Key Concepts in Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Membrane Structure
and Function
Dr. Wendy Sera
Houston Community
College
Biology 1406
1. Cellular membranes are fluid mosaics of lipids and
proteins.
2. Membrane structure results in selective
permeability
3. Passive transport is diffusion of a substance across
a membrane with no energy investment
4. Active transport uses energy to move solutes
against their gradients.
5. Bulk transport across the plasma membrane
occurs by exocytosis and endocytosis.
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Life at the Edge
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Video: Structure of the Cell Membrane
 The plasma membrane is the boundary that
separates the living cell from its surroundings
 The plasma membrane exhibits selective
permeability, allowing some substances to cross it
more easily than others
Figure 7.1—How do cell
membrane proteins help
regulate chemical traffic?
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Concept 7.1: Cellular membranes are fluid
mosaics of lipids and proteins
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Figure 7.2—Phospholipid bilayer (cross section)
Hydrophilic head
 Phospholipids are the most abundant lipid in the
plasma membrane
WATER
 Phospholipids are amphipathic molecules,
containing both hydrophobic and hydrophilic
regions
WATER
 A phospholipid bilayer can exist as a stable
boundary between two aqueous compartments
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Hydrophobic tail
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The Sandwich Model vs. the Fluid-Mosaic
Model
Membrane Models: Scientific Inquiry
 Membranes have been chemically analyzed and
found to be made of proteins and lipids
 Scientists studying the plasma membrane
reasoned that it must be a phospholipid bilayer
 In 1935, Davson and Danielli proposed a
sandwich model in which the phospholipid bilayer
lies between two layers of globular proteins
 Later studies found problems with this model,
particularly the placement of membrane proteins,
which have hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions
 In 1972, Singer and Nicolson proposed that the
membrane is a mosaic of proteins dispersed within
the bilayer, with only the hydrophilic regions
exposed to water—called the fluid-mosaic model
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Figure 7.3—The original fluid mosaic model for membranes
Freeze-fracture Studies
TECHNIQUE
RESULTS
Extracellular
layer
Proteins Inside of extracellular layer
Knife
Phospholipid
bilayer
Plasma membrane
Hydrophobic regions
of protein
Hydrophilic
regions of protein
•
•
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The Fluidity of Membranes
Cytoplasmic layer
Inside of cytoplasmic layer
Freeze-fracture studies of the plasma membrane supported the
fluid mosaic model
Freeze-fracture is a specialized preparation technique that splits
a membrane along the middle of the phospholipid bilayer
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The fluidity of membranes: The movement of
phospholipids
 Phospholipids in the plasma membrane can
move within the bilayer
 Most of the lipids, and some proteins, drift
laterally
 Rarely, a lipid may flip-flop transversely across
the membrane
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Lateral movement occurs
107 times per second.
Flip-flopping across the membrane
is rare ( once per month).
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Figure 7.4-3—Inquiry: Do membrane proteins move?
The Fluidity of Membranes, cont.
 As temperatures cool, membranes switch from a
fluid state to a solid state
 The temperature at which a membrane solidifies
depends on the types of lipids
Membrane proteins
Mouse cell
Mixed proteins
after 1 hour
Human cell
 Membranes rich in unsaturated fatty acids are
more fluid than those rich in saturated fatty acids
Hybrid cell
 Membranes must be fluid to work properly; they
are usually about as fluid as salad oil!
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(a) Unsaturated versus saturated hydrocarbon tails
Figure
7.5—
Factors
that affect
membran
e fluidity
Fluid
The Role of Cholesterol
Viscous
 The steroid cholesterol has different effects on
membrane fluidity at different temperatures
Unsaturated tails
prevent packing.
Saturated tails pack
together.
(b) Cholesterol within the animal cell membrane
Cholesterol reduces
membrane fluidity at
moderate temperatures,
but at low temperatures
hinders solidification.
 At warm temperatures (such as 37°C), cholesterol
restrains movement of phospholipids
 At cool temperatures, it maintains fluidity by
preventing tight packing
Cholesterol
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Evolution of Differences in Membrane Lipid
Composition
 Variations in lipid composition of cell membranes of many
species appear to be adaptations to specific environmental
conditions
 Fish in extremely cold environments have high proportion of
unsaturated hydrocarbons tails, enabling their membranes to
remain fluid
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Membrane Proteins and Their Functions
 A membrane is a collage of different proteins,
often grouped together, embedded in the fluid
matrix of the lipid bilayer
 Proteins determine most of the membrane’s
specific functions
 Thermophilic bacteria and archaea in hot springs have unusual
lipids that prevent excessive fluidity
 Ability to change the lipid compositions in response to
temperature changes has evolved in organisms that live where
temperatures vary
 In winter wheat, the % of unsaturated phospholipids increases in
autumn, keeping membranes from solidifying during the winter.
