CHAPTER 3: CELL STRUCTURE AND THEIR FUNCTION

Cell Anatomy
• Cells - basic unit of living organisms.
• Cells are only one of several levels of organization in the human organism:
1. Chemicals
2. Organelles
3. Cells
4. Tissues
5. Organs
6. Organ systems
7. Organism
• Cells are parts of larger units (tissues and organs) and are composed of smaller units (organelles).
• Cell is a microscopic unit made up of a bubble of fatty material filled with a water-based mixture of molecules
and tiny particles.
• Parts of any cell are called organelles (meaning small organs).
Cell Structure
GENERALIZED CELL
• Organelles:
• specialized structures in cells that
perform
• specific functions
• Example: nucleus, mitochondria,
ribosomes
• Cytoplasm:
• jelly-like substance that holds
organelles
• Cell membrane:
• also termed the plasma membrane
• a structure that encloses the cytoplasm
Functions of the Cell
• Smallest units of life
• Cell metabolism and energy use
• Synthesis of molecules
• Communication
• Reproduction and inheritance
Cell Membrane
• The cell membrane, or plasma membrane, is the outermost component of a cell.
• It forms a boundary between material in inside the cell and the outside.
• Materials inside the cell are intracellular and those outside are extracellular.
• It acts as a selective barrier.
Cell Membrane Structure
• The fluid-mosaic model is the model used to describe the cell membrane structure.
• The membrane contains The Cell Membrane
phospholipids, cholesterol,
proteins,
and carbohydrates.
• Phospholipids form a bilayer.
• Phospholipids contain 2 regions:
polar and nonpolar.
Phospholipid Structure
• A phospholipid molecule has a
polar head region that is
hydrophilic and a nonpolar tail
region that is hydrophobic.
• The polar region is exposed to
water around the membrane.
• The nonpolar region is facing the
interior of the membrane.

Movement through the Cell

Membrane
• The cell membrane has selective permeability, which allows only certain substances to pass in and out of the
cell.
• Substances such as enzymes, glycogen, and potassium are found in higher concentrations inside the cell.
• Substances such as sodium, calcium, and chloride are found in higher concentration outside the cell.

Cell Membrane Passage

• Some substances, like O2 and CO2 , can pass directly through the cell membrane’s phospholipid bilayer.
• Some substances must pass through transmembrane protein channels, such as Na+ through its channels.
• The route of transport through the membrane depends on the size, shape, and charge of the substance.
• Some substances require carrier molecules to transport them across the cell membrane, such as glucose.
• Some substances require a vesicular transport across the membrane.
• The vesicle must fuse with the cell membrane for transport.
Active Transport and Passive Transport
• Passive membrane transport does not require the cell to expend energy.
• Active membrane transport does require the cell to expend energy, usually in the form of ATP.
• Passive membrane transport mechanisms include diffusion, osmosis, and facilitated diffusion.
• Active membrane transport mechanisms include active transport, secondary active transport, endocytosis,
and exocytosis.
Diffusion
• Diffusion generally involves movement of substances in a solution down a concentration gradient.
• A solution is generally composed of two major parts, solutes and the solvent.
• Solutes are substances dissolved in a predominant liquid or gas, which is called the solvent.
• Solutes, such as ions or molecules, tend to move from an area of higher concentration of a solute to an area of
lower concentration of that same solute in solution.
• This movement from high concentration to a low concentration is diffusion.
Concentration Gradient
• A concentration gradient is the difference in the concentration of a solute in a solvent between two points
divided by the distance between the two points.
• The concentration gradient is said to be steeper when the concentration difference is large and/or the distance
is small.
Leak and Gated Channels
• Lipid soluble substances can diffuse directly through the phospholipid bilayer.
• Water-soluble substances, such as ions, can diffuse across the cell membrane only by passing through cell
membrane channels.
• Two classes of cell membrane channels include leak channels and gated channels.
• Leak channels constantly allow ions to pass through.
• Gated channels limit the movement of ions across the membrane by opening and closing.
Diffusion through the Cell Membrane
Leak and Gated Membrane Channels
Osmosis
• Osmosis is the diffusion of water (a solvent) across a selectively permeable membrane from a region of higher
water concentration to one of lower water concentration.
• Osmosis exerts a pressure, termed osmotic pressure, which is the force required to prevent movement of water
across cell membrane.

