Channel proteins

Channel proteins are water-filled pores

They allow charged substances (eg. ions) to
diffuse through the cell membrane
The diffusion of these ions does not occur
freely, most channel proteins are ‘gated’,
meaning that part of the channel protein on
the inside surface of the membrane can move
in order to close or open the pore
This allows the channel protein to control the
exchange of ions
Facilitated diffusion
Certain substances cannot diffuse through the
phospholipid bilayer of cell membranes.
These include:
Large polar molecules such as glucose and amino
acids
Ions such as sodium ions (Na ) and chloride ions
(Cl ) + -
These substances can only cross the phospholipid
bilayer with the help of certain proteins
This form of diffusion is known as facilitated
diffusion
There are two types of proteins that enable
facilitated diffusion:
Channel proteins
Carrier proteins
They are highly specific (they only allow one type
 CELL
MEMBRANES
AND
TRANSPORT
A LEVEL BIOLOGY
The Fluid Mosaic Model of
Membranes
Membranes are vital structures found in all
cells
The cell surface membrane creates an
enclosed space separating the internal cell
environment from the external environment,
and intracellular membranes form
compartments within the cell such as the
nucleus, mitochondria and RER
Membranes do not only separate different
areas but also control the exchange of material
across them, as well as acting as an interface
for communication
Cellular membranes are formed from a
bilayer of phospholipids which is roughly
7nm wide and therefore just visible under an
electron microscope at very high
magnifications
The fluid mosaic model of the membrane
was first outlined in 1972 and it explains how
biological molecules are arranged to form
cell membranes
The fluid mosaic model also helps to explain:
Passive and active movement
between cells and their
surroundings
Cell-to-cell interactions
Phospholipids
Phospholipids structurally contain two distinct
regions: a polar head and two nonpolar
tails
The phosphate head of a phospholipid is
polar (hydrophilic) and therefore soluble
in water
The lipid tail is non-polar (hydrophobic)
and insoluble in water
If phospholipids are spread over the surface of
water they form a single layer with the
hydrophilic phosphate heads in the water and
the hydrophobic fatty acid tails sticking up
away from the water
If phospholipids are mixed/shaken
with water they form spheres with
the hydrophilic phosphate heads
facing out towards the water and
the hydrophobic fatty acid tails
facing in towards each other
This is called a micelle
Alternatively, two-layered
structures may form in
sheets
These are called
phospholipid bilayers –
this is the basic structure of
the cell membrane
Phospholipid bilayers can form compartments –
the bilayer forming the cell surface membrane
establishing the boundary of each cell
Internally, membrane-bound compartments formed
from phospholipid bilayers provide the basic
structure of organelles, allowing for specialisation
of processes within the cell
An example of a membrane-bound organelle is the
lysosome (found in animal cells), each containing
many hydrolytic enzymes that can break down
many different kinds of biomolecule
These enzymes need to be kept compartmentalised
otherwise they would breakdown most of the
cellular components
Structure of membranes
The phospholipid bilayers that make up
cell membranes also contain proteins
The proteins can either be intrinsic (or
integral) or extrinsic (peripheral)
Intrinsic proteins are embedded in
the membrane with their
arrangement determined by their
hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions
Extrinsic proteins are found on the
outer or inner surface of the
membrane
The fluid mosaic model describes cell
membranes as ‘fluid’ because:
The phospholipids and proteins can move
around via diffusion
The phospholipids mainly move sideways,
within their own layers
The many different types of proteins
interspersed throughout the bilayer move about
within it (a bit like icebergs in the sea) although
some may be fixed in position
The fluid mosaic model describes cell
membranes as ‘mosaics’ because:
The scattered pattern produced by the proteins
within the phospholipid bilayer looks somewhat
like a mosaic when viewed from above
Phospholipids, Cholesterol, Glycolipids,
Proteins & Glycoproteins
The cell membranes of all organisms
generally have a similar structure
Cell membranes contain several different
types of molecules:
Three types of lipid:
Phospholipids
Cholesterol
Glycolipids (also containing carbohydrates)
Two types of proteins:
Glycoproteins (also containing
carbohydrates)
Other proteins (eg. transport proteins)
Phospholipids:
Form a bilayer (two layers of phospholipid molecules)
Hydrophobic tails (fatty acid chains) point in towards the
membrane interior
Hydrophilic heads (phosphate groups) point out towards the
membrane surface
Individual phospholipid molecules can move around within
their own monolayers by diffusion
Cholesterol:
Cholesterol molecules also have hydrophobic tails and
hydrophilic heads
Fit between phospholipid molecules and orientated the same
way (head out, tail in)
Are absent in prokaryotes membranes
Glycolipids:
These are lipids with carbohydrate chains attached