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The Fluid Mosaic Model
Figure 7.3—Updated model of an animal cell’s plasma
membrane
Fibers of extracellular matrix (ECM)
 The fluid mosaic model states that a membrane
is a fluid structure with a “mosaic” of various
proteins embedded in it
Glycoprotein
Carbohydrate
Glycolipid
EXTRACELLULAR
SIDE OF
MEMBRANE
 Proteins are not randomly distributed in the
membrane
Cholesterol
Microfilaments
of cytoskeleton
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Types of Membrane Proteins
Peripheral
proteins
Integral
protein CYTOPLASMIC
SIDE OF
MEMBRANE
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Figure 7.6—The structure of a transmembrane protein
 Peripheral proteins are bound to the surface of
the membrane
EXTRACELLULAR
SIDE
N-terminus
 Integral proteins penetrate the hydrophobic core
 Integral proteins that span the membrane are called
transmembrane proteins
 The hydrophobic regions of an integral protein
consist of one or more stretches of nonpolar
amino acids, often coiled into alpha helices
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 helix
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Signaling
molecule
Functions of Membrane Proteins
 Six major functions of membrane proteins
1. Transport
2. Enzymatic activity
3. Signal transduction
CYTOPLASMIC
SIDE
C-terminus
Enzymes
Figure
7.7—
Some
functions
(a) Transport
of
membrane
proteins
ATP
Receptor
Signal transduction
(b) Enzymatic
activity
(c) Signal
transduction
(e) Intercellular
joining
(f) Attachment to
the cytoskeleton
and extracellular
matrix (ECM)
4. Cell-cell recognition
5. Intercellular joining
6. Attachment to the cytoskeleton and extracellular
matrix (ECM)
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Glycoprotein
(d) Cell-cell
recognition
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The Role of Membrane Carbohydrates in CellCell Recognition
 Cells recognize each other by binding to
molecules, often containing carbohydrates, on the
extracellular surface of the plasma membrane
 Membrane carbohydrates may be covalently
bonded to lipids (forming glycolipids) or more
commonly to proteins (forming glycoproteins)
Synthesis and Sidedness of Membranes
 Membranes have distinct inside and outside faces
 The asymmetrical distribution of proteins, lipids,
and associated carbohydrates in the plasma
membrane is determined when the membrane is
built by the ER and Golgi apparatus
 Carbohydrates on the external side of the plasma
membrane vary among species, individuals, and
even cell types in an individual
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Transmembrane
glycoproteins
Concept 7.2: Membrane structure results in
selective permeability
Secretory
protein
Golgi
apparatus
Vesicle
Attached
carbohydrate
 Plasma membranes are selectively permeable,
regulating the cell’s molecular traffic
Glycolipid
ER
lumen
Plasma membrane:
Cytoplasmic face
Extracellular face
 A cell must exchange materials with its
surroundings, a process controlled by the
plasma membrane
Transmembrane
glycoprotein
Secreted
protein
Membrane
glycolipid
Figure 7.9—Synthesis of membrane components and their
orientation in the membrane
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The Permeability of the Lipid Bilayer
Animation: Membrane Selectivity
 Hydrophobic (nonpolar) molecules, such as
hydrocarbons, can dissolve in the lipid bilayer and
pass through the membrane rapidly
 Small molecules, like O2, CO2 (i.e., gases), and
some H2O also can pass between the
phospholipids in the membrane
 Hydrophilic molecules including ions and polar
molecules (like sugars) do not cross the
membrane easily
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Passive transport:
Facilitated diffusion
Transport Proteins
 Transport proteins allow passage of hydrophilic
substances across the membrane
 Some transport proteins, called channel proteins,
have a hydrophilic channel that certain molecules or
ions can use as a tunnel
 Channel proteins called aquaporins facilitate the
passage of water
Channel
protein
Carrier
protein
 Other transport proteins, called carrier proteins,
bind to molecules and change shape to shuttle
them across the membrane
 A transport protein is specific for the substance
it moves
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Video: Water Movement Through an Aquaporin
Concept 7.3: Passive transport is diffusion of a
substance across a membrane with no energy
investment
 Diffusion is the tendency for molecules to spread
out evenly into the available space
 Although each molecule moves randomly,
diffusion of a population of molecules may exhibit
a net movement in one direction
 At dynamic equilibrium, as many molecules cross
the membrane in one direction as in the other
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Animation: Diffusion
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Molecules of dye
Membrane (cross section)
WATER
Figure
Net diffusion
Net diffusion
7.10—The
diffusion (a) Diffusion of one solute
of solutes
across a
synthetic
membrane
Equilibrium
Net diffusion
Net diffusion
Equilibrium
Net diffusion
Net diffusion
Equilibrium
(b) Diffusion of two solutes
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Passive Transport, cont.