Osmotic Pressure and the Cell

• Osmotic pressure depends on the difference of solution concentrations inside a cell relative to outside the cell.
• A cell may be placed in solutions that are either hypotonic, isotonic, or hypertonic compared to the cell
cytoplasm.
Hypotonic
• A hypotonic solution has a lower concentration of solutes and a higher concentration of water relative to the
cytoplasm of the cell.
• The solution has less tone, or osmotic pressure, than the cell.
• Water moves by osmosis into the cell, causing it to swell.
• If the cell swells enough, it can rupture, a process called lysis.
Isotonic
• A cell immersed in an isotonic solution has the same solute concentrations inside and outside the cell.
• The cell will neither shrink nor swell.
Hypertonic
• The cytoplasm of a cell in a hypertonic solution has a lower solute concentration and higher water
concentration than the surrounding solution.
• Water moves by osmosis from the cell into the hypertonic solution, resulting in cell shrinkage, or crenation.
Red Blood Cell Changes in Differing Solutions

Carrier-Mediated Transport
• Some water-soluble, electrically charged or large sized particles cannot enter or leave through the cell
membrane by diffusion.
• These substances include amino acids, glucose, and some polar molecules produced by the cell.
• Carrier molecules are proteins within the cell membrane involved in carrier-mediated transport.
• Carrier-mediated transport mechanisms include facilitated diffusion and Active transport.
• Facilitated diffusion does not require ATP for energy.
• Active transport does require ATP for transport.
Facilitated Diffusion
• Facilitated diffusion is a carrier-mediated transport process that moves substances across the cell membrane
from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration of that substance.
• Because movement is with the concentration gradient, metabolic energy in the form of ATP is not required.

Active Transport
• Active transport is a carrier-mediated process, requiring ATP, that moves substances across the cell membrane
from regions of lower concentration to those of higher concentration against a concentration gradient.
• Active transport processes accumulate necessary substances on one side of the cell membrane at
concentrations many times greater than those on the other side.

Sodium-Potassium Pump
• A major example of active transport is the action of the sodium-potassium pump present in cell membranes.
• The sodium-potassium pump moves Na+ out of cells and K+ into cells.
• The result is a higher concentration of Na+ outside cells and a higher concentration of K+ inside cells.

Secondary Active Transport

• Secondary active transport uses the energy provided by a concentration gradient established by the active
transport of one substance, such as Na+ to transport other substances.
• No additional energy is required above the energy provided by the initial active transport pump.
• In cotransport, the diffusing substance moves in the same direction as the initial active transported substance.
• In countertransport, the diffusing substance moves in a direction opposite to that of the initial active
transported substance.

Endocytosis
• Endocytosis is a process that that brings materials
into cell using vesicles.
• Receptor-mediated endocytosis occurs when a
specific substance binds to the receptor molecule
and is transported into the cell.
• Phagocytosis is often used for endocytosis when
solid particles are ingested.
• Pinocytosis has much smaller vesicles formed,
and they contain liquid rather than solid particles.

Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis
Exocytosis
• Exocytosis involves the use of membrane-bound sacs called secretory vesicles that accumulate materials for
release from the cell.
• The vesicles move to the cell
membrane and fuse, ultimately
releasing the material by exocytosis.
• Examples of exocytosis are the
secretion of digestive enzymes.

Comparison of Membrane Transport

Mechanisms
General Cell Structure
• The interior of a cell is composed of the
cytoplasm, which a jelly-like fluid that
surrounds the organelles.
• Organelles are specialized structures that
perform certain functions.
• Organelles include the nucleus, ribosomes,
endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus,
lysosomes, peroxisomes, mitochondria,
cytoskeleton, centrioles, cilia, flagella, and
microvilli.

Cell Nucleus
• The nucleus is a large organelle usually located near the center of the cell.
• The nucleus is bounded by a nuclear envelope, which consists of outer and inner membranes with a narrow
space between them.
• The nuclear membrane contains nuclear pores, through which materials can pass into or out of the nucleus.
• Contains the cell's genetic code, the code is in form of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) located in strands called
chromatin.
• The nuclei of human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes which consist of DNA and proteins.
• During most of a cell’s life, the chromosomes are loosely coiled and collectively called chromatin.
• When a cell prepares to divide, the
chromosomes become tightly coiled and are
visible when viewed with a microscope.
• Portions of chromatin accept stains readily,
giving the nucleus a very dark appearance.
• Within the nucleus are Nucleoli literally
tiny nucleus, which are diffuse bodies with
no surrounding membrane that are found
within the nucleus.
• There are usually one to several nucleoli
within the nucleus.
• The subunits of ribosomes, a type of
cytoplasmic organelle, are formed within a
nucleolus.
• These ribosomal components exit the
nucleus through nuclear pores.

