CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

FIGURE 2.1 epithelial cells from a human cheek.

Introduction

We are multicellular animals. The cell (fig. 2.1) is the

fundamental unit of our bodies, and it is at the cellular level that
we must understand health and disease. Because cells are
microscopic it is sometimes hard to imagine that it is not the
intestine or heart that is causing the difficulty-it is the cells that
make up the intestine or heart. Nowhere is this more evident that
when we study the cause of cancer of the uterus, the lungs, the
colon, and so forth. In all cases, cancer is characterized by
uncontrolled growth of cells due to irregularities of cell structure
and function.
HUMAN ISSUE
Most scientists, on the basis of data, believe that a chemical
evolution produced the first cell(s), and thereafter all organisms
evolved from this (these) cell(s). Many lay people, on the basis
of faith, believe that God created all living things. Advocates of
divine creationism argue that biology texts should include
creationism because students have the right to be presented
with an alternative view point to evolution. The vast majority of
scientists argue that no acceptable scientific data supporting
creationism exists and that only ideas generated by scientific
investigation should be presented in biology texts. Should
biology texts be required to include the theory of divine creation?
If you were a school board member and this issue arose in your
school district, what position would you take?
The cells of your body perform specific functions, and therefore
their structure varies greatly. Even so, because all cells have the
same basic organization, it is possible for us to begin our study
of cell structure by examining a generalized cell. Our knowledge
of the generalized animal cell depicted in figure 2.2 was obtained
by using the light microscope and the electron microscope. The
light microscope, which utilizes light to view the object, does not
show much detail, but the electron microscope, which uses
electrons to view the object, allows cell biologists to discern cell
structure in great detail. Table 2.1 contrasts these two types of
microscopes, which are also discussed in Appendix B.

FIGURE 2.2 Animal cell This drawing of a generalized cell

is based on electron micrographs
TABLE 2.1 A COMPARISON OF A LIGHT AND AN ELECTRON
MICROSCOPE

LIGHT ELECTRON
1. Glass lenses L Electromagnetic
2. Illumination by light 2. IHumination due to
3. Resolution «0.1 um lenses
3. Resolution ~ 1 nm
4. Magnifies to 2000 x beam of electrons
4. Magnifies to 100000 x
5, Cost: up to JL Cost: up to hundreds
6. Specimen may be 6. Specimen must be
thousands of thousands
Resolution It the
living ability to distinguish
or dead deadtwo points as being
separate. See Appendix C for metric units of measurement.

Electron micrographs, photographs obtained by use

of the electron microscope, have helped biologists
develop an understanding of cell structure.

Figure 2.2 shows that an animal cell is surrounded by

an outer membrane, or cell membrane, within which
is found the cytoplasm, the substance of the cell
outside the nucleus. Within the cytoplasm there are
various organelles, small bodies with specific
structures and functions. Table 2.2 summarizes the
organelles that will be studied.
 TABLEMEMBRANE
12 ORGANELLES (SIMPLIFIED)
NAME STRUCTURE FUNCTION
Cell Bilayer of phospholipid and Passage of molecules
Nucleus Nuclear envelope Control of cell
membrane
Nucle globular proteins
Concentrated area of RNA into and outformation
Ribosome of cell
Chromatin surrounds
Composed of chromatin,
DNA and Contains hereditary
Endoplasmic
olus Folds
in thetubularof
nucleus membrane Transport by means of
(chromosome and
Roug
nucleolus,
protein
Studded
canals
with ribosomes
and information
Protein synthesis
reticulum
Smoo forming
Having flattened
no ribosomeschannels vesicles
Lipid and carbohydrate
Ribos
s) h nucleoplasm
RNA and protein in two Protein synthesis
Golgi
th Stack of membranous Packaging
synthesis and
Vacuole
ome and Membranous
subunits sacs Containers of material
Lysos
apparatus Membranous
saccules container of Intracellular
secretion digestion
Mitochondrion
vesicle Inner membrane (cnstae) Cellular respiration
ome
Cytoskeleton hydrolytic
— outer enzymes Cell shape and
Microfilament within
Actin and membrane
myosin proteins Same
Microtubule Tubulin protein Same
subcellular
Cilium and 9+2 pattern of Locomotionmovement
Centri 9 + 0 pattern of Organization of
flagellum microtubules
ole microtubules microtubules,
associated with cell
division
 MEMBRANE

MEMBRANE
Membrane not only surrounds the cell, it also makes up
many of the organelles.

