Unit 1- Part 2 Flashcards
Membrane Proteins, Signalling and Nerve Impulse transmission, Cell Cycle, Control of Cell Cycle and Apoptosis
What are cell membranes composed of?
Proteins embedded within a phospholipid bilayer
The structure of the cell membrane can be described as what?
‘Fluid mosaic model’
What are phospholipids composed of?
Hydrophilic Heads (water-loving!) Hydrophobic Tails (water-hating!)
Membrane proteins can either be …… or ……… in the membrane
Integral
Peripheral
What allow strong hydrophobic interactions with the hydrophobic regions of membrane phospholipids?
regions of hydrophobic R groups
What do the strong hydrophobic interactions with the hydrophobic regions of membrane phospholipids hold?
Integral membrane proteins within the phospholipid Bilayer.
Some integral proteins are what?
Transmembrane proteins spanning the entire width of the membrane
What do peripheral membrane proteins have on their surface and how are they bound to the surface of the membrane?
Hydrophilic R groups
Ionic and hydrogen bond interactions
Many peripheral proteins interact with what?
Integral membrane proteins
What are the 3 major roles of membrane proteins?
Movement of molecules across the membrane
Transmission of extracellular signals ie. Signal transduction
Detecting and amplifying stimuli photoreceptor protein system
The phospholipid bilayer is semi-permeable what does this mean?
It only lets certain molecules into and out of the cell
What does the membrane act as a barrier to?
Ions and large polar uncharged molecules
Some small molecules such as oxygen and CO2 pass through the membrane by what?
Diffusion
Do hydrophobic molecules pass through the membrane? (Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide)
Yes
Small uncharged polar molecules (water and glycerol) can they pass through the membrane?
Yes
Large uncharged polar molecules and Ions do pass through the membrane?
No
What is facilitated diffusion?
Passive transport of substances across the membrane through specific transmembrane proteins
Transmembrane proteins are what?
Channels or transporter proteins
To perform specialized functions, different cell types have different …….. and …….. proteins?
Channels and transporter proteins
Most channel proteins in animal and plant cells are what?
Highly selective
Describe channel proteins
Proteins with multiple subunits arranged to form water-filled pores that extend across the membrane.
Channel proteins can be what or what
Gated or ungated
What is an example of an ungated channel protein?
Aquaporins
Gated channel proteins change conformation to do what?
allow or prevent diffusion
What are the 2 types of gated channel proteins
Ligand-gated
Voltage-gated
Describe Ligand-gated channels
Ligand-gated channels proteins are controlled by the binding of specific signal molecules and allow the passage of solutes by altering conformation.
Describe Voltage-gated channels
Voltage-gated channels are controlled by changing ion channels
Give an example of an ion channel?
Sodium channels
What do transporter proteins bind to and why do they undergo a conformational change?
Specific substances to be transported.
To transfer the solute across the membrane.
Why do transporter proteins alternate between 2 different conformations?
So that the binding site for a solute is sequentially exposed on one side of the bilayer then the other.
What is active transport?
When molecules move against the concentration or electrochemical gradient
What is passive transport?
With the concentration gradient or electrochemical gradient (facilitated diffusion)
What type of transport uses pump proteins that transfer substances across the membrane against the concentration gradient?
Active transport
What are the pumps that mediate active transport?
transporter proteins coupled with an energy source
What is required for active transport?
ATP
Some active transport proteins hydrolyse ATP directly to do what?
Provide the energy for conformation changes required to move substances across the membrane
What are proteins which hydrolyse ATP called?
ATPases
When is a membrane potential created?
when there is a difference in electrical charge on the 2 sides of the membrane
For a solute that carries a net charge, the concentration gradient and the electrical potential difference combine to form what?
the electrochemical gradient that determines the transport of the solute
Ion pumps such as ……………….. use energy from the hydrolysis of ATP to establish and maintain these ions gradient.
Sodium pottasium Pump
How does the sodium-potassium pump transport using energy from ATP?
against a Steep concentration gradient
Describe the stages of the sodium-potassium pump
- The pump has a high affinity for sodium ions inside the cell. 3 sodium ions bind.
- Binding stimulates phosphorylation by ATP. Phosphorylation causes conformation change.
- The affinity for sodium ions decreases. Sodium ions are released outside of the cell.
- 2 potassium ions bind outside of the cell, triggers dephosphorylation (release of a phosphate group).
