Overview of the Cell

Prepared by: Dexter Dave M. Tariman, RN, MAN

 Cell
 Basic Unit of Life
 Not all cells have the same structure
 Cellular Biology
 Study of cellular structure and function

Types of Cells in the Human Body

Sex Cells
• AKA gametes
• For reproduction
Exocrine Cells
• secrete products through ducts, such as mucus, sweat, or digestive enzymes
Endocrine Cells
• secrete their products directly into the bloodstream instead of through a duct
Stem Cells
• unspecialized
• have the ability to develop into specialized cells for specific organs or to develop into tissues
• found in high concentration in amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood, and bone marrow
• scientists are attempting to take advantage of the renewal properties of stem cells by utilizing them to generate
cells for tissue repair, organ transplantation, and for the treatment of disease
Blood Cells
• 3 types
– RBC
 • transports O2 and CO2
• Determines the blood type
– WBC- immune function
– Platelets- blood clotting to prevent excessive blood loss
Skin Cells
• Forms the skin
• protects the internal structures of the body from damage
• prevents dehydration
• acts as a barrier against germs
• stores fat
• and produces vitamins and hormones
Muscle Cells
• Form muscles for movement
Fat Cells
• AKA Adipocytes
• contain droplets of stored fat (triglycerides)
– Can be used for energy
 insulation
Epithelial Cells
• lines both the outside (skin) and the inside cavities and lumen of bodies
• secretion, absorption, protection, transcellular transport, sensation detection, and selective permeability

Endothelial Cells
• Specialized epithelial cells that form the inner lining of CV system and lymphatic system
• responsible for angiogenesis (creation of new BV)
• also regulate the movement of macromolecules, gases, and fluid between the blood and surrounding tissues
• help to regulate blood pressure
Nerve Cells
• AKA Neurons
• Basic unit of the nervous system
• Send signals via nerve impulses to transmit information
Bone Cells
• Form bone
• 3 types of bone cells
– Osteoclasts
• large cells that decompose bone for resorption and assimilation.
– Osteoblast
• regulate bone mineralization and produce osteoid (organic substance of bone matrix), which mineralizes
to form bone.
• Osteoblasts mature to form osteocytes
– Osteocytes
• aid in the formation of bone and help maintain calcium balance
Types of Cells: Based on Intrinsic Proliferative Capacity
  Labile
• Continuously dividing
• Lost and replaced bymaturation from tissue stem cells and proliferation of mature cells
• Can readily regenerate after injury as long as the pool of stem cells is preserved
• Examples
– Hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow
– Columnar epithelium of the uterus and fallopian tubes
 Stable
• Quiescent (inactive or dormant)
• Minimal proliferative activity in their normal state
• Capable of dividing in response to injury or loss of tissue mass
• Limited capacity to regenerate after injury except the liver
• Proliferation is important for wound healing
• Parenchyma (functional tissue) of most solid tissues such as the liver, kidneys, and pancreas
 Stable
• Quiescent (inactive or dormant)
• Minimal proliferative activity in their normal state
• Capable of dividing in response to injury or loss of tissue mass
• Limited capacity to regenerate after injury except the liver
• Proliferation is important for wound healing
• Parenchyma (functional tissue) of most solid tissues such as the liver, kidneys, and pancreas
 Permanent
• Terminally differentiated and nonproliferative in postnatal (after chilldbirth) life
• Limited stem cell replication
• May replicate but not sufficient to produce tissue regeneration after injury
• Majority of neurons and cardiac muscle cells
Parts of A Cell
 3 Basic Structures
 Plasma Membrane
 Cytoplasm
 Nucleus
 Plasma Membrane
 Flexible outer surface
 Separates the cell’s internal environment from the external environment
 Selective barrier that regulates the flow of materials into and out of the cell
 Helps establish and maintain the appropriate environment for normal cellular activities
 Communication- among cells and between cells and their external environment
 Contains the cytoplasm
 Best described by using the Fluid Mosaic Model
 Molecular arrangement of the plasma membrane resembles an ever-moving sea of fluid lipids that
contains a mosaic of different proteins
 Lipid Bilayer
 Basic structural framework of the plasma membrane
  2 back to back layers made up of 3 layers made up of 3 types of membrane lipid molecules
• Phospolipids –lipid with a phosphate group
• Cholesterol- steroid with an –OH group
• Glycolipids – lipid with a CHO
 Membrane Proteins
• Categorized whether firmly embedded or not
o Integral
o firmly embedded
o Transmembrane
o Peripheral
o not as firmly embedded
o Associate more loosely with the polar heads of the membrane lipids or integral proteins
 Functions
Integral Proteins
o Serve as ion channels (usually selective)
o Transporters (slectively moves a polar substance or ion from one side of the membrane to
another)
o Receptors (cellular recognition site i.e insulin (ligand) to an insulin receptor)
Membrane and Integral
o Enzymes
o Linkers (anchor CHON in the plasma membranes of neighboring cells to one another or to protein
filaments inside and outside the cell
o Membrane Glycoproteins and Glycolipids
o Cell-Identity Markers (i.e ABO blood type markers)
o Peripheral Proteins
o Support plasma membrane
o Anchor integral proteins
o Mechanical activities
 Moving materials and organelles within cells
 Changing cell shape in dividing and muscle cells
 Attaching cells to one another
 Cytoplasm
 Cellular contents between the plasma membrane and nucleus
 2 Components
 Cytosol –fluid portion
 Organelles- “little organs”
 Cytosol
 Contains ions, glucose, amino acids, fatty acids, proteins, lipids, ATP, and waste products
 Site of many chemical reactions (i.e. glycolysis)
 55% of total cell volume
 75-90% H2O