 Substances diffuse down their concentration
gradient, the difference in concentration of a
substance from one area to another
 No work must be done to move substances down
the concentration gradient
 The diffusion of a substance across a biological
membrane is passive transport because no
energy is expended by the cell to make it happen
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Animation: Osmosis
Effects of Osmosis on Water Balance
 Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a
selectively permeable membrane
 Water diffuses across a membrane from the
region of lower solute concentration to the region
of higher solute concentration until the solute
concentration is equal on both sides
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Lower concentration
of solute (sugar)
Sugar
molecule
Higher concentration
of solute
More similar
concentrations of solute
H2O
Selectively
permeable
membrane
Figure 7.11—Osmosis
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Osmosis
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Figure 7.12—The water balance of living cells
Water Balance in Cells with Cell Walls
Hypotonic
Isotonic
 Isotonic solution: Solute concentration is the
same as that inside the cell; no net water
movement across the plasma membrane
 Hypertonic solution: Solute concentration is
greater than that inside the cell; cell loses water
 Hypotonic solution: Solute concentration is less
than that inside the cell; cell gains water
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Lysed
Cell
Plasma
wall
membrane
H2O
H2O
Hypertonic
H2O
Shriveled
Normal
H2O
H2O
H2O
Plasma
membrane
H2O
(b) Plant cell
 Tonicity is the ability of a surrounding solution to
cause a cell to gain or lose water
(a) Animal cell
H2O
Turgid (normal)
Flaccid
Plasmolyzed
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Video: Turgid Elodea
Video: Plasmolysis
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Osmoregulation
Figure 7.13—The contractile vacuole of Paramecium
caudatum
 Hypertonic or hypotonic environments create
osmotic problems for organisms
Contractile vacuole
50 μm
 Osmoregulation, the control of solute
concentrations and water balance, is a necessary
adaptation for life in such environments
 The protist Paramecium, which is hypertonic to its
pond water environment, has a contractile
vacuole that acts as a pump
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Video: Paramecium Vacuole
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Water Balance of Cells with Cell Walls
 Cell walls help maintain water balance
 A plant cell in a hypotonic solution swells until the wall
opposes uptake; the cell is now turgid (firm)
 If a plant cell and its surroundings are isotonic, there is no
net movement of water into the cell;
the cell becomes flaccid (limp) and if enough cells are
flaccid, the plant will wilt.
 In a hypertonic environment, plant cells lose water
 The membrane pulls away from the cell wall causing the
plant to wilt, a usually lethal effect called plasmolysis
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EXTRACELLULAR
FLUID
Facilitated Diffusion: Passive Transport Aided
by Proteins
(a) A channel
protein
 In facilitated diffusion, transport proteins speed the
passive movement of molecules across the plasma
membrane
Solute
Channel protein
 Channel proteins provide corridors that allow a specific
molecule or ion to cross the membrane
CYTOPLASM
 Channel proteins include
 Aquaporins for facilitated diffusion of water
 Ion channels that open or close in response to a
stimulus (gated channels)
 Carrier proteins undergo a subtle change in shape that
translocates the solute-binding site across the membrane
Solute
Carrier protein
(b) A carrier protein
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Concept 7.4: Active transport uses energy to
move solutes against their gradients
The Need for Energy in Active Transport
 Facilitated diffusion is still passive because the
solute moves down its concentration gradient, and
the transport requires no energy
 Some transport proteins, however, can move
solutes against their concentration gradients
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Active Transport: The Sodium-Potassium Pump
 Active transport moves substances against their
concentration gradients
 Active transport requires energy, usually in the
form of ATP
 Active transport is performed by specific proteins
embedded in the membranes
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Figure 7.15—The sodium-potassium pump: a specific case of
EXTRACELLULAR [Na ] high
active transport
FLUID
[K ] low
+
+
Na+
Na+
 Active transport allows cells to maintain
concentration gradients that differ from their
surroundings
Na+
CYTOPLASM
Na+
P
[Na+] low
[K+] high
ATP
ADP
2
1
K+
 The sodium-potassium pump is one type of
active transport system
Na+
Na+
K+
6
Na+
Na+
Na+
K+
K+
P
K+
3
K+
P
5
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Pi
