Cell Biology • Communication

– chemical and electrical signals

– Ex. nerve cells produce chemical and

electrical signals by which they
communicate with muscle cells

• Reproduction and inheritance

– contain a complete copy of all the

genetic information of the individual

– genetic information ultimately

determines the structural and
functional characteristics of the cell.

Basic Parts of a Cell

• Plasma membrane, or cell membrane

• Nucleus

• Cytoplasm

specialized structures called organelles perform

specific functions

Plasma Membrane

Structure

• outermost component of a cell

• Consists primarily of lipids and proteins, with

a very small amount of carbohydrates.

Functions of a cell • Carbohydrates combine with lipids to form

• Cell metabolism and energy use
– Chemical reactions that occur within a
cell
• Synthesis of molecules
glycolipids and with proteins to form
glycoproteins.
• Glycocalyx – collection of glycolipids,
glycoproteins, and carbohydrates on the outer
surface of the plasma membrane.

– proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids

 Function

• Separates intracellular and extracellular

substances, those outside the cell – semi-
permeable

• “gate keeper” - determines what moves into

and out of
cells through proteins and membrane
channels

• Encloses and supports the cell contents

• Attaches cells to the extracellular

environment or to other cells
Transport process
• Ability to recognize and communicate with
each other • Passive transport – does not require energy
– Diffusion
– Osmosis
– Facilitated diffusion
• Active transport
 requires energy through Adenosine
triphosphate (ATP)

bilayer of phospholipids and cholesterol with

proteins “floating” in the membrane.

Semi-permeable membrane

• Polar, hydrophilic
region is directed
toward either the
extracellular fluid
or the cytoplasm.

• Nonpolar,
hydrophobic Active transport
region of each • Movement of substance requires energy
phospholipid provided by Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
molecule is • Release of Phosphate from ATP releases
directed toward energy and form Adenosine Diphosphate
the center of (ADP)
the membrane
Diffusion • Hypertonic solution - concentration of
solutes in the solution is greater outside the
cell compared to inside

• Hypotonic solutions – concentration of

solutes in the solution is lesser compared to
inside the cell

Osmosis

• Diffusion of water (solvent) across a

selectively permeable membrane, such as a
plasma membrane

• Selectively permeable - allows water but not

all the solutes dissolved in the water to diffuse
through it

• Water diffuses from more to less

concentration

Membrane Proteins

• Marker molecules - glycoproteins - surface

molecules that allow cells to identify other
cells or other molecules.
Osmotic pressures
• Attachment proteins - integral proteins
• Osmotic pressure is the force required to
– Allow cells to attach to other cells or
prevent the movement of
to extracellular molecules
water across a selectively permeable
membrane – Cadherins are proteins that attach
cells to other cells
• Isosmotic - solutions with the same
concentration of solute particles have the – Integrins are proteins that attach cells
same osmotic pressure to extracellular molecules

• Hyperosmotic – solutions having greater • Transport proteins - integral proteins

concentration of solute particles, and
– Allow ions or molecules to move from
therefore a greater osmotic pressure than
one side of the plasma membrane to
another solution
the other
• Hypo-osmotic - solutions having lesser
– 3 important characteristics:
concentration of solute particles, and
specificity, saturation, and
therefore a lesser osmotic pressure than
competition
another solution

Solutions and Tonicity

• Depending on the concentrations of solutes

with regards to the two compartments

• Isotonic solution – concentration of solutes in

the solution is equal outside and inside the
cell
 • Specificity - each transport protein binds to
and transports only a certain type of
molecule or ion

• Only substances that are the right shape can

bind to the protein

• Competition

• Results from molecules having similar shape

binding to the transport protein

• closely related may bind to the same binding

site.

