CELL

STRUCTURE
 Membrane Structure

• All membranes consist of a double layer of lipid

molecules in which proteins are embedded. The major
membrane lipids are phospholipids.
• The phospholipids in cell membranes are organized
into a bimolecular layer with the nonpolar fatty acid
chains in the middle. The polar regions of the
phospholipids are oriented toward the surfaces of the
membrane as a result of their attraction to the polar
water molecules in the extracellular fluid and cytosol.
• A phospholipid is composed of two fatty acids, a
glycerol unit, a phosphate group, and a polar
molecule. The polar head region in the phosphate group
of the molecule is hydrophillic (attracted to water), while
the fatty acid tail is hydrophobic (repelled by water).
When placed in water, phospholipids will orient
themselves into a bilayer in which the non-polar tail
region faces the inner area of the bilayer.
• The plasma membrane also contains cholesterol
(about one molecule of cholesterol for each
molecule of phospholipid), whereas intracellular
membranes contain very little cholesterol.
 Integral membrane proteins

• There are two classes of membrane

proteins: integral and peripheral. Integral
membrane proteins are closely
associated with the membrane lipids and
cannot be extracted from the membrane
without disrupting the lipid bilayer
 Transmembrane proteins
• Most integral proteins span the entire membrane
and are referred to as transmembrane proteins.
Most of these transmembrane proteins cross the
lipid bilayer several times. These proteins have
polar regions connected by nonpolar segments
that associate with the nonpolar regions of the
lipids in the membrane interior.
 Peripheral membrane
proteins
• Peripheral membrane proteins are not amphipathic
and do not associate with the nonpolar regions of the
lipids in the interior of the membrane. They are located at
the membrane surface where they are bound to the polar
regions of the integral membrane proteins. Most of the
peripheral proteins are on the cytosolic surface of the
plasma membrane where they are associated with
cytoskeletal elements that influence cell shape and
motility.
 Glycocalyx
• The extracellular surface of the plasma membrane
contains small amounts of carbohydrate
covalently linked to some of the membrane lipids
and proteins. These carbohydrates consist of
short, branched chain of monosaccharides that
extend from the cell surface into the extracellular
fluid where they form a fuzzy, “sugar-coated”
layer known as the glycocalyx. These surface
carbohydrates play important roles in enabling
cells to identify and interact with each other.
 Membrane Junctions
• In addition to providing a barrier to the
movements of molecules between the intracellular
and extracellular fluids, plasma membranes are
involved in interactions between cells to form
tissues.
 DESMOSOMES
• Desmosomes consist of a region between two adjacent cells
where the apposed plasma membranes are separated by about
20 nm and have a dense accumulation of protein at the
cytoplasmic surface of each membrane and in the space
between the two membranes. Protein fibers extend from the
cytoplasmic surface of desmosomes into the cell and are linked
to other desmosomes on the opposite side of the cell.
Desmosomes function to hold adjacent cells firmly together in
areas that are subject to considerable stretching, such as in the
skin.
 Tight junction
• A second type of membrane junction, the tight
junction, is formed when the extracellular
surfaces of two adjacent plasma membranes are
joined together so that there is no extracellular
space between them.
 Gap junction
• A third type of junction, the gap junction, consists of protein
channels linking the cytosols of adjacent cells. In the region of
the gap junction, the two opposing plasma membranes come
within 2 to 4 nm of each other, which allows specific proteins
from the two membranes to join, forming small, protein lined
channels linking the two cells. The small diameter of these
channels (about 1.5 nm) limits what can pass between the
cytosols of the connected cells to small molecules and ions, such
as sodium and potassium, and excludes the exchange of large
proteins.
 Ribosomes

• Ribosomes are the protein factories of a cell. On

ribosomes, protein molecules are synthesized from amino
acids, using genetic information carried by RNA
messenger molecules from DNA in the nucleus.
Ribosomes are large particles, about 20 nm in diameter,
composed of about 70 proteins and several RNA
molecules. Ribosomes are either bound to the organelle
called granular endoplasmic reticulum or are found free
in the cytoplasm.
 Endoplasmic Reticulum