 Organelles
  tiny structures that perform different functions in cells
1. Cytoskeleton
 Network of protein filaments that extend throughout the cytosol
 Made up of 3 types of filamentous proteins
A. Microfilaments
o Thinnest and most prevalent
o Composed of the protein actin
o Generates movement
o Cell division
o cell locomotion (i.e. invasion of WBCs to fight infection),
o Muscle movement
o Provides mechanical support
 Responsible for basic strength and shape of cells.
 Anchor the cytoskeleton to integral proteins in the plasma membrane
 Microvilli (cell extensions that increases the surface area of cells making these structures
abundant in cells involved in absorption and secretion

B. Intermediate Filaments
o Thicker than microfilaments but thinner than microtubules
o Composed of several proteins which are exceptionally strong
o Found in parts of cells subject to mechanical stress
o Stabilizes the position of organelles
o Attaches cells to one another

C. Microtubules
o Largest of cytoskeletal components
o Composed of tubulin
o Unbranched hollow tubes
o Assembly begins in the centrosome and grow outward toward the periphery
o Help determine shell shape
o Movement
o Organelles
o Chromosomes during cell division
o Specialized projections such as cilia and flagella
 Cilia
o Short hairlike projections extend from the surface of the cell
o Coordinated movement causes movement of steady fluid along the cell’s surface
 Cells of the respiratory tract sweep foreign particles trapped in mucus away from the lungs
(Paralyzed by nicotine from cigarettes)
 Cells that line the fallopian tubes sweep oocytes toward the uterus
 Flagella
o similar to cilia in structure but longer
o For locomotion (generates forward motion)
  Only example is a sperm cell for humans
2. Centrosome
o Located near the nucleus
o Pair of centrioles and Pericentriolar Material
o Centrioles
 Cylindrical Structures (each composed of nine clusters of 3 microtubules arranged in a circular
pattern)
 Long axis of one centriole is at right angle to the long axis of one another.
 Replicate during mitosis
 succeeding generations of cells have the capacity for mitosis
o Pericentriolar Material
 Surrounds the centrioles
 Contains tubulin complexes
 Organizing center for growth of the mitotic spindle (during cell division)
 Microtubule formation in non-dividing cells
3. Ribosomes
o Composed of protein and RNA (relays instructions from the genes to guide each cell’s synthesis of
proteins from AA)
 rRNA- ribosomal RNA (found in Ribosomes),
 mRNA- messenger RNA, carries information about a transcription sequence
 tRNA- transfer RNA, transfers a specific AA to a growing polypeptide chain at the site of ribosomal
site of protein synthesis during translation
o Actual Sites of Protein Synthesis
o Also synthesizes mitochondrial proteins
4. Endoplasmic Reticulum
a. Rough ER
 studded with ribosomes (protein synthesis)
b. Smooth ER
 No Ribosomes
 Functions:
 Synthesize fatty acids and steroids
 Enzymes
i. in the liver inactivate or detoxify drugs, alcohol, pesticides, and carcinogens
ii. In the liver, kidney, and intestinal cells removes phosphate from glucose-6-phosphate
allowing free glucose to enter the bloodstream
iii. Sarcoplasmic reticulum (form of smooth ER) from muscle cells release Ca ions that trigger
contraction
5. Golgi Complex/Apparatus
 Produces the organelle lysosome
 Modifies, sorts, packages, and transports proteins received from rough ER
 Forms
o secretory vesicles that discharge proteins via exocytosis into ECF
o membrane vesicles that ferry new molecules to the plasma membrane
 o Transport vesicles that carry molecules to other organelles such as lysosomes
6. Lysosomes
 membrane-enclosed vesicles that are formed from the golgi complex
 Functions
 Degrades proteins delivered in vesicles
 Digests substances that enter via endocytosis and transport final products of digestion into the cytosol
 Carry out autophagy (digestion of worn-out organelles)
 Worn-out organelle is enclosed by a membrane derived from the ER to create a vesicle called
autophagosome
 Carry out autolysis (digestion of entire cell)
 Carry out extracellular digestion
7. Peroxisomes
 Smaller but similar to lysosomes
 Abundant in the liver
 Contains oxidases (enzymes that oxidize (remove H+ atoms)
o AA and fatty acids as part of normal metabolism
o Alcohol
 Contains catalase which destroys H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), a by product of detoxification
 Protects other organelles from toxic effects of H2O2
8. Mitochondria
 Produces ATP (“Powerhouse” of the cell )
 # of mitochondria increase relative to how active a cell is (i.e. hepatocytes, cells in the muscles and
kidneys)
 Can self-replicate especially during times of increased cellular demand
 Own DNA
 Only mitochondrial DNA from the mother is inherited since the head of a sperm cell usually lacks a
mitochondria, ribosomes, ER and golgi complex
 Any surviving mitochondria from the sperm are destroyed upon penetration to the oocyte.

 Nucleus
 large organelle that houses most of the cell’s the DNA
 Contains the chromosome (single molecule of DNA with several proteins) which contains the genes (hereditary
units)
 Contains Nucleoli
o spherical bodies inside the nucleus that produce ribosomes
o Basically, a cluster of protein, RNA, and DNA and not enclosed by a membrane
o Synthesis and assembly of rRNA
o Prominent in cells that synthesize large amounts of protein (i.e liver and muscle cells)
o Disperse and disappear during mitosis and reorganize once new cells are formed
 Contains genes
o Control cellular structure and direct cellular activities
o Arranged along chromosomes
 Composed of a long molecule of DNA coiled together with several proteins
  46 in humans (23 from each parent)
 Chromatin (DNA + proteins + RNA)
 Genome (total genetic information carried in a cell or an organism)
Cell Transport
1. Passive- does not require energy (ATP)
A. Simple Diffusion- Molecules move from area of HIGH to LOW concentration
B. Osmosis- water moves from HIGH water concentration to LOW water concentration
o Water is attracted to solutes (like salt) so it will also travel to areas of low solute concentration to
high solute concentration.
Cells in Solutions
 Isotonic
o A solution whose solute concentration is the same as the solute concentration inside the cell
o Water will flow in both directions outside and inside the cell.
 Hypotonic
o A solution whose solute concentration is lower than the solute concentration inside a cell
o water is going INSIDE the cell leading to burst (lysis) or cytolysis
 Hypertonic
o A solution whose solute concentration is higher than the solute concentration inside a cell
o water is GOING OUT of the cell leading to crenation (shrinkage) and shriveling (plasmolysis)

C. Facilitated Diffusion
o Does not require energy
o Uses transport proteins to move high to low concentration
 Examples: Glucose or amino acids moving from blood into a ce
2. Active- requires ATP
o Requires energy or ATP
• Moves materials from LOW to HIGH concentration
 AGAINST concentration gradient
 Example: Na-K Pump
 3 Na+ pumped in for every 2 K+ pumped out; creates a membrane potential.
Types of Active Transport
1. Exocytosis

2. Endocytosis
a. Pinocytosis- “cell drinking”
b. Receptor-mediated Endocytosis- Some integral proteins have receptors on their surface to recognize &
take in hormones, cholesterol, etc.
c. Phagocytosis- “cell eating” large particles such as food, bacteria, etc. into vesicles

Pinocytosis
Phagocytosis