The Cell: Basic unit

of Structure &
Function
Dr. A. Ibrahim
Department of Anatomy
Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences
University of Ilorin
 Lecture expectations

• At the end of the lecture, students will be able to:

1. Draw a well labelled diagram of a cell
2. Name and describe parts of cell
3. Mention characteristics and functions of cellular
organelles
4. Mention the importance of cell
5. Describe the types of cellular junctions
6. State the functions and importance of cellular
junctions
 The Cell:
Overview
• Cells:
• structural and functional units of all
living organisms.
• building blocks of the human body.
• adult human body contains ~ 75 trillion
cells.
• Each cell type performs specific
functions.
• ~200 cell types in humans
• subcategories of most
Made of Cells – Characteristics of Life
What Makes Something Alive?
 The Cell: Common
Characteristics
• Perform the general functions necessary to sustain life:
• Obtain nutrients and other materials from its
surrounding fluids.
• Fuel molecules, O2, building blocks, minerals, etc.
• Dispose of wastes products
• Urea (from nitrogen), CO2, metabolic waste
• Maintain shape and integrity
• Size and shape are related to function
• Cell division:
• Mitosis: growth and repair
• Meiosis: gamete formation
Study of Cells
• Cytology: study of cells
• Microscopic anatomy
• Individual cells observable by light microscopy
• Subcellular structures observable by electron
microscopy.
• TEM
• SEM
• Unit of measure: micrometer (um)
• RBC: 7-8um
LM

EM
Label the parts
of the
Microscope and
mention the
function(s) of
each part
 The Cell: Parts
1. Cell Membrane (or plasma membrane)
• the outer, limiting barrier
• separates the internal contents of the cell from external
materials
2. Cytoplasm – located between the plasma membrane
and nucleus
• Cytosol
• Organelles
• Membranous Organelles
• Non-membranous Organelles
• Inclusions
3. Nucleus
• “control center” of the cell
• controls protein synthesis
• directs the functional and structural characteristics of
the cell.
 Plasma membrane:
composition
• Lipids
• Phospholipids
• Head: hydrophilic
• Tail: hydrophobic
• Form lipid bilayer
• Cholesterol
• Glycolipids
• Carbohydrate component
• Part of glycocalyx
• Proteins
• Integral membrane proteins
• Peripheral membrane proteins
• Some serve as enzymes, ion channels or
receptors
• Glycoproteins
Transport across plasma membrane
Cytoplasm: Cytosol and Organelles

Cytosol Organelles
• Matrix; intracellular material • Complex, organized structures
• Different in different cell • Have unique, characteristic
• Mostly water shapes.
• Each type performs a different
function for the cell.
• Are essential for normal cellular
structure and activities.
Organelles
 Membranous
Organelles
• Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)
• Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (RER)
• Ribosomes
• Synthesize proteins for export
• Peroxisomes made here
• Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (SER)
• Synthesize Lipids (steroids, fatty acids,
phospholipids) and carbohydrates
• Detoxification (drugs and alcohol)
NOTE: ER also stores newly synthesized molecules, and
transport molecules through cisternal space from one part of
the cell to another.
Membranous
Organelles
• Peroxisomes
• Vesicles formed from RER
• Use oxygen to detoxify
• Mediated by specific enzymes
• Most abundant in liver
Membranous
Organelles
• Golgi Apparatus
• Modifies, stores and sorts material
from RER
• Receiving region (cis-face)
• Shipping region (trans-face)
• Produces Lysosomes
Membranous
Organelles
• Lysosomes (from trans-Golgi
network)
• Autophagy: removal of old
organelles
• Autolysis: destruction of the cell
Membranous
Organelles
• Mitochondria
• Mitochondria are organelles
with a double membrane.
• Produce large amounts of ATP.
• Are called the “powerhouses”
of the cell.
Non-Membranous
Organelles
• Not made of a membrane.
• Usually made of proteins
• Include:
• Ribosomes: free and fixed
• Cytoskeleton
• Microfilaments
• Intermediate fibers
• microtubules
• Centrosome and centrioles
Non-Membranous
Organelles
• Cytoskeleton
• Made of filamentous proteins
• Helps give the cell its shape
• Coordinates cellular movements.
• Three categories:
• microfilaments
• intermediate filaments
• microtubules
Non-membranous
Organelles
• Centrosome
• Area close to the nucleus
• Organization site for microtubules
• Centrioles (exist as a pair)
• In the centrosome
• Perpendicular to each other
• 9 sets of microtubule triplets
• Important in cell division (spindle)
 The Nucleus
• Control center of cellular activities.
• Usually, it is the largest structure within
the cell
• Appears as a single spherical or oval
structure. • Nucleolus
• Enclosed by a double membrane called the • The cell nucleus may contain
nuclear envelope. one or more nucleoli.
• The nuclear envelope: • Nucleoli:
• controls the entry and exit of materials • are responsible for making the
between the nucleus and the cytoplasm.
small and the large subunits of
ribosomes.
 DNA, Chromatin, and Chromosome
• DNA is the genetic material housed within the nucleus.
• DNA is a polymer of nucleotides (sugar, phosphate, nitrogen
base)
• Is a double helix.
• Chromatin:
• Strands of DNA and histone proteins
• Euchromatin: uncoiled; active
• Heterochromatin: coiled. inactive
• Chromosome
• The chromosome is the most organized level of genetic
material.
• Each chromosome contains a single, long molecule of DNA
and associated proteins.
• Chromosomes become visible only when the cell is dividing.
 Intercellular
Junctions
Occluding junctions, Anchoring
junctions, Communicating
junctions, Signal-relaying
junctions
Intercellular Junctions
• Multicellular organisms combine cells into tissues.
• Tissues are formed from cell-cell connections and
cell-matrix connections.
• Plasma membrane specializations, called cell
junctions, mediate between neighboring cells and
between cells and the basal lamina.
• Cell junctions are particularly abundant in epithelia.
• Cell junctions form barriers that inhibit the
movement of water and solutes.
 Cell Junctions: Types
1. Occluding junctions or Tight: seal cells
together into sheets (forming an
impermeable barrier)
2. Anchoring junctions: attach cells (and their
cytoskeleton) to other cells or extracellular
matrix (providing mechanical support)
3. Communicating junctions or Gap: channels
allow to pass ions, second messengers and
metabolites.
4. Signal-relaying junctions: Chemical synapses
 Occluding Junctions
or Tight Junction
• Tight junction= Zonula occludens
• Example: Tight junctions of intestinal epithelium
• Endothelial cells in most regions of the brain and
spinal cord.
• The blood-brain barrier separates the blood from
the interstitial fluid.
• Tight junctions prevent diffusion of plasma
membrane’s proteins and glycolipids.
• Tight junctions form a barrier that seals off body
cavities from the blood.
• Tight junction consist of integral membrane
proteins: Occludin and Claudins
 Occluding
Junctions or
Tight Junction
• Each cell possesses integral
membrane proteins that bind
to similar proteins in the
adjacent, forming a
continuous “weld”
 Anchoring Junctions
• Integral membrane proteins connect a cell’s
cytoskeleton to another cell or extracellular
matrix
• Cytoskeletal fibers (microfilaments,
intermediate filaments) (red) connect to a
Membrane protein receptor which (blue)
attaches to another protein (green) in either:
• the extracellular matrix or
• another cell membrane
Anchoring Junctions: Types
1. ADHERENS JUNCTIONS and DESMOSOMES hold cells and are
formed by adhesion proteins of the cadherin family.