o The substance in the greater

concentration more readily is moves
across
the plasma

• Saturation

• rate of movement of molecules across the

membrane is limited by
the number of available transport protein

Transport proteins

Secondary active transport

• Two step process

– Ion gradient formation

– Movement of the ion back to the cell

provides energy for some other
 molecule to move out - secondary
active transport
Ex. - glucose moves from the lumen of the intestine
into epithelial cells by secondary active transport
Vesicular Transport
• movement of larger volumes of substances
across the plasma membrane through the
formation or release of vesicles, the
cytoplasm.
– endocytosis and exocytosis
– requires energy in the form of ATP.
– does not demonstrate the degree of
specificity or saturation
Endocytosis
• occurs when material moves through the
plasma membrane and into the cytoplasm by
the formation of a vesicle.
• A portion of the plasma membrane wraps
around a material to form a vesicle.
• Phagocytosis and Pinocytosis
Phagocytosis
• “cell-eating”
• Important in eliminating harmful substances
from the body
• Solid particles are ingested, and phagocytic
vesicles
• White blood cells - phagocytize bacteria, cell
debris, and foreign particles
• Pinocytosis
• Process - “cell-drinking”
• Distinguished from phagocytosis in that
smaller vesicles form and they contain
molecules dissolved in liquid rather than
particles
• Cell types - kidneys, epithelial cells of the
intestines, cells of the liver, and cells that
line capillaries
Cytoplasm
Structure
• material outside the nucleus but inside the
plasma membrane
• Cytosol – colloid, fluid portion
– dissolved ions, molecules, proteins,
organelles
– Proteins - enzymes that catalyze the
breakdown of molecules
Cytoskeleton
• Microtubules - hollow tubes composed
primarily of protein units called tubulin.
• provide support and structure to the
cytoplasm of the cell
• involved in cell division
• components of certain cell organelles, such as
centrioles, cilia, and flagella
• Actin filaments (microfilaments) - small
fibrils, that form bundles, sheets, or networks
in the cytoplasm.
 Provide structure to the cytoplasm
and mechanical support for microvilli.
 Support the plasma membrane and
define the shape of the cell
 Changes in cell shape involve the
breakdown and reconstruction of
actin filaments.
  Muscle cells contain a large number -
muscle’s contractile capabilities
• Intermediate filaments - protein fibers
intertwined
• mechanical strength to cells
• Ex. nerve cells
Cytoplasmic Inclusions
• aggregates of chemicals either produced or
taken in by the cell
– Old hemoglobin, melanin
– Dust, minerals, and dyes
Ribosomes
• Each ribosome is composed of a large subunit
and a small subunit.
Function
– Sites of protein synthesis
– Free ribosomes – create proteins
used inside the cell
– Attached ribosomes (Endoplasmic
reticulum) - produce integral
membrane proteins and proteins
that are secreted from the cell
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Structure
• Connected to the outer membrane of the
nuclear envelope
• Broad, flattened, interconnecting sacs and
tubules
• Interior spaces of those sacs and tubules are
called cisternae
• Rough endoplasmic reticulum
– “rough” because ribosomes are
attached to it
• Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
Function
• Rough endoplasmic reticulum
• ribosomes - proteins are produced and
modified for use as integral membrane
proteins and for secretion into the
extracellular space.
• Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
• Manufactures lipids (phospholipids,
cholesterol, and steroid hormones)
Golgi Apparatus
Structure
• Flattened, membranous
sacs
• Transport vesicles and
secretory vesicles
• Function
• packaging and
distribution center
because it modifies
• Proteins and lipids
 • Proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum are – can produce hydrogen peroxide
transported to the golgi apparatus (H2O2) as a toxic by-product.

• Golgi apparatus - chemically packs, modifies – Catalase - breaks down hydrogen

the proteins (adding glycoproteins) and are peroxide to water and oxygen
distributed to various locations
Proteasomes
• highly developed in cells that secrete large
• large protein complexes containing enzymes
amounts of protein or glycoproteins, such as
cells in the salivary glands and the pancreas. break down and recycle other proteins within the cell.

Mitochondria

Structure

• small, rod-shaped structures

• Layers

– Inner membrane - numerous

infoldings called cristae

– Intermembrane space

– Outer membrane - smooth contour

Lysosomes
• Matrix- material located inside the inner
Structure
membrane
• membrane-bound vesicles that form at the
• Mitochondria contain DNA and ribosomes
Golgi apparatus
• Complex series of mitochondrial enzymes –
• contain hydrolytic enzymes that function as
form ATP
intracellular digestive systems.