• The most extensive cytoplasmic organelle is the

network of membranes that forms the
endoplasmic reticulum. These membranes
enclose a space that is continuous throughout the
network. Two forms of endoplasmic reticulum can
be distinguished: granular (rough-surfaced) and
agranular (smooth-surfaced).
• Granular endoplasmic reticulum is involved in the
packaging of proteins that, after processing in the Golgi
apparatus, are to be secreted by cells or distributed to
other cell organelles. The agranular endoplasmic
reticulum has no ribosomal particles on its surface and
has a branched, tubular structure. It is the site at which
lipid molecules are synthesized, and it also stores and
releases calcium ions involved in controlling various cell
activities.
 Golgi Apparatus

• The Golgi apparatus is a series of closely

opposed, flattened membranous sacs that
are slightly curved, forming a cup-shaped
structure. Most cells have a single Golgi
apparatus located near the nucleus,
although some cells may have several.
 Endosomes

• A number of membrane-bound vesicular and

tubular structures called endosomes lie between
the plasma membrane and the Golgi apparatus.
Certain types of vesicles that pinch off the plasma
membrane travel to and fuse with endosomes. In
turn, the endosome can pinch off vesicles that are
then sent to other cell organelles or returned to the
plasma membrane.
 Mitochondria

• Mitochondria (singular, mitochondrion) are

primarily concerned with the chemical processes
by which energy in the form of adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) molecules is made available to
cells. Most of the ATP used by cells is formed in
the mitochondria by a process that consumes
oxygen and produces carbon dioxide.
• Mitochondria are spherical or elongated, rodlike
structures surrounded by an inner and an outer
membrane. The outer membrane is smooth,
whereas the inner membrane is folded into sheets
or tubules known as cristae, which extend into
the inner mitochondrial compartment, the
matrix. Mitochondria are found throughout the
cytoplasm.
 Lysosomes

• Lysosomes are spherical or oval organelles

surrounded by a single membrane. Atypical cell
may contain several hundred lysosomes. The fluid
within a lysosome is highly acidic and contains a
variety of digestive enzymes. Lysosomes act as
“cellular stomachs,” breaking down bacteria and
the debris from dead cells that have been engulfed
by a cell.
 Peroxisomes

• The structure of peroxisomes is similar to that of

lysosomes that is, both are moderately dense oval bodies
enclosed by a single membrane. Like mitochondria,
peroxisomes consume molecular oxygen, although in
much smaller amounts, but this oxygen is not used to
store energy in ATP. Instead it undergoes reactions that
remove hydrogen from various organic molecules
including lipids, alcohol, and various potentially toxic
ingested substances.
 Cytoskeleton

• In addition to the membrane-enclosed organelles,

the cytoplasm of most cells contains a variety of
protein filaments. This filamentous network is
referred to as the cell’s cytoskeleton, and, like
the bony skeleton of the body, it is associated with
processes that maintain and change cell shape
and produce cell movements.
• There are three classes of cytoskeletal filaments,
based on their diameter and the types of protein
they contain.
• (1) microfilaments,
• (2) intermediate filaments, and
• (3) microtubules
 Microfilaments
• Microfilaments, which are composed of the
contractile protein actin, make up a major
portion of the cytoskeleton in all cells.
Intermediate filaments are most extensively
developed in regions of cells that are subject to
mechanical stress.
 Microtubules
• Microtubules are hollow tubes about 25 nm in
diameter, whose subunits are composed of the
protein tubulin. They are the most rigid of the
cytoskeletal filaments and are present in the long
processes of nerve cells, where they provide the
framework that maintains the processes’
cylindrical shape. Microtubules radiate from a
region of the cell known as the centrosome,
which surrounds two small cylindrical bodies,
centrioles, composed of nine sets of fused
 Cilia
• Cilia, the hair-like motile extensions on the
surfaces of some epithelial cells, have a central
core of microtubules organized in a pattern
similar to that found in the centrioles