2. FOCAL ADHESIONS (Actin-linked cell-matrix adhesion) and

HEMIDESMOSOMES bind cells to the extracellular matrix and
are formed by adhesion proteins of the integrin family.

• Actin filament (microfilament) attachment sites

• cell-cell junction (ADHERENS JUNCTIONS)
• cell-matrix junctions (FOCAL ADHESIONS)

• Intermediate filament attachment sites

• cell-cell junctions (DESMOSOMES)
• cell-matrix junctions (HEMIDESMOSOMES)
Cell-to-cell:
Adherens Junctions
• Adherens junction maintains the
physical integrity of the epithelium.
• Under the cell membrane, contractile
fibers of microfilaments connect
cadherins
• These junctions form adhesion belts
between epithelial cells.
 Cell-to- cell:
Desmosomes
• Desmosomes are button like points between adjacent cells
• The particular type of intermediate filaments attached to the
desmosomes:
• keratin filaments in most epithelial cells, desmin
filaments in heart and muscle cells
• Desmosomes are found in many tissues especially abundant in
• skin, heart, muscle, the neck of the uterus.
• Desmosomes prevent mechanical stress.
• Two types of cadherins (desmoglein and desmocolin) bind via
anchor protein to intermediate filaments.
• Cytoplasmic plaque (desmoplakin,plakoglobin and plakophilin)
link the cadherins.
Cells-to-ECM attachments: Focal
adhesions and Hemidesmosomes

• Cytoskeletal fibers attach to transmembrane

receptors (integrins) that are attached to
extracellular matrix components
• Focal adhesions use microfilament
• Hemidesmosomes use intermediate
filament
 • Gap junctions allow cells to exchange electrical
and/or chemical signals

Communicating • Composed of proteins that form channels that

allow small molecules to pass.
junction or Gap • Subunits of these channels are connexins that are
assembled together to make connexons.
junctions • The connexons from 2 cells join together to make a
gap junction.
Communicating junction
or Gap junctions

• Gap junctions are usually present low

density in most adult epithelia but are
found in large numbers during,
embryogenesis.
• Electrical synapses (in the brain and heart)
depend on gap junction channels.
• Mutations in connexin genes cause disease.
• Recessive mutations in the connexin-26 gene
are the most common causes of inherited
human deafness.
 • When might a cell want to alter its
connections to other cells?

• How do cells alter these

connections?
Regulation of • alter the profile of cytoskeletal
connections, receptors, and
connectivity extracellular matrix
• alter the binding affinity of receptors
• many are Ca2+ dependent
• many are affected by protein kinases
Questions?
Thank you