Membrane Structure

The fluid mosaic model of membrane structure tells us that

protein molecules have a changing pattern (form a mosaic)
within a bilayer of phospholipid molecules that are fluid,
having a consistency of light oil. Notice the manner in
which the phospholipid molecules arrange themselves in
figure 2.3. Their structure, discussed in chapter 1, causes
each molecule to have a polar head and nonpolar tails.
Within the phospholipid bilayer, the tails face inward and
the heads face outward, where they are likely to encounter
a watery environment. The protein molecules may reside
above or below the phospholipids, extend from top to
bottom of the membrane, or simply penetrate a short
distance. On the outer surface some of the
 MEMBRANE
proteinmolecules form receptor sites for receiving chemicals,
such as hormones, that influence the metabolism of the
cells. On the inner surface the proteins tend to be
enzymes, and those that penetrate the cell membrane are
involved in transport as discussed later.

Short chains of sugars are attached to the outer surface of

some protein and lipid molecules. There is evidence that
these carbohydrate chains allow cells to recognize one
another and/or a cell as belonging to a particular
individual. If this is the case, their presence may explain in
part why a patient’s system sometimes rejects an organ
transplant.

Membrane Function

The cell membrane forms a boundary between the outside

of the cell and the inside of the cell. It allows only certain
molecules to enter and exit the cytoplasm freely; therefore,
the cell membrane is said to be selectively permeable.
Small molecules that are lipid soluble, such as oxygen and
 MEMBRANE
carbon dioxide, can pass through the membrane easily.
Certain other small molecules, like water, are not lipid
soluble and still penetrate the membrane quickly because
they pass through pores, passageways formed by protein
molecules.
The cell membrane, composed of phospholipid
and protein molecules, is selectively permeable
and regulates the entrance and exit of molecules
from the cell.

Diffusion and Osmosis

Some small molecules pass through the

membrane by diffusion (table 2.3), the movement
of molecules from the area of greater
concentration to the area of lesser concentration
until they are equally distributed. To illustrate
diffusion, imagine opening a perfume bottle in the
comer of a room. The smell of the perfume soon
penetrates the room because the molecules that
make up the perfume have drifted to all parts of
the room. Another example is putting a tablet of
dye into water. The water eventually takes on the
color of the dye as the tablet dissolves.
FIGURE 2.3 Fluid mosaic model of a cell membrane.
Protein molecules are embedded in and project to
either side of a double layer of phospholipid molecules.
Note that some of these are receptors that specifically
bind with certain molecules acting as chemical
messengers, thus influencing the activity of the cell.
The right side of the illustration shows the effect of
fracturing a frozen membrane.

Membrane channel protein

chains fthiMtnrf
ttoln •Glycocaiyx

External
membrane
surface

i [-Phospholipid 1
1 bilayer

Internal
membrane
Peripheral protein Carb0hydrate surface

(a)
TABLE 23 PASSAGE OF MOLECULES INTO AND OUT
NAME DIRECTION REQUIREM EXAMPLES
OF CELLST oward lesser
Diffusion Lipid-soluble
ENTS
concentration molecules Water
Transport Gases (oxygen
Facilitat Toward lesser Carrier Sugars and amino
Active T oward greater Carrier plus Sugars, amino
and carbon
Exocytosi
ed Toward greater
concentration Vacuole Secretion
acids of
endocyto Toward greater
concentration Vacuole
energy Phagocytosis
dioxide) ionsof
acids, and
s concentration release substances
sis concentration formation substances

Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a cell

membrane. It occurs whenever there is an unequal
concentration of water on either side of a selectively
permeable membrane. For example, figure 2.4
represents a thistle tube covered with a selectively
permeable membrane. The tube contains a protein
suspension, and the beaker contains distilled water.
Because of the presence of the protein (solute), there is
a lesser concentration of water (solvent) inside the tube
than there is outside the tube. Since the protein cannot
cross the membrane, there will be a net movement of
water to Ihe inside of the tube. Once water enters, a
“back pressure” builds up that prevents any further net
gain of water. This is called osmotic pressure, the
amount of force that must be exerted to stop osmosis
from continuing. Osmotic pressure is potential pressure,
and water moves across the membrane toward 1he
region of greater osmotic pressure.

Since cytoplasm contains proteins and salts and is

surrounded by a selectively permeable membrane, a cell
exerts osmotic pressure when it is placed in a hypotonic
solution, which contains a greater concentration of water
(lesser concentration of solute) than does the cell. Under
these circumstances the cell will swell or even burst (fig.
2.5). When a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution*
which contains a lesser concentration of water (greater
concentration of solute) than does cytoplasm, the cell
loses water. In an isotonic solution, the osmotic
pressure is similar on both sides of the membrane, and
there is no net movement of water.