LSM1301

L3: Cell structure and function

A/P Henry Mok Yu Keung
Office at S3-03-01d
dbsmokh@[Link]
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 Outline
• Cells
– Cell theory
– Cell size
– Structure
• Cell Membranes
– Membrane structure
– Movement across membranes
– Cell walls
• Prokaryotic Cells
• Eukaryotic Cells 2

– Nucleus
 How is life organized around cells?

• Unicellular organisms
• Multicellular organisms

• The human body contains nearly 100 trillion cells.

• There are at least 10 times as many bacteria in the
human body as cells.
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El
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n
m
ic
ro
s
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o
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e

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 Cell size
• Most cells are small
– Diameters range from 1 to 100 µm
• Large surface area needed
– To allow for adequate rate of exchange nutrients and wastes
with environment El
e
ct
• Surface-area-to-volume ratio ro
n
m
– Larger cells – surface area relative to volume smaller
ic
ro
s
– Smaller cells – surface area relative to volume larger
o
c

p
e

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 Who discovered the cell?

Peel off dry

outer bark of
the cork oak,
then thinly
slice a piece
• Observed small boxes, they resembled of cork
the tiny rooms, or “cells” occupied by
monks
• He coined the word 'cell' to describe
the tiny compartment, later, we know it
is the basic unit of life
England 7
 Robert Hooke’s Cork Cells
January 01, 1653 First published in 1665

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“Exceeding thin, piece of cork, a great many little box”
 Cell Theory

Three principles comprise cell theory

• Every living things or organisms are made of one or
more cells.
• Cells are functional units of multicellular organism.
• All cells come from pre-existing cells.

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 Structure
• Types of cells
– Prokaryotic (before nucleus in Greek)
– Eukaryotic (true nucleus in Greek)

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 Structure

• Structural features of all

cells
– Plasma membrane
– DNA-containing region
– Cytoplasm

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 Structure
• Plasma membrane
– Encloses cell and keeps cell as distinct entity from environment
– Boundary that controls passage of substances in and out of cell
• DNA-containing region
– Nucleus – in eukaryotes
– Nucleoid region – in prokaryotes
• Cytoplasm
– Fluid portion and structures between plasma membrane and DNA-
containing region
– Fluid portion contains water, salts and organic molecules – cytosol
– Structures with specific functions – organelles
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The Sizes of Microorganisms
1 m Staphylococcu cyanobacterium
s

Escherichia
coli

Prokaryotic Viruses
Eukaryotic cells 13
cells (0.05–0.2 m)
(10–100 m)
(0.2–10 m)
 Outline
• Cells
– Cell theory
– Cell size
– Structure
• Cell Membranes
– Membrane structure
– Movement across membranes
– Cell walls
• Prokaryotic Cells
• Eukaryotic Cells 14

– Nucleus
 Membrane Structure
• Fluid mosaic model
– Mosaic mixture of phospholipids,
steroids and proteins
– Constantly drifting and moving within
viscous fluid of phospholipid bilayer
• Phospholipid bilayer
– Forms selectively permeable barrier
– Some are glycolipids, with attached vesicle
carbohydrate chains

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 Membrane Structure (plant cell)
• Associated proteins
– Float around like icebergs on sea
– Some anchored by protein
filaments in cytoplasm • Integral proteins
• Peripheral proteins
– Cell wall outside plasma
membrane
– Some are partially or wholly
embedded in bilayer
– Some are temporarily attached to
surface of bilayer
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Membrane Structure (animal cells) •• Integral proteins
Peripheral proteins

• Associated proteins
– Responsible for
variety of membrane
functions – adhesion,
enzymes, receptors,
recognition, transport.
• Glycoproteins
– Carbohydrates
attached to protein

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 Cell membranes functions
• Plasma membrane
– Common to all cells
– Separates cell’s internal cytoplasm from external environment
– Controls traffic of substances in and out of cell (transporters)
– Regulates biochemical reactions (receptors)
– Communicates with other cells (glycoproteins)
– Creates attachments within (cytoskeleton) and between cells
• Basic structure of all membranes in cells – similar
– Bilayer of phospholipids with embedded and attached proteins
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Case Study: Bites from rattlesnakes and spiders

Justin’s rattlesnake bite Brown recluse spider bite

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 Transport of Substance Across Membranes

I. Passive transport: no energy

required
(a) simple diffusion
(b) facilitated diffusion (require
protein transporter)

II. Active transport: energy-

requiring transport
Such as sodium-potassium
pump proteins
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I. Passive Transport: Diffusion

• Diffusion
– Net movement of molecules down a concentration
gradient (high to low concentration)
• Osmosis – special case of diffusion
– Diffusion of water across a selectively permeable
membrane down its own concentration gradient
– From high water (low solute) concentration to low
water (high solute) concentration
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 Movement of water across membranes by
osmosis
• Isotonic solution
– Solute concentration equal on both sides of membrane
• Hypotonic solution
– Solute concentration lower than on other side of membrane
• Hypertonic solution
– Solute concentration higher than on other side of membrane