These carbohydrate chains project out into whatever fluid is
surrounding the cell (they are found on the outer
phospholipid monolayer)
Glycoproteins:
These are proteins with carbohydrate chains attached
These carbohydrate chains also project out into
whatever fluid is surrounding the cell (they are found
on the outer phospholipid monolayer)
Proteins:
The proteins embedded within the membrane are
known as intrinsic proteins (or integral proteins)
They can be located in the inner or outer phospholipid
monolayer
Most commonly, they span the entire membrane –
these are known as
transmembrane proteins
Transport proteins are an example of transmembrane
proteins as they cross the whole membrane
Proteins can also be found on the inner or outer
surface of the membrane, these are known as
extrinsic proteins (or peripheral proteins)
 Cell Surface Membranes
Phospholipids
Form the basic structure of the membrane
(phospholipid bilayer)
The tails form a hydrophobic core comprising the
innermost part of both the outer and inner layer of the
membrane
Act as a barrier to most water-soluble substances (the
non-polar fatty acid tails prevent polar molecules or
ions from passing across the membrane)
This ensures water-soluble molecules such as sugars,
amino acids and proteins cannot leak out of the cell
and unwanted water-soluble molecules cannot get in
Can be chemically modified to act as signalling
molecules by:
Moving within the bilayer to activate other molecules
(eg. enzymes)
Cholesterol
Cholesterol regulates the fluidity of the membrane
Cholesterol molecules sit in between the
phospholipids, preventing them from packing too
closely together when temperatures are low; this
prevents membranes from freezing and fracturing.
Interaction between cholesterol and phospholipid
tails also stabilises the cell membrane at higher
temperatures by stopping the membrane from
becoming too fluid
Cholesterol molecules bind to the hydrophobic tails
of phospholipids, stabilising them and causing
phospholipids to pack more closely together
Cholesterol also contributes to the impermeabilty of
the membrane to ions and increases mechanical
strength and stability of membranes; without it
membranes would break down and cells burst
Glycolipids & glycoproteins
Glycolipids and glycoproteins contain carbohydrate
chains that exist on the surface (the
periphery/extrinsically), which enables them to act
as receptor molecules
This allows glycolipids and glycoproteins to bind
with certain substances at the cell’s surface
There are three main receptor types:
signalling receptors for hormones and
neurotransmitters receptors involved in
endocytosis receptors involved in cell adhesion
and stabilisation (as the carbohydrate part can
form hydrogen bonds with water molecules
surrounding the cell
Some act as cell markers or antigens, for cell-to-
cell recognition (eg. the ABO blood group antigens
are glycolipids and glycoproteins that differ slightly
Proteins
Transport proteins create hydrophilic
channels to allow ions and polar molecules
to travel through the membrane. There are
two types:
channel (pore) proteins carrier proteins
Each transport protein is specific to a
particular ion or molecule
Transport proteins allow the cell to control
which substances enter or leave
Cell Signalling
Cell signalling is the process by which messages are
sent to cells
Cell signalling is very important as it allows
multicellular organisms to control /
coordinate their bodies and respond to their
environments
Cell signalling pathways coordinate the activities of
cells, even if they are large distances
apart within the organism
The basic stages of a cell signalling pathway are:
A stimulus or signal is received by a receptor
The signal is converted to a ‘message’ that can be
passed on – this process is known as transduction
The ‘message’ is transmitted to a target (effector)
An appropriate response is made
Transmission of messages in cell signalling
pathways requires crossing barriers such as
cell surface membranes
Cell surface membranes are therefore very
important in signalling pathways as the
membrane controls which molecules
(including cell signalling molecules) can
move between the internal and external
environments of the cell
Signalling molecules are usually very small
for easy transport across cell membranes
Typically in cell signalling pathways,
signalling molecules need to cross or
interact with cell membranes
Ligands
Signalling molecules are often called ligands
Ligands are involved in the following stages of a
cell signalling pathway:
Ligands are secreted from a cell (the sending cell)
into the extracellular space
The ligands are then transported through the
extracellular space to the target cell
The ligands bind to surface receptors (specific to
that ligand) on the target cell
These receptors are formed from glycolipids and
glycoproteins
The message carried by the ligand is relayed
through a chain of chemical messengers inside the
cell, triggering a response
Diffusion & Facilitated Diffusion
Diffusion is a type of transportation that
occurs across the cell membrane
It can be defined as:
The net movement, as a result of the random
motion of its molecules or ions, of a substance
from a region of its higher concentration to a
region of its lower concentration.