4
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Animation: Active Transport
Passive transport
Diffusion
Active transport
Facilitated diffusion
ATP
Figure 7.16—Review: passive
and active transport
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BioFlix: Membrane Transport
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How Ion Pumps Maintain Membrane Potential
 Membrane potential is the voltage difference
across a membrane
 Voltage is created by differences in the distribution
of positive and negative ions across a membrane
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Electrochemical Gradient
 Two combined forces, collectively called the
electrochemical gradient, drive the diffusion of
ions across a membrane
 A chemical force (the ion’s concentration gradient)
 An electrical force (the effect of the membrane
potential on the ion’s movement)
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Electrogenic Pump
 An electrogenic pump is a transport protein that
generates voltage across a membrane
 The sodium-potassium pump is the major
electrogenic pump of animal cells
 The main electrogenic pump of plants, fungi, and
bacteria is a proton pump
 Electrogenic pumps help store energy that can be
used for cellular work
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Cotransport: Coupled Transport by a Membrane
Protein
Figure 7.17—A proton pump: An electrogenic
pump in plant, fungi, and bacterial cells
−
ATP
+
−
+
H+
EXTRACELLULAR
FLUID
H+
H+
Proton pump
H+
−
CYTOPLASM
H+
+
−
+
 EXAMPLE: Plants commonly use the gradient of
hydrogen ions generated by proton pumps to drive
active transport of nutrients into the cell
H+
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Figure 7.18—Cotransport: active transport driven by a
concentration gradient
+
−
Sucrose
Sucrose
H+
Sucrose-H+
cotransporter
+
−
H+
H+
+
H+
H+
H+
H+
 Large molecules, such as polysaccharides and
proteins, cross the membrane in bulk via vesicles
 Bulk transport requires energy
Proton pump
−
Concept 7.5: Bulk transport across the
plasma membrane occurs by exocytosis and
endocytosis
 Small molecules and water enter or leave the
cell through the lipid bilayer or via transport
proteins
Diffusion of H+
−
ATP
 Cotransport occurs when active transport of a
solute indirectly drives transport of other
substances
H+
+
H+
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Animation: Exocytosis and Endocytosis
Introduction
Exocytosis
 In exocytosis, transport vesicles migrate to the
membrane, fuse with it, and release their contents
outside the cell
 Many secretory cells use exocytosis to export
their products
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Animation: Exocytosis
Endocytosis
 In endocytosis, the cell takes in macromolecules
by forming vesicles from the plasma membrane
 Endocytosis is a reversal of exocytosis, involving
different proteins
 There are three types of endocytosis:
 Phagocytosis (“cellular eating”)
 Pinocytosis (“cellular drinking”)
 Receptor-mediated endocytosis
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Phagocytosis
Endocytosis, cont.
Pseudopodium
of amoeba
 The vacuole fuses with a lysosome to digest the
particle
Bacterium
Food vacuole
Pseudopodium
1 μm
 In phagocytosis a cell engulfs a particle in a
vacuole
EXTRACELLULAR
FLUID
Solutes
An amoeba engulfing a
bacterium via phagocytosis (TEM)
Figure 7.19a—Exploring
endocytosis in animal cells
“Food”
or
other
particle
Food
vacuole
CYTOPLASM
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Animation: Phagocytosis
Endocytosis, cont.
 In pinocytosis, molecules dissolved in droplets
are taken up when extracellular fluid is “gulped”
into tiny vesicles
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Animation: Pinocytosis
Pinocytosis
0.25 μm
Pinocytotic vesicles
forming (TEMs)
Plasma
membrane
Coat
protein
Coated
pit
Coated
vesicle
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Endocytosis, cont.
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Figure 7.19c—Exploring endocytosis in animal cells
Receptor-Mediated
Endocytosis
 In receptor-mediated endocytosis, binding of
ligands to receptors triggers vesicle formation
Plasma
membrane
Receptor
Coat
protein
0.25 μm
 A ligand is any molecule that binds specifically
to a receptor site of another molecule
Top: A coated pit.
Bottom: A coated vesicle
forming during receptormediated endocytosis (TEMs)
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Animation: Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis
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Phagocytosis
Pinocytosis
Receptor-Mediated
Endocytosis
EXTRACELLULAR
FLUID
Solutes
Pseudopodium
Receptor
Plasma
membrane
Coat
protein
“Food”
or
other
particle
Coated
pit
Coated
vesicle
Food
vacuole
CYTOPLASM
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Figure 7.19—Exploring
endocytosis in animal cells
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