Chromosome Structure
Ribosomes
• Ribosome components are produced in the nucleolus.
• Ribosomes are the organelles where proteins are produced.
• Ribosomes may be attached to other organelles, such as the
endoplasmic reticulum.
• Ribosomes that are not attached to any other organelle are
called free ribosomes.
Ribosome Production
Endoplasmic Reticulum
• The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a series of
membranes forming sacs and tubules that
extends from the outer nuclear membrane into
the cytoplasm.
• The rough ER is involved in protein synthesis
and is rough due to attached ribosomes.
• The smooth ER has no attached ribosomes
and is a site for lipid synthesis, cellular
detoxification, and it stores calcium ions in
skeletal muscle cells.

Golgi Apparatus
• The Golgi apparatus, also called the Golgi
complex, consists of closely packed stacks of
curved, membrane-bound sacs.
• It collects, modifies, packages, and distributes
proteins and lipids manufactured by the ER.
• The Golgi apparatus forms vesicles, some of
which are secretory vesicles, lysosomes, and other
vesicles.

Lysosomes
• Lysosomes are membrane-bound
vesicles formed from the Golgi
apparatus.
• They contain a variety of enzymes
that function as intracellular digestive
systems.
• Vesicles formed by endocytosis
may fuse with lysosomes in order to
breakdown materials in the
endocytotic vesicles.
• One example is white blood cells
phagocytizing.
Peroxisomes
• Peroxisomes are small, membrane-bound vesicles containing enzymes that break down fatty acids, amino
acids, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 ).
• Hydrogen peroxide is a by-product of fatty acid and amino acid breakdown and can be toxic to a cell.
• The enzymes in peroxisomes break down hydrogen.
Mitochondria
• Mitochondria (singular mitochondrion) are small organelles responsible for producing considerable amounts
of ATP by aerobic (with O2 ) metabolism.
• They have inner and outer membranes separated by a space.
• The outer membranes have a smooth contour, but the inner membranes have numerous folds, called cristae,
which project into the interior of the mitochondria.
• The material within the inner membrane is the mitochondrial matrix and contains enzymes and mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA).
• Cells with a large energy requirement have more mitochondria than cells that require less energy.
A Mitochondrion

The Cytoskeleton
• The cytoskeleton gives
internal framework to the cell.
• It consists of protein
structures that support the cell,
hold organelles in place, and
enable the cell to change shape.
• These protein structures are
microtubules, microfilaments,
and intermediate filaments.
Microtubules
• Microtubules are hollow structures formed from protein subunits.
• The microtubules perform a variety of roles, including helping to support the cytoplasm of cells, assisting in
cell division, and forming essential components of certain organelles, such as cilia and flagella.
Microfilaments
• Microfilaments are small fibrils formed from protein subunits that structurally support the cytoplasm,
determining cell shape.
• Some microfilaments are involved with cell movement.
• Microfilaments in muscle cells enable the cells to shorten, or contract.
Intermediate Filaments
• Intermediate filaments are fibrils formed from protein subunits that are smaller in diameter than microtubules
but larger in diameter than microfilaments.
• They provide mechanical support to the cell.
• A specific type of intermediate filament is keratin, a protein associated with skin cells.
Centrioles
• The centrosome is a specialized area of cytoplasm close to the nucleus where microtubule formation occurs.
• It contains two centrioles, which are normally oriented perpendicular to each other.
• Each centriole is a small, cylindrical organelle composed of microtubules.
• The centriole is involved in the process of mitosis.