The molecules or ions move down a
concentration gradient
The random movement is caused by the
natural kinetic energy of the molecules or ions
As a result of diffusion,
molecules or ions tend to
reach an equilibrium situation
(given sufficient time), where
they are evenly spread within
a given volume of space
The rate at which a substance
diffuses across a membrane
depends on several factors
Carrier proteins
Unlike channel proteins which have a fixed shape,
carrier proteins can switch between two shapes
This causes the binding site of the carrier protein to
be open to one side of the membrane first, and then
open to the other side of the membrane when the
carrier protein switches shape
The direction of movement of molecules diffusing
across the membrane depends on their relative
concentration on each side of the membrane
Net diffusion of molecules or ions into or out of a cell
will occur down a concentration gradient (from an
area containing many of that specific molecule to an
area containing less of that molecule)
The Process of Osmosis
All cells are surrounded by a cell membrane
which is partially permeable
Water can move in and out of cells by osmosis
Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules
from a dilute solution (high concentration of
water) to a more concentrated solution (low
concentration of water) across a partially
permeable membrane
In doing this, water is moving down its
concentration gradient
The cell membrane is partially permeable
which means it allows small molecules (like
water)
through but not larger molecules (like solute
Osmosis is the net movement of
water molecules from a region of
higher water potential
(dilute solution) to a region of lower
water potential (concentrated
solution), through a
partially permeable membrane
Water potential describes the
tendency of water to move out of a
solution. This term is used
to avoid confusion between water
concentration and concentration of a
solution
The Process of Active
Transport
Active transport is the movement of molecules and
ions through a cell membrane from a region of lower
concentration to a region of higher concentration
using energy from respiration
Active transport requires carrier proteins (each
carrier protein being specific for a particular type of
molecule or ion)
Although facilitated diffusion also uses carrier
protein, active transport is different as it requires
energy
The energy is required to make the carrier protein
change shape, allowing it to transfer the molecules
or ions across the cell membrane
The energy required is provided by ATP (adenosine
Active transport is important in:
Reabsorption of useful molecules and
ions into the blood after filtration into
the kidney
tubules
Absorption of some products of digestion
from the digestive tract
Loading sugar from the
photosynthesising cells of leaves into
the phloem tissue for
transport around the plant
Loading inorganic ions from the soil into
root hairs
Endocytosis
Endocytosis is the process by which the cell surface
membrane engulfs material, forming a small sac (or
‘endocytic vacuole’) around it
There are two forms of endocytosis:
Phagocytosis:
This is the bulk intake of solid material by a cell
Cells that specialise in this process are called
phagocytes
The vacuoles formed are called phagocytic vacuoles
An example is the engulfing of bacteria by
phagocytic white blood cells
Pinocytosis:
This is the bulk intake of liquids
If the vacuole (or vesicle) that is formed is extremely
small then the process is called micropinocytosis
Exocytosis
Exocytosis is the process by which materials are removed
from, or transported out of, cells (the reverse of endocytosis)
The substances to be released (such as enzymes, hormones
or cell wall building materials) are packaged into secretory
vesicles formed from the Golgi body
These vesicles then travel to the cell surface membrane
Here they fuse with the cell membrane and release their
contents outside of the cell
An example is the secretion of digestive enzymes from
pancreatic cells
Principles of SA:V
Surface area and volume are both very
important factors in the exchange of materials
in organisms
The surface area refers to the total area of the
organism that is exposed to the external
environment
The volume refers to the total internal volume
of the organism (total amount of space inside
the organism)
As the surface area and volume of an organism
increase (and therefore the overall ‘size’ of the
organism increases), the surface area : volume
ratio decreases