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Science For Medicine > Life at Cellular Level > Flashcards

Life at Cellular Level Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the features of a prokaryotic cell?

A

Lack nuclear membrane, no mitochondria, no membrane bound structures (bacteria)

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2
Q

What are the features of a eukaryotic cell?

A

Nucleus with membrane, membrane bound structuress (multicellular animals and plants)

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3
Q

What are multipotent stem cells?

A

Cells that can differentiate into many cell types

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4
Q

What are pluripotent stem cells?

A

Cells that can differentiate into all cell types of the body

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5
Q

What does the cell membrane do?

A

Is a selective barrier which detects chemical messengers and signalling molecules from surrounding cells/organs

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6
Q

What is the cell membrane made up of?

A

Membrane lipids and membrane proteins

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7
Q

What are amphiphatic in the cell membrane?

A

Membrane lipids - have hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail

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8
Q

What are some of the functions of the plasma membrane?

A

Transport, intercellular joining, enzymatic activity, cell-cell recognition, receptors for signal transduction, attachment to cytoplasm and ECM

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9
Q

What is the difference between passive diffusion and facilitated diffusion?

A

Both need a concentration gradient, but with passive diffusion lipid-soluble molecules pass freely and with facilitated diffusion carrier molecules are required

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10
Q

What is endocytosis?

A

A form of active transport in which a cell transports molecules into the cell by engulfing them in an energy-using process

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11
Q

What is exocytosis?

A

A form of active transport in which a cell transports molecules out of the cell by expelling them in an energy-using process

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12
Q

What does a tight junction do?

A

Seals gap between epithelial cells and creates physical barrier to diffusion across layers of cells

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13
Q

What are tight junctions dependent on?

A

Calcium

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14
Q

What do adherens junctions do?

A

Link actin filaments in two different cells

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15
Q

What do desmosomes do?

A

Link keratin filaments in two different cells

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16
Q

What are gap junctions?

A

Channels linking two cells cytoplasm together e.g. Heart muscle, liver, pancreas

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17
Q

What are different types of cell signalling?

A

Contact-dependent, paracrine, synaptic, endocrine

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18
Q

What features do mitochondria have?

A

Their own circular DNA, ribosomes, synthesise most of own proteins, self-replicate

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19
Q

What is inside a mitochondria’s matrix?

A

Binding sites for calcium and also most of enzymes for oxidation of food molecules (e.g. Krebs cycle)

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20
Q

What does the nucleus contrain?

A

DNA, nucleoprotein and some RNA

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21
Q

Where are the sites of ribosomal RNA synthesis and ribosomal asembly?

A

Nucleoli

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22
Q

What is attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum?

A

Ribosomes

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23
Q

What is coordinated by the RER and Golgi?

A

Protein modifications and transport

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24
Q

What does the smooth ER do?