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 Movement across
membranes
• Facilitated diffusion (facilitated
transport)
– Ions and polar molecules
– No energy required
– Follow their concentration gradients
– Transport proteins (conformational
change) required
– Specialised water-channel proteins,
aquaporins, enhance water transport

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II. Active Transport
The movement of materials across a membrane
through the use of cellular energy, normally against a
concentration gradient
– Active transport is performed by specific proteins (pump)
embedded in the membranes
– Active transport allows cells to maintain concentration
gradients that differ from their surroundings

e.g. keep a low concentration of Na+ inside cell even the

Na+ concentration is very high outside cell.
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 EXTRACELLULAR [Na+] high Na
FLUID Na +
[K+] low +
Na Na Na
+ + +
Na Na
+ +
Na
+
ATP
Na [Na+] P
P
CYTOPLASM + low
[K+] high ADP
1 2 3

Sodium-potassium pump oscillates

K
+

K
+
K
K +
K +
+
P
K P
+
6 5 4 27
Animation of membrane transport (video)

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 Movement Across Membranes
• Large substances are transported into or out of cell inside
membrane enclosed pouches (vesicles)
– Macromolecules and particles too large for transport proteins
– Formation and movement of vesicles involve motor proteins and ATP
• Exocytosis
– Vesicle fuses with plasma membrane, releasing contents outside cell
• Endocytosis
– Small patch of plasma membrane pinched off, forming vesicle, engulfing
substances near cell surface, bringing them into cell

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 Cell Walls
• Relatively stiff structural
coating that surround
plasma membranes
– Strong, flexible and porous
– Support and protect fragile cell
• Found in nearly all
– Bacteria
– Archaea
– Protists
– Fungi – chitin
– Plants – cellulose
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 Outline
• Cells
– Cell theory
– Cell size
– Structure
• Cell Membranes
– Membrane structure
– Movement across membranes
– Cell walls
• Prokaryotic Cells
• Eukaryotic Cells 33

– Nucleus
 Prokaryotic Cells
• Extremely small
• 1 to 1.5 µm wide
• 2 to 6 µm long
• Specialised surface features
• Cell envelope
• Appendages
• Prokaryotic cells can take several shapes:
• Rod-shaped
• Spiral-shaped
• Spherical

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Case Study: The National Environment Agency (NEA) has banned the use of all freshwater fish in
ready-to-eat raw fish dishes (Yusheng) with immediate effect on Dec 5 2015.
Group B streptococcus (GBS); Sequence Type 283, ST283

Fourth person dies in Australia from contaminated rock melon (The Straits
Times, 7 Mar 2018)

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Prokaryotic Cells Are Simpler Than Eukaryotic Cells

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 Prokaryotic cells

• Cell envelope
– Cell wall – polysaccharides in bacteria, proteins in archaea
– Glycocalyx – polysaccharide coating outside cell wall – slime layer and capsule (harder
to remove)
– Plasma membrane

• Appendages
– Flagella – in some bacteria for motility
– Fimbriae (attachment pili) – bristle-like, short and abundant, for adhesion to surfaces
– Conjugation pili (sex pili) – tubular, long and fewer, for DNA transfer from cell to cell

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 Prokaryotic Cells
• Cytoplasm
– Fewer specialised cytoplasmic structures
– Nucleoid – irregularly shaped region of single, circular
chromosome of DNA molecule
– Plasmids – small rings of DNA with few genes that may be
advantageous, e.g. resistance to antibiotics
– Ribosomes – organelles on which proteins are synthesized
– May contain inclusion bodies, e.g. food granules

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 Outline
• Cells
– Cell theory
– Cell size
– Structure
• Cell Membranes
– Membrane structure
– Movement across membranes
– Cell walls
• Prokaryotic Cells
• Eukaryotic Cells 40

– Nucleus
 Eukaryotic Cells
• Much larger than prokaryotic cells
• DNA in a nucleus that is bounded by
a membranous nuclear envelope
• Membrane-enclosed organelles result
in compartmentalisation
– Specialised organelles for specific
functions
– Types and amounts of substances that
enter and exit organelles regulated
– Maintains special internal environments
– Metabolic reactions isolated from others
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Animal Cell Structure

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Plant cell Structure

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 Nucleus
• Control center of the nuclear

eukaryotic cell (stores

envelope nuclea
nucleolu r
s pores

DNA)
ribosomes

• Three major components

– Nuclear envelope (double
membrane)
– Chromatin chromati
n
– Nucleolus (carrying genes
for ribosomes production) The nucleus

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Chromatin and Chromosome
– Consists of DNA and proteins
– Chromatin condenses to form
chromosomes during cell division
– Chromatin are long thin fibres,
but chromosomes are
compacted, thick and ribbon-like.
– They contain genes that provide
a blueprint for a huge variety of
proteins

To do this, genetic information in DNA is copied into messenger RNA (mRNA),

which travels through the nuclear pores to the cytoplasm, where it directs
protein synthesis 46
 Chromosomes
• Every eukaryotic species has a
characteristic number of chromosomes
in each cell nucleus
• Somatic cells (non-reproductive cells)
have two sets of chromosomes, one
from the father and one from the
mother.
• Gametes (Gametic cells, reproductive
cells: sperm and eggs) have half as
many chromosomes as somatic cells