Cilia
• Cilia project from the surface of certain cells.
• They are responsible for the movement of materials over the top of cells, such as mucus.
• Cilia are cylindrical structures that extend from the cell and are composed of microtubules.
Flagella
• Flagella have a structure similar to that of cilia but are much longer, and they usually occur only one per cell.
• Sperm cells each have one flagellum, which propels the sperm cell.
Microvilli
• Microvilli are specialized extensions of the cell membrane that are supported by microfilaments.
• They do not actively move as cilia and flagella do.
• Microvilli are numerous on cells that have them and they increase the surface area of those cells.
• They are abundant on the surface of cells that line the intestine, kidney, and other areas in which absorption is
an important function.
Summary of Cell Parts and Functions
Whole Cell Activity
• A cell’s characteristics are determine by the type of proteins produced.
• The proteins produced are in turn determined by the genetic information in the nucleus.
• Information in DNA provides the cell with a code for its cellular processes.
DNA
• DNA contains the information that directs protein synthesis; a process called gene expression.
• A DNA molecule consists of nucleotides joined together to form two nucleotide strands.
• The two strands are connected and resemble a ladder that is twisted around its long axis.
• Each nucleotide consists of a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
• Each nucleotide on one DNA strand has a specific bonding pattern to another nucleotide on the opposite
strand.
• A gene is a sequence of nucleotides that provides a chemical set of instructions for making a specific protein.
Gene Expression
• Gene expression, which is protein synthesis, involves transcription and translation.
• Transcription involves copying DNA into messenger RNA.
• Translation involves messenger RNA being used to produce a protein.

Transcription
• Transcription takes place in the nucleus of the cell.
• DNA determines the structure of mRNA through
transcription.
• During transcription, the double strands of a DNA segment
separate, and DNA nucleotides of the gene pair with RNA
nucleotides that form the mRNA.
• DNA contains one of the following organic bases: thymine,
adenine, cytosine, or guanine.
• Messenger RNA (mRNA) contains uracil, adenine,
cytosine, or guanine.
• DNA nucleotides pair only with specific RNA nucleotides.
• DNA’s thymine pairs with RNA’s adenine.
• DNA’s adenine pairs with RNA’s uracil.
• DNA’s cytosine pairs with RNA’s guanine
• DNA’s guanine pairs with RNA’s cytosine
Translation
• Translation occurs in the cell
cytoplasm after mRNA has exited
the
nucleus through the nuclear pores.
• The mRNA attaches to a
ribosome.
• Codons (3 nucleotide bases) on
the mRNA are read by
anticodons (3
nucleotide bases) on transfer
RNA (tRNA).
• Transfer RNA transports
specific amino acids from the
cytoplasm to the ribosome-
mRNA complex and initiates
formation of the polypeptide
chain.
• The process continues until the
entire polypeptide is completely
formed.
Translation of mRNA in Protein Synthesis

Overview of Gene Expression

The Cell Cycle
• During growth and development, cell division occurs to increase the number of cells or replace damaged or
dying ones.
• This cell division involves a cell cycle.
• The cell cycle includes two major phases: a nondividing phase, called interphase, and a cell dividing phase,
termed mitosis.
• A cell spends most of its life cycle in interphase performing its normal functions.
• During interphase, the DNA (located in chromosomes in the cell’s nucleus) is replicated.
• The two strands of DNA separate from each other, and each strand serves as a template for the production of a
new strand of DNA.
• Nucleotides in the DNA of each template strand pair with new nucleotides that are subsequently joined by
enzymes to form a new strand of DNA.
• The sequence of nucleotides in the DNA template determines the sequence of nucleotides in the new strand of
DNA.
• Replication of DNA gives two identical chromatids joined at a centromere; both form one chromosome.
• Cytokinesis - pinching in if the cell membrane, and eventual split of the membrane and its content into two
daughter cells.
• Cytokinesis occurs about same time (or just after) the last phases of mitosis.
Interphase
• Interphase is the phase between cell divisions; nearly
all of the life cycle of a typical cell is spent in
interphase.
• During this time, the cell carries out the metabolic
activities necessary for life and performs its specialized
functions.
• In addition, the cell prepares to divide.
• This preparation includes an increase in cell size as
many cell components double in quantity and a
doubling of the DNA content during DNA replication.
• The centrioles within the centrosome are also
duplicated.
• Interphase can be divided into three subphases, called
G1, S, and G2.
• During G1 (the first gap phase), the cell carries out
routine metabolic activities.
• During the S phase (the synthesis phase), the DNA is
replicated (new
DNA is synthesized).
• During the G2 phase (the second gap phase), the cell prepares for cell division. Many body cells do not divide
for days, months, or even years.
• These “resting” cells exit the cell cycle and enter what is called the G0 phase, in which they remain unless
stimulated to divide.
DNA Replication

Cell Genetic Content

• Each human cell (except sperm and egg) contains 23 pairs of
chromosomes, a total of 46.
• The sperm and egg contain 23 chromosomes total.
• One pair of chromosomes are the sex chromosomes, which
consist of two X chromosomes if the person is a female or an X
and Y chromosome if the person is a male.

