Unit I Module 4: Chemical Components of Biological Membranes
Unit I Module 4: Chemical Components of Biological Membranes
Unit I Module 4: Chemical Components of Biological Membranes
Objectives
The main objectives of this module are to acquaint the students about the:
i) lipid composition of biomembranes ;
ii) three classes of lipids;
iii) protein components of biomembranes;
iv) types of membrane proteins ;and
v) carbohydrates
Introduction
The cell or plasma membrane surrounds the cytoplasm of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic
cells. The eukaryotic cells also contain subcompartments surrounded by one or more
biomembranes. The biomembranes limit the cell or celluler compartments to form closed
structures. They separate the inside from the outside of the cell or compartment and they also
control the movement of molecules between the inside and the outside of a cell and into and
out of the subcompartmemnts or organelles of eukaryotic cells. All biomembranes have a
similar lipid bilayer structure. In addition, the biomembranes also contain membrane proteins
and carbohydrates (glycoproteins and glycolipids). The composition of a membrane helps in
determining the function of the membrane. The basic chemical components of the
biomembranes are discussed in the following sections:
The lipid bilayer gives two important properties to the cell membranes. The first is the
formation of an impermeable barrier by the hydrophobic core that prevents the diffusion of
water-soluble (hydrophilic) solutes across the membrane. This impermeable barrier function
is modulated by the function of membrane proteins that allow the transport of specific
molecules across the otherwise impermeable bilayer making it selectively permeable. The
second property of the bilayer is the stability of the membrane maintained by hydrophobic
and van der Waals interactions between the lipid chains.
A typical biomembrane is made up of three classes of lipids: phosphoglycerides,
sphingolipids, and steroids.
a) Phosphoglycerides: They constitute the most abundant class of lipids in most
biomembranes. They are derivatives of glycerol 3-phosphate and a phosphoglyceride
molecule consists of a hydrophobic tail (composed of two fatty acyl chains esterified
to the two hydroxyl groups in glycerol phosphate) and a polar (hydrophilic) head
group attached to the phosphate group.
The number of carbons atoms in the two fatty acyl chains may differ (commonly 16
or 18) and also the number of double bonds (0, 1, or 2), which gives different degree
of saturation in the two fatty acyl chains. The nature of head group varies in different
phosphoglycerides. The head group in phosphatidylcholines, the most abundant
phospholipids in the plasma membrane, is a positively charged alcohol choline
esterified to the negatively charged phosphate. While the head group in other
phosphoglycerides consist of phosphate group linked to an OH-containing molecule
such as ethanolamine, serine, or the sugar derivative inositol. These negatively
charged phosphate group and the positively charged head groups or the hydroxyl
groups on the head group interact strongly with water. Another common
phosphoglycerides in the biomembranes are the plasmalogens and they contain one
fatty acyl chain, attached to glycerol by an ester linkage, and one long hydrocarbon
chain, attached to glycerol by an ether linkage.
b) Sphingolipids: These are another class of membrane lipids derived from sphingosine,
an amino alcohol with a long hydrocarbon chain. They contain a long-chain fatty acid
attached to the sphingosine amino group. The most abundant sphingolipid is
sphingomyelin, which contain phosphocholine attached to the terminal hydroxyl group of
sphingosine.
Other sphingolipids are in the membranes are represented by amphipathic glycolipids
which contain sugars in their polar head groups. The simplest glycosphingolipid is
glucosylcerebroside, which contain one glucose unit attached to sphingosine. While the
complex glycosphingolipids called gangliosides contain one or two branched sugar chains
containing sialic acid groups attached to sphingosine.
c) Steroids: They constitute another important class of membrane lipids and consist of
cholesterol and its derivatives with a basic four-ring hydrocarbon structure. Cholesterol is
commonly present in the membranes of mammalian cells but is absent from most
prokaryotic cell membranes. In plant plasma membranes, 30–50 percent of the lipids
consist of certain steroids unique to plants cells.
b) They separate the inside from the outside of the cell or compartment
c) They control the movement of molecules between the inside and the outside of a cell
and into and out of the sub compartments or organelles of eukaryotic cells
Ans: The two important properties to the cell membranes imparted by proteins are:
a) The formation of an impermeable barrier by the hydrophobic core that prevents
the diffusion of water-soluble (hydrophilic) solutes across the membrane.
b) The maintenance of the stability of the membrane by hydrophobic and van der
Waals interactions between the lipid chains.
3. Describe the three classes of lipids present in cell membrane.
Ans: The biomembrane is made up of lipid bilayers alongwith proteins and carbohydrate
References
1. Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., et al., 2002: Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th
edition, Garland Science, New York, Membrane Proteins, Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26878/.
2. Berg, J.M., Tymoczko, J.L., Stryer, L.,2002: Biochemistry, 5th edition, W.H.
Freeman, New York, Section 11.3, Carbohydrates Can Be Attached to Proteins to
Form Glycoproteins. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22521/
3. Brooker, Robert, J., et al., 2007: Biology (First Edition), (McGraw-Hill, New York),
p. 79 ISBN 0-07-326807-0.
4. Cooper, G.M., 2000: The Cell: A Molecular Approach, 2nd edition, Sunderland
(MA): Sinauer Associates, Structure of the Plasma Membrane, Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9898/.
5. Heide, N., Schulz-Vogt., 2006: "Vacuoles", Inclusions in Prokaryotes, Microbiology
Monographs, 1. pp. 295–298, doi:10.1007/3-540-33774-1_10. ISBN 978-3-540-
26205-3.
6. Lodish, H., Berk, A., Zipursky, S.L., et al., 2000: Molecular Cell Biology, 4th edition,
W. H. Freeman, New York, Section 3.4, Membrane Proteins, Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21570/.
Links
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://physiologyplus.com/membrane-carbohydrates-the-cell-glycocalyx/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membrane_glycoproteins