Plasma Membrane Flashcards
Meaning of amphipathic
molecule containing both polar and non-polar parts
what components make up the plasma membrane?
Proteins- integral, peripheral,
lipid anchored
lipids- Cholesterol, glycolipid,
phospholipid
Carbohydrates- glycoprotein+
glycolipid
what are phospholipids made of and their structure?
-2 FA (can be sat/unsat or mixed)
- Phosphorylated Alcohol (choline/serine)
-phosphoglycerate (glycerol+ phosphate)
what are glycolipids made of?
- carbohydrate (sugar)
- Glycerol
- FA
Where is cholesterol located?
-B/W phospholipids
-Amphipathic- polar and non polar parts
What is meant by membranes being self sealing?
they repair themselves if damaged forming the original pattern
How the phospholipids are arranged in the membrane
Arranged in a Bilayer-
polar heads point outwards towards the aqueous environment on both sides and non-polar tails point away from the aqueous environment towards center of bilayer.
what are integral proteins/ how are they arranged
-completely span across the bilayer
- some partially span (halfway across the bilayer)
-non covalent bonded
Where are peripheral membrane proteins located?
can be Located on internal/external of PM so inside or outside of the cell
- non covalent bonding
How do Lipid anchored membrane proteins work?
Lipid of the mem protein anchors the protein to the membrane by covalently bonding it to the bilayer
so the protein itself is not embedded only lipid is
Example of Lipid Anchored mem protein give 2 examples of each of the mem proteins
GPI
what are the membrane carbohydrates attached to?
protein- Glycoprotein
Lipid- Glycolipid
where are carbohydrates located?
present on extracellular side of PM not inside of cell so cause PM asymmetry
Why is it called Fluid Mosaic Structure?
Fluid- Phospholipids and proteins are flexible they move side to side
Mosaic- Pattern produced by the scattering of lipids, carbs and proteins
Experiment that proves phospholipids move around
Fluorescently label lipids of phospholipid
Example of Flippase clinical use
blood clot
What Factors determine the Fluidity of the Plasma membrane?
-Length and type of Hydrocarbon tail
- Cholesterol
- Lipids and proteins movement within the membrane
Do saturated FA tails make membrane more/less fluid Why?
Saturated hydrocarbons make the phospholipids more linear so have ordered arrangement = less fluid
Do Unsaturated FA tails make membrane more/less fluid Why?
unsaturated= irregular arrangement so more Fluid
How length of hydrocarbon tail determines membrane fluidity?
short= more fluid
long = less fluid example: extremophile bacteria have membrane with long hydrocarbon chain so membrane is not damaged by heat
What is the Role of Cholesterol?
Control Fluidity of the PM by adjusting the movement of phospholipids.
prevent the membrane becoming less fluid at low temperature and too fluid at high temperature.
How cholesterol maintains fluidity at low temperature
Makes phospholipids more flexible so move more and fluidity increases
How cholesterol maintains fluidity at high temperature?
Restricts movement of phospholipids+ prevents membrane becoming too fluid
other roles of cholesterol such as sterols
sterols control movement of oxygen into cells so act as o2 sensors
What experiment proves that proteins can move within the membrane
Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching(FRAP)
Details of the FRAP experiment
tag proteins with GFP(Green Fluorescent protein)
kill fluorescent with laser (photobleaching)
if mobile= killed spot should recover
Not mobile: killed spot missing proteins stays the same
How do we look at protein movement nowadays?
Advances in microscopy look at protein molecules individually- use fluorescent microscopy to see proteins move under the microscope.
What are the forms of Transport across the membrane
active- active transport
passive- simple/ facilitated diffusion
Features of Simple diffusion
-no energy needed- comes from inbuilt chemical energy of molecules
- high to low conc.
- allows passage of only small, non polar, hydrophobic molecules
What is facilitated diffusion and features of it
Passive- with the help of transporter proteins
speed up movement of molecules until the no of proteins is the limiting factor
these transport proteins make the membrane selective
types of transporter proteins and examples
-channel proteins(aquaporins+ ion channels)
-carrier proteins
Define osmosis
Movement of water molecules from an area of high wp(low solute conc) to low wp(Higher solute conc) through selectively permeable membrane
is osmosis passive/ active
passive