Each of human body cells has 23 pairs of chromosomes,

including 22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosome. 47
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Endomembrane System (Cell’s Membrane System)

• Components of the endomembrane system:

• Nuclear envelope
• Endoplasmic reticulum
• Golgi apparatus/complex
• Lysosomes
• Vacuoles
• Plasma membrane
• These components are either continuous or connected
via transfer by vesicles/vacuoles

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 Endomembrane
System

Functions:

• Synthesizes,
modifies, and
transports proteins
• Synthesizes lipids
• Detoxifies the cell of
certain toxins

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Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)
(Endoplasmic means “within the cytoplasm” and reticulum means “network”)

• A network of sacs and tubules composed of

membranes. This complex organelle originates at the
nuclear envelope and winds throughout the cell.
• Two forms
• Rough ER
• Smooth ER

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Endoplasmic Reticulum
smooth ER
ribosomes rough ER

smooth ER

rough ER
vesicle
(a) Endoplasmic reticulum may be rough or smooth s (b) Smooth and rough ER
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I. Rough ER
– Flattened sacs
– Studded with ribosomes on outer surface
– Synthesises, modifies and folds proteins

II. Smooth ER
– Series of inter-connected tubules
– No ribosomes
– Synthesises lipids (like steroid hormones made
from cholesterol)
– Detoxify harmful chemical drugs

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The Golgi Apparatus

Protein-carrying
vesicles from the ER
merge with the Golgi
apparatus

Golgi
apparatu
s Vesicles carrying
modified protein leave
the Golgi apparatus 54
Golgi Complex/Apparatus
• Set of stacked flattened, curved sacs
• Receives material from ER in vesicles
• Modifies some molecules, such as adding a carbohydrate group
to proteins, and making glycoproteins; it breaks some proteins into smaller
peptides

• Synthesizes some polysaccharides used in plant cell walls,

such as cellulose and pectin

• Sort and Packages finished material in vesicles for shipment to final

destinations
– Some within cell
– Some exported from cell via exocytosis
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Lysosomes

, bacteria, virus, etc

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Lysosomes serve as the cell’s digestive system
 Endomembrane System: A
Review Vesicle traffic in the cytoplasm

E
n
d
o
c
yt
o E
si x
s o
c
yt
o
si
s 57
Energy-Related Organelles

●Mitochondria are the sites of cellular

respiration, a metabolic process that generates
ATP, function as the “powerhouses of the cell”

●Chloroplasts, found in plants and algae, are the

sites of photosynthesis

●Both organelles have their own DNA

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Mitochondria: Chemical Energy Conversion

Glucose + O2 ATP + CO2 + H2O 59

 Mitochondria

• Mitochondria are in nearly all eukaryotic cells (plant and animal).

• They have a smooth outer membrane and an inner membrane folded
into cristae.
• Cristae present a large surface area for enzymes that synthesize ATP.
• The inner membrane creates two compartments: intermembrane
space and mitochondrial matrix.
• Cellular respiration broke down carbohydrate in the mitochondrial
matrix to generate high-energy electron carriers, e.g. NADH.
• The electron transport chain complexes in inner membrane transfer
electron from NADH to O2 and generate ATP.
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Chloroplast: site of photosynthesis

Outer membrane

Inner membrane

Stroma
Thylakoid

Channel interconnecting
thylakoids

Granum (stack of thylakoids)

sunlight
CO2 + H2O Glucose + O2 61
Chloroplast

• Chloroplasts are only found in plant cell.

• Thylakoid membranes contains chlorophyll pigment that
carry out light reaction converting light energy to chemical
energy, e.g. ATP
• Stroma is the site for dark reaction, using ATP to synthesize
carbohydrate from CO2 and water.
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Cytoskeleton: Shape, support and movement

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Cytoskeleton
• Microfilament is comprised of actin and provide internal
support to the cell shape.
• Microfilament can extend by adding subunits at one end
and releasing subunits at the other end to allow cell
movement.

• Microtubule is associated with motor proteins to transport

organelles within the cell.
• Microtubule also guide chromosome movements during cell
division.

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Summary
Biology: Cell Structure I Nucleus Medical Media

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[Link]
Case study: How do cancer
cells behave differently from
healthy ones?
[Link]

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 Further questions
• If samples of muscle tissue were taken from the legs of a
world-class marathon runner and a sedentary individual,
which would you expect to have a higher density of
mitochondria? Why?

• If a cell is treated with Brefeldin A, a drug that interferes

with the functions of the Golgi apparatus and the
secretory pathway, what would be the result? Can such a
drug be useful in killing diseased or harmful cells?
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Please complete the quiz on Canvas for lecture 3

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 Reminders
• Practical 1 is this Wednesday (23rd August) in LS Lab3
(S1A-03)
– Please read through practical handout before coming to lab
– Can be found under “Handouts for tutorials/practical” in “Lab 1
Living Cells” folder

• Be punctual (4 sessions) and properly attired

– No shorts, slippers, sandals
– Not allowed to enter lab if not properly attired
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