A

Mainly to breakdown or synthesise compounds

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25
What do lysosomes do?
Used to separate enzymes from the rest of the cell and used in autophagy or digestion of engulfed particles
26
What is the role of the cytoskeleton?
Supports and maintains cell shape, holds organelles in position, moves organelles, interacts with extracellular structures to hold cell in place
27
What are cilia and flagella made up of?
Microtubules
28
What is configuration?
The fixed arrangement of atoms in a molecule
29
What is conformation?
The precise arrangement of atoms in a molecule
30
What are the five chemical reactions of life?
1. Redox reactions 2. Making and breaking C-C bonds 3. Internal rearrangements 4. Group transfers 5. Condensation and hydrolysis reactions
31
How many electrons are usually gained or lost during a redox reaction?
Two
32
What are nucleic acids?
Polymers of nucleotide monomers linked by 3'5'-phosphodiester bonds
33
What makes up a nucleotide?
Base + ribose sugar + phosphate
34
What are the purine bases?
Adenine and guanine
35
What are the pyrimidine bases?
Thymine, cytosine and uracil
36
What are polysaccharides?
Polymers of sugar monomers linked by glycosidic bonds
37
What is a reducing sugar?
A substance that can be oxidised, meaning the other reactant would be reduced
38
What makes an unsaturated lipid?
No double bonds in hydrocarbon chain
39
What are triglycerides?
Storage lipids, non-polar and have 3 fatty acid chains linked to glycerol
40
What are phospholipids?
Similiar to triglycerides but have head group attached to glycerol = makes them polar
41
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
Energy can be converted from one form to another but total enery of the universe remains constant
42
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
All energy transformations lead to moe disorder in the universe i.e. Increase the entropy
43
What three quantities can define free energy in a closed system?
1. Enthalpy = heat released to surroundings 2. Entropy = randomness/disorder 3. Absolute temperature
44
When do spontaneous reactions occur?
When a system gives up energy and/or becomes more random and increases in entropy
45
What value will spontaneous energy changes have for their change in free energy?
Negative value for change in free energy
46
How do cells carry out thermodynamically unfavourable reactions?
Energy coupling (reaction coupling)
47
Energetically unfavourable reactions can only process because?
They are coupled to catabolic reactions
48
What does ATP --> ADP reaction do?
Releases free energy which is harnessed to drive thermodynamically unfavourable reactions
49
What does an exergonic catabolic pathway do?
Saves free energy within a system by forming ATP
50
What does an endergonic anabolic pathway do?
It is supplied with free energy within a system through conversion f ATP to ADP
51
What type of reaction is ATP to ADP?
Exergonic (hydrolysis)
52
What type of reaction is ADP to ATP?
Endergonic (condensation)
53
What breaks down complex molecules, anabolism or catabolism?
Catabolism
54
What builds up complex molecules, anabolism or catabolism?
Anabolism
55
Is a thermodynamically unfavourable reaction anabolic or catabolic?
Anabolic
56
Is a thermodynamically favourable reaction anabolic or catabolic?
Catabolic
57
Why is there potential energy in food molecules?
They contain large numbers of H atoms
58
What are examples of electron carrier molecules that are used in redox reactions?
FAD+ and NAD+
59
What does the polarity of water allow?
Hydrogen bonding
60
When can hydrogen bonding occur?
Between any electronegative atom (usually O or N) and a H atom that is electropositive
61
When are hydrogen bonds strongest structurally?
When the 3 atoms involved lie in a straight line
62
What type of molecules can form hydrogen bonds?
Water soluble molecules
63
What are some examples of water soluble molecules that can form hydrogen bonds?
Sugars, alcohols, aldehydres, ketones
64
Why are O2 and CO2 poorly water soluble?
Atoms lie in a straight line so the ends of molecule are the same and partial charge does not happen
65
What other types of molecules are water soluble?
Charged molecules
66
What is known as the most energetically favourable arrangement of molecules in water?
Hydrophobic effect
67
How do phospholipids minimise diruption of water-water H-bonds?
By forming micelles or bilayers
68
What can phospholipids form?
Liposomes
69
What allows proteins to be water soluble?
Hydrophobic regions on inside and hydrophilic regions on outside
70
How are hydrophobic lipids transported in the blood?
In a chylomicron
71
What is Kw?
The ion product of water
72
What is the dissociation constant of water?
1x10-14 (mol/L)2
73
What is the pH of pure water?
7
74
Why does water have a neutral pH?
Because [H+] and [OH-] are equal
75
What are the concentrations of H+ and OH- like in acidic solutions?
Acidic = Greater [H+] Lower [OH-]
76
What are the concentrations of H+ and OH- like in basic solutions?
Basic = Lower [H+] Greater [OH-]
77
What do both strong acids and strong bases do?
Fully dissociate
78
What do weak acids and bases do?
Partially dissociate
79
How is optimal pH maintained?
Using buffer systems within cells and organisms
80
What are proton donors?
Acids
81
WHat are proton acceptors?
Bases
82
What is a proton donor and the corresponding proton acceptor known as?
Conjugate acid-base pair
83
What is the equilibrium constant?
The tendency for any acid to lose a proton and form its conjugate base
84
What equation is used when trying to work out the amount of weak acid or conjugate base you have in a given biological system?
Henderson-Hasselbalch equation
85
What can the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation be used to calculate?
How the pH of a physiological solution responds to changes in either the conjugate acid or base
86
What kind of buffer system does blood use?
Bicarbonate buffer system

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