Membrane structure and transport

Phospholipids form bilayers in water due to the amphipatic properties of

phospholipid molecules.

Some substances are attached to water- hydrophilic. Other ones are

hydrophobic. Phospholipids are unusual because part of a phospholipid
molecule is hxdrophilic and a part is hydrophobic. These substances are
attached as amphipatic. Hydroliphic part is phosphate group. The
hydrophobic part consists 2 hydrocarbon chains.

The two parts of molecule are often called phosphate heads and
hydrocarbon tails. When it mixes with water, phospholipidds become
arranged into double layers and are called phospholipid bilayers.

Membrane proteins are diverse in terms of structure, position in the

membrane and function. Cell membranes have a wide range of functions:

- Hormone binding sites

- Immobilized enzymes with the active site on the outside
- Cell adhesion
- Cell-to-cell communication
 - Channels for passive transport
- Pumps for active transport which use ATP to move particles

There are two types of proteins:

- Integral proteins are hydrophobic

- Pheripheral proteins are pydrophilic

Cholesterol in membranes:Cholesterol is a component of animal cell

membranes. Two main components are phospholipids and proteins, but in
animal cells we have cholesterol. It is a type of lipid, but not as oil or fat. It is
a steroid and is hydrophobic but one end has OH group which is hydrophilic.

Membrane transport

Endocytosis: It is possible for large molecules to enter a cell by a process

called endocytosis, where a small piece of the cell membrane wraps around
the particle and is brought into the cell. If the particle is solid, endocytosis is
also called phagocytosis. If fluid droplets are taken in, the processes is
called pinocytosis.

Exocytosis:The opposite of endocytosis is exocytosis. Cells use exocytosis to

secrete molecules too large to pass through the cell membrane by any other
mechanism.

Simple diffusion :small noncharged molecules or lipid soluble molecules

pass between the phospholipids to enter or leave the cell, moving from areas
of high concentration to areas of low concentration (they move down their
concentration gradient). Oxygen and carbon dioxide and most lipids enter
and leave cells by simple diffusion.

facilitated diffusion : In facilitated diffusion, substances move into or out of

cells down their concentration gradient through protein channels in the cell
membrane. Simple diffusion and facilitated diffusion are similar in that both
involve movement down the concentration gradient. The difference is how
the substance gets through the cell membrane. In simple diffusion, the
substance passes between the phospholipids; in facilitated diffusion there are
a specialized membrane channels. Charged or polar molecules that cannot fit
between the phospholipids generally enter and leave cells through facilitated
diffusion.

Osmosis: is a type of simple diffusion in which water molecules diffuse

through a selectively permeable membrane from areas of high water
concentration to areas of lower water concentration. Another way to describe
the two solutions in the example of above is to use the
terms hypertonic and hypotonic. A hypertonic solution has more solutes and
less water than a hypotonic solution. So, in the example above, the solution
inside the cell is hypertonic to the solution outside the cell. During osmosis,
water moves from the hypotonic solution (more water, less solutes) to the
hypertonic solution (less water, more solutes).

Active transport: The types of membrane transport discussed so far always

involve substances moving down their concentration gradient. It is also
possible to move substances across membranes against their concentration
gradient (from areas of low concentration to areas of high concentration).
Since this is an energetically unfavorable reaction, energy is needed for this
movement. The source of energy is the breakdown of ATP. If the energy of
ATP is directly used to pump molecules against their concentration gradient,
the transport is called primary active transport.