Mitosis
• The process of distributing genetic material.
• Mitosis involves formation of 2 daughter cells from a single
parent cell.
• Mitosis is divided into four phases: prophase, metaphase,
anaphase, and telophase.
• Mitosis was name by Walther Flemming in the late 19th century,
he noticed threadlike structures in cells during cell division.

Prophase
• During prophase the chromatin condenses to form visible chromosomes.
• Microtubules, termed spindle fibers, form to assist in breaking the centromere between the chromatids and
move the chromosomes to opposite sides of the cell.
• The nuclear membrane dissolves.
Metaphase
• During metaphase, the chromosomes align near the center of the cell.
• The movement of the chromosomes is regulated by the attached spindle fibers.
Anaphase
• At the beginning of anaphase, the chromatids separate and each chromatid is called a chromosome.
• Each of the two sets of 46 chromosomes is moved by the spindle fibers toward the centriole at one of the poles
of the cell.
• At the end of anaphase, each set of chromosomes has reached an opposite pole of the cell, and the cytoplasm
begins to divide.
Telophase
• During telophase, the chromosomes in each of the daughter cells become organized to form two separate
nuclei, one in each newly formed daughter cell.
• The chromosomes begin to unravel and resemble the genetic material during interphase.
• Following telophase, cytoplasm division is completed, and two separate daughter cells are produced.

The Cell Cycle

• During anaphase of mitosis, the separate
(but concurrent) process of cytokinesis
begins.
• By the end of anaphase, cleavage, or
pinching in, of the parent cell is evident.
• By the end of telophase, complete splitting
of parent cell into two similar daughter cells
is complete.
• Each daughter cells has a nucleus and
roughly half of the cytoplasm and organelles
of the parent cell.
• Length of time between divisions, and time
required for divisions to
take place, varies from cell to cell.
• Cell division can range from 20 minutes to
several hours.

Differentiation
• A sperm cell and an oocyte unite to form a single cell, then a great number of mitotic divisions occur to give
the trillions of cells of the body.
• The process by which cells develop with specialized structures and functions is called differentiation.
• During differentiation of a cell, some portions of DNA are active, but others are inactive.
 Diversity of Cell Types

Apoptosis
• Apoptosis, termed programmed cell death, is a normal process by which cell numbers within various tissues
are adjusted and controlled.
• In the developing fetus, apoptosis removes extra tissue, such as cells between the developing fingers and toes.
• In some adult tissues, apoptosis eliminates excess cells to maintain a constant number of cells within the
tissue.
Cellular Aspects of Aging
• There are various causes for cellular aging.
• Existence of a cellular clock
• Presence of death genes
• DNA damage
• Formation of free radicals
• Mitochondrial damage
Tumors
• Tumors are abnormal proliferations of cells.
• They are due to problems occurring in the cell cycle.
• Some tumors are benign and some are malignant (cancer).
• Malignant tumors can spread by a process, termed metastasis.
 Laboratory Manual Notes
Another Kind of Cell Division
• Meiosis - process distinct from mitosis. it is associated with a type of cell division that occurs during
formation of reproductive cells (sperm and eggs).
• Mitosis occurs in the division of all other cell types.
• Meiosis results in daughter cells that have only half the number of chromosomes that other cells, including the
parent cells.
• During meiosis, a parent cell with 46 chromosomes produces daughter cells that have 23 chromosomes in
each. this must occur so when the sperm and egg unite during conception, newly formed cell has 46
chromosomes (23 from sperm plus 23 from egg).
• The offspring has equal amounts of hereditary information from each Parent
Interpreting Micrographs
• Electron microscope - instrument that uses a beam of electrons, rather than a beam of light, to form the image
of a tiny specimen.
• Transmission electron microscopes send an electron beam through the specimen similar to a light microscope
that sends a light beam through a specimen.
• Magnifying power and resolution are much greater in electron microscope.
• Resolution - ability to distinguish detail.
• Scanning electron microscope - reflect an electron beam off the specimen. the shadows produced by a
scanning electron beam lend a three-dimensional effect.