Na+/ K+ pump require?
ATP.
What way do the Na+ and K+ ions flow in the Na+/K+ channel?
Na+ out K+ in.
What is the concentration of Na+ on either side of the Na+/K+ pump?
150mM exterior and 12mM cytosol.
What is the concentration of K+ on either side of the Na+/K+ pump?
4mM exterior, 140mM cytosol.
When is the resting K+ channel open?
All the time.
What channel is responsible for the cells negative potential?
Resting K channel.
The resting K+ channel does not transport much K+ so it is not energetically costly. True or false?
False.
The K+ leak is the only channel in the axon open at rest. Why?
It tries to neutralise the K+ concentration, causing a negative charge inside the axon. (The cell does not have enough energy to completely neutralise this charge.)
What is the difference between the motor neurone and the sensory neurone?
The motor neurone brings nerve signals from the brain to the muscle and the sensory neurone does the reverse.
Nerve impulses make an all or nothing response. How is a stronger signal obtained?
More frequent action potentials.
Is there attenuation of the nerve signal as you travel down the axon?
No.
How frequent are nerve impulses at their maximum?
4 m/s.
Are resting K+ channels voltage gated?
No.
How much ATP does the Na+/K+ pump use?
25%.
The resting K+ channel causes the membrane to slowly depolarise. At what voltage does the Na+ gated channel open?
-40mv.
The Na+ voltage gated channel opens at -40mv. What way do the Na+ ions move?
In due to the concentration gradient. This causes the axon to depolarise more.
The opening of the Na+ channel causes the voltage of the membrane to go up to what?
+35mv.
What type of feedback is found in the axon?
Postive.
When does the Na+ voltage gate get plugged in the transmission of a nerve impulse?
When the membrane potential reaches +35mv.
When does the delayed K+ channel open in the transmission of an action potential?
Once the membrane potential has reached +35mv and the Na channel has closed. This brings the membrane potential back to normal.
Why does the membrane slightly hyperpolarise in neurotransmission?
As there is a delay in shutting the K+ voltage gated channel.
Why is there a refractory period in neurotransmission?
As the Na+ plug stops the Na+ channel opening immediately.