Exam 2 Flashcards
What are a couple of tools cells use for movement?
Shape change
Flagella
What are the functions of the membrane?
Define boundaries
Selective barriers
Cell signaling
What is meant by “dynamic” when we talk about the membrane
It has complex patterns of internal movement and organelles move within it.
What are the major lipid bilayer components
Amphipatic lipids
Proteins
Carbohydrates
How much of membrane does each component make up?
Phospholipids - 50 to 90% Sterols - 2-25% Glycolipids - less than 5% Proteins -20 to 80% Carbohydrates - none. They are outside membrane.
What are the four polar heads of major lipids? Which one is charged?
Phosphatidylethanolamine
Phosphatidyl serine - charged
Phosphatidyl choline
Sphingomyelin - a sphingosine derivative
Is there an example to the exception to the lipid bilayer?
Lipid mono layers are seen in archea, extremophiles. Made up of bipolar molecules with a fatty acid in the middle. Laid next to each other vertically with polar side on each end.
What force drives the shape of the lipid bilayer?
Hydrophobic forces
Van der waals forces
What lipid is only found in eukaryotes?
Sterols
What is the function of lipids and carbs in the lipid bilayer?
Help protect plasma membrane
Cell to cell signaling
How can one change the fluidity of a membrane?
Change fatty acid length
Change fatty acid saturation/desaturation
How is a membranes fluidity helpful?
Allows cells to fit surroundings
Prevents membrane from becoming leaky
How can we chemically control a membranes fluidity
Fatty acyl desaturated help lipids become desaturated. Fatty acid reductases help fatty ticks become more saturated.
What are phospholipids made of
Glycerol, two fatty acids with a polar head
Are both fatty acids saturated in a phospholipid?
No. One is saturated. The other is unsaturated.
What phospholipid is important in signaling
Phosphatidyl inositol
Why do hydrophobic forces roll lipid into ball
More energetically favorable
How do we use synthetic vesicles
We use these liposomes for drug delivery. Sometimes used in aerosols. Liposomes are then endocytosed.
What is the structure of a sterol?
Four rigid rings, single polar hydroxyl group, short nonpolar hydrocarbon chain
What is the function of a sterol
Controls membrane fluidity. Cholesterol. Stick in between phospholipids in bilayer
What is attached to lipid in glycolipids
Sugars
What kind of fluid is the lipid bilayer
Two dimensional
What can change fluidity of lipid bilayer?
Temperature
Chemical composition
If something is fluid at a low temperature, is it saturated or desaturated?
It is less saturated