- Loss of phosphate causes a conformation change.
- Potassium ions are taken into the cell and affinity returns to start.
For each ATP hydrolysed, how many sodium ions are transported out of the cell and how many potassium ions are transported into the cell.
Sodium- 3
Potassium-2
For each ATP hydrolysed, three sodium ions are transported out of the cell and two potassium ions are transported into the cell. What does this establish?
both concentration gradients and an electrical gradient.
The sodium-potassium pump is found in most animal cells, accounting for a high proportion of the basal metabolic rate in many organisms. What percentage in humans
Up to 25%
The sodium-potassium pump is important in doing what?
Generating and maintaining ion gradients.
The sodium-potassium pump is important in generating and maintaining ion gradients which are key to many processes in the body. What are the two examples?
Generating an ion gradient for glucose symport in the small intestine
Generation and long term maintenance of ion gradient for resting potential in neurons
Describe the generation of an ion gradient for the glucose symport in the small intestine.
In intestinal epithelial cells the sodium-potassium pump generates a sodium ion gradient across the plasma membrane.
The sodium gradient caused by the sodium-potassium pump drives the active transport of glucose.
This allows glucose to be absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream.
The glucose transporter responsible for this glucose symport transports sodium ions and glucose at the same time and in the same direction.
Sodium ions enter the cell down their concentration gradient; the simultaneous transport of glucose pumps glucose into the cell against its concentration gradient.
How do multicellular organisms achieve coordination?
Through extracellular signaling molecules, receptors, and responses.
Describe in as much detail as you can- Hormones.
Chemical messengers
Produced by the endocrine glands and travel to the bloodstream to target tissues.
Target tissues have receptors which are complementary to a specific hormone
Multicellular organisms signal between cells using extracellular molecules. Name some extracellular molecules.
Steroid hormone
Peptide Hormone
Neurotransmitters
What are receptor molecules of target cells?
Proteins with a binding site for a specific signal molecule
Binding of a receptor molecule to target cell changes what?
Conformation of receptor initiating a response within the cell.
Different cell types produce specific signals that can only be detected and responded to by cells with what?
the specific receptor.
Describe the extracellular signalling pathway.
Signalling cells
Specific signalling molecules released as a result of a change in internal state
Signalling molecules carried to target cells
Target cells
Signalling molecule binds to receptor and causes conformational change and is linked to a change in the internal state of the cells (cell response)
In multicellular organisms, different cell types may show a tissue-specific response to the same what?
Signal
Why would Signalling molecules have different effects on different target cell types?
Due to differences in the intracellular signalling molecules and pathways that are involved
Different cell types may show a specific and different tissue response to the same signal. True or False
True
Describe steroid hormones and how they interact with the membrane.
Steroid hormones are lipophilic (fat-loving) – meaning they can freely diffuse across the plasma membrane of a cell. They bind to receptors in either the cytoplasm or nucleus of the target cell. Examples are; oestrogen and testosterone.
Describe peptide hormones and how they interact with the membrane.
Peptide hormones are hydrophilic and lipophobic (fat-hating) – meaning they cannot freely cross the plasma membrane. They bind to receptors on the surface of the cell. Examples are, insulin, ADH and glucagon.
Describe neurotransmitters and what they do.
Neurotransmitters are also chemical messengers. They transmit their messages over much shorter distances than hormones can. Neurotransmitters carry messages across a synapse.
What is a hydrophobic signalling molecule and what can it do?
A hydrophobic signalling molecule is able to directly diffuse through the phospholipid bilayers of membranes. Once inside the cell it can bind to an intracellular receptor.
The receptors for hydrophobic signalling molecules are called what?
Transcription Factors
What are transcription factors
Transcription factors are proteins that when bound to DNA can either stimulate or inhibit the initiation of transcription.
Steroid hormones are examples of what?
Hydrophobic signaling molecules.
Give examples of steroid hormones
Oestrogen and testostrerone
Describe the movement of steroid hormones in the cell
They can pass through cell membranes and bind to specific receptors in the cytosol or the nucleus.
The hormone-receptor complex moves to the nucleus where it binds to specific sites on DNA and affects gene expression.
The hormone-receptor complex moves to the nucleus where it binds to specific sites on DNA and affects gene expression. What are the names of these sites on DNA?
Hormone response Elements