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Chapter 3

Cells

Overview of Cells
• Size and shape
– Human cells vary considerably in size; all are
microscopic
– Cells differ notably in shape
• Composition
– Cells contain cytoplasm
• Substance found only in cells
– Organelles
• Specialized structures within the cytoplasm
– Cell interior
• Surrounded by plasma membrane

Parts of the Cell

Structural parts
• Plasma membrane
• Cytoplasm
• Nucleus

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Plasma Membrane
• Forms outer boundary of cell
• Composed of thin, two-layered membrane of
phospholipids
• Embedded with proteins
• Selectively permeable

Cytoplasm
• All cell substance from the nucleus to the plasma
membrane
– Cytoskeleton
• Internal framework of cell

Overview of Organelles
• Ribosomes
– Made of two tiny subunits of mostly ribosomal RNA
(rRNA)
– Manufacture enzymes and other proteins; often called
protein factories
• Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
– Rough ER collects, folds, and transports proteins made
by ribosomes
– Smooth ER synthesizes chemicals; makes new
membrane

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• Golgi apparatus • Lysosomes

– Group of flattened – Membrane-enclosed
sacs near nucleus packets containing
• Mitochondria digestive enzymes
• Centrosome
– Composed of inner – Microtubule-
and outer organizing region of
membranous sacs the cytoskeleton near
– Often called power the nucleus
plants of the cell • Cell extensions
– Microvilli
– Cilia
– Flagella

Nucleus
• Central structure of the cell
– Controls cell because it contains most of the genetic
code (genome)
• Instructions for making proteins, which in turn
determine cell structure and function
– Component structures include nuclear envelope,
nucleoplasm, nucleolus, and chromatin granules
– 46 nuclear chromosomes contain DNA, which contains
the genetic code

Structure of the Cell

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Relationship of Cell Structure & Function

• Every human cell has a designated function
– Some help maintain the cell
– Others regulate life processes
• Specialized functions of a cell depend on number and
types of organelles

Movement of Substances
Through Cell Membranes
Passive transport processes
• Diffusion
– Substances scatter evenly throughout an available space
• Osmosis
– Diffusion of water (when some solutes cannot cross the
membrane)
• Dialysis
– Diffusion of small solute particles
• Filtration
– Movement of water and solutes caused by hydrostatic
pressure on one side of membrane

Diffusion Through a Semipermeable Membrane

