Plasma Membrane
FLUID MOSAIC
MODEL
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Overview: Life at the Edge
The plasma membrane is the boundary that
separates the living cell from its surroundings
The plasma membrane exhibits selective
permeability, allowing some substances to
cross it more easily than others
Cellular membranes are fluid
mosaics of lipids and proteins
Phospholipids are the most abundant lipid in
the plasma membrane
Phospholipids are amphipathic molecules,
containing hydrophobic and hydrophilic
regions
The fluid mosaic model states that a
membrane is a fluid structure with a “mosaic”
of various proteins embedded in it
Membrane Models: Scientific Inquiry
Membranes have been chemically analyzed
and found to be made of proteins and lipids
Scientists studying the plasma membrane
reasoned that it must be a phospholipid
bilayer
WATER
Hydrophilic
head
Hydrophobic
tail
WATER
• In 1935, Hugh Davson and James Danielli proposed
a sandwich model in which the phospholipid
bilayer lies between two layers of globular proteins
Later studies found problems with this model,
particularly the placement of membrane proteins,
which have hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions
In 1972, S. J. Singer and G. Nicolson proposed that
the membrane is a mosaic of proteins
dispersed within the bilayer, with only the
hydrophilic regions exposed to water
Phospholipid
bilayer
Hydrophobic regions Hydrophilic
of protein regions of protein
Freeze-fracture studies of the plasma
membrane supported the fluid mosaic
model
Freeze-fracture is a specialized preparation
technique that splits a membrane along the
middle of the phospholipid bilayer
TECHNIQUE
Extracellular
layer
Proteins
Knife
Plasma membrane Cytoplasmic layer
RESULTS
Inside of extracellular layer Inside of cytoplasmic layer
The Fluidity of Membranes
Phospholipids in the plasma membrane can
move within the bilayer
Most of the lipids, and some proteins, drift
laterally
Rarely does a molecule flip-flop transversely
across the membrane
Fibers of extra-
cellular matrix (ECM)
Glyco- Carbohydrate
protein
Glycolipid
EXTRACELLULAR
SIDE OF
MEMBRANE
Cholesterol
Microfilaments Peripheral
of cytoskeleton proteins
Integral
protein
CYTOPLASMIC SIDE
OF MEMBRANE
Lateral movement occurs Flip-flopping across the membrane
107 times per second. is rare ( once per month).
As temperatures cool, membranes switch
from a fluid state to a solid state
The temperature at which a membrane
solidifies depends on the types of lipids
Membranes rich in unsaturated fatty
acids are more fluid than those rich
in saturated fatty acids
Membranes must be fluid to work
properly
The steroid cholesterol has different effects
on membrane fluidity at different
temperatures
At warm temperatures (such as 37°C),
cholesterol restrains movement of
phospholipids
At cool temperatures, it maintains
fluidity by preventing tight packing
Figure 7.8
Fluid Viscous
Unsaturated hydrocarbon Saturated hydrocarbon tails
tails
(a) Unsaturated versus saturated hydrocarbon tails
(b) Cholesterol within the animal
cell membrane
Cholesterol
One of cholesterol's functions is to
reduce the fluidity of the membrane.
To do so, it forms strong interactions
with phospholipids using its rigid
steroid ring structure.
At high temperatures, these
interactions stiffen the membrane and
interfere with phospholipid mobility
Synthesis and Sidedness of
Membranes
Membranes have distinct inside and outside
faces
The asymmetrical distribution of proteins,
lipids, and associated carbohydrates in the
plasma membrane is determined when the
membrane is built by the ER and Golgi
apparatus
Membranes Are Asymmetric
Structures
Proteins have unique orientations in
membranes, making the outside surfaces
different from the inside surfaces.
inside-outside asymmetry is also provided
by the external location of the
carbohydrates attached to membrane
proteins
regional heterogeneities
The choline-containing phospholipids
(phosphatidylcholine and
sphingomyelin) are located mainly in
the outer leaflet;
the aminophospholipids
(phosphatidylserine and
phosphatidylethanolamine) are
preferentially located in the inner
leaflet
During the process of programmed cell
death, phosphatidylserine is transferred
enzymatically from the inner leaflet to the
outer leaflet of the membrane.
The presence of phosphatidylserine on
the outerleaflet then triggers phagocytic
removal of the dying cells,
emphasizing further that the
maintenance of membrane asymmetry is
important for normal cell function.
Figure 7.12
Transmembrane Secretory
glycoproteins protein
Golgi
apparatus
Vesicle
ER
ER lumen
Glycolipid
Plasma membrane:
Cytoplasmic face Transmembrane
Extracellular face glycoprotein Secreted
protein
Membrane
glycolipid
LIPID RAFTS
Lipid rafts are specialized areas
(microdomains) of the exoplasmic (outer) leaflet
of the lipid bilayer enriched in cholesterol,
sphingolipids, and certain proteins
They are involved in signal transduction and
other
Processes like cholesterol transport, endocytosis
It is thought that clustering certain components
of signaling systems closely together may
increase the efficiency of their function.
Three types of lipid rafts have been described
• Glycosphingolipid enriched
membranes (GEM),
• polyphosphoinositol-rich rafts
• caveolae.
CAVEOLAE
The caveolae are flask-shaped invaginations of cell
membranes containing the protein caveolin, whose
presence causes a local change in morphology of the
membrane
EXAMPLES
Proteins detected in caveolae
include various components of the
signal transduction system (eg, the
insulin receptor and some G
proteins) the folate receptor, and
endothelial nitric oxide synthase
(eNOS).
Cholesterol functions in the plasmalemma to
(A) Regulate fluidity of the lipid bilayer.
(B) facilitate the diffusion of ions through
the lipid bilayer.
(C) assist in the transport of hormones
across the lipid bilayer.
(E) bind extracellular matrix molecules.
The cell membrane consists of various components,
including integral proteins.
These integral proteins
(A) are not attached to the outer leaflet.
(B) are not attached to the inner leaflet.
(C) include transmembrane proteins.
(D) are preferentially attached to the E-face.
(E) function in the transport of cholesterol based
hormones.