Function

• Vesicles taken into the cell fuse with the

lysosomes to form one vesicle and to expose
the endocytized materials to hydrolytic
enzymes

Function

• Provide the majority of the energy for the cell

- “cell’s power plants”.

• Major sites for the production of ATP

– citric acid (Krebs) cycle are in the

Peroxisomes and Proteasomes matrix.

Peroxisomes • Information for making some mitochondrial

proteins is stored in mitochondrial DNA
• membrane-bound vesicles that are smaller
than lysosomes • Proteins are synthesized on mitochondrial
ribosomes
• contain enzymes that break down fatty acids
and amino acids.
Centrioles and Spindle Fibers – moves materials over the surface of
the cells
• The centrosome a specialized zone of
cytoplasm close to the nucleus, is the center – Ex. Removal of debris from the lungs
of microtubule formation in the cell
• Flagella
• Within the centrosome are two centrioles -
– Sperm cells are the only human cells ,
small, cylindrical organelle
only one flagellum exists per cell
• Cell division - microtubules called spindle
– Moves in a wavelike fashion
fibers extend out in all directions from the
centrosome

Cilia and Flagella Microvilli

Structure Structure
• Cilia • cylindrically shaped
 structures that project from the surface of
cells and are capable of movement. • extensions of the plasma membrane -
increases the cell surface area.
 aggregate of microtubules
• Small - microvilli are only one-tenth to one-
 cylindrical in shape twentieth the size of cilia
 shaft of each cilium is enclosed by the plasma
membrane

• Flagella - similar to that of cilia, but they are

longer

Function

• Increase absorption from increased surface

area- intestine, kidney

• Sensory receptors (highly modified) –

elongated microvilli in hair cells of the inner
ear respond to sound
Function
Nucleus
• Movement
Structure
• Cilia - Numerous on surface cells that line the
respiratory tract • Large, membrane-bound structure usually
and the female reproductive tract. located near the center of the cell

– move in a coordinated fashion • Parts

– nucleoplasm
 – nuclear envelope – inner and outer
layer
• nuclear pores
• Nucleolus
– dense region within the nucleus
nucleolus lacks a surrounding membrane
Function
• Chromosomes – aggregate Deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) and Proteins (histones)
• Chromatin  compacts into chromosomes
during cell division
• Nucleolus
– Creation of subunits for ribosomes
– No membrane
• synthesis of a protein at the ribosome based
on the sequence of the codons of mRNA
through the tRNA and RNA polymerase
Nucleic acids
• composed of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen,
nitrogen, and phosphorus
• largest molecules in the body
• major classes
– deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
ribonucleic acid (RNA)
Roles of DNA and RNA
• DNA
– found in the nucleus (control center)
of the cell, where it constitutes the
genetic ,material also called the genes

– Two main functions

• replicates (reproduces) itself

before a cell divides, ensuring
that the genetic information
in the descendant cells is
identical

• provides the basic

instructions for building
every protein in the body

– DNA fingerprinting can help solve

forensic – each person is unique

• RNA
DNA and RNA
– located chiefly outside the nucleus
• Nucleic acids
and can be considered a "molecular
slave" of DNA.
Genes and Gene Expression
– Carries out the orders for protein
• Genes are the functional units of heredity
synthesis issued by DNA
• Heredity is the transmission of genetic traits
– 3 types - messenger RNA, ribosomal
from parent to offspring.
RNA, and transfer RNA
• Gene expression

– Transcription

– DNA strands serves as the template

strand and is copied for translation 
mRNA strand

– Translation
 Double helix –
“spiral staircase”

Cell Life Cycle

• changes a cell undergoes from the time it is

formed until it divides to produce two new
DNA – 2 nucleotides linked by hydrogen bonds cells
forming a double helix
• Interphase is the phase between cell divisions

• nearly all of the life cycle of a typical cell is

spent in interphase

– G1 – first gap phase

– S phase – synthesis phase

– G2 – second gap phase

• Mitotic phase – cell division

– Prophase

– Metaphase

– Anaphase

– Telophase
Human Genome

Kinefelter Syndrome

Turner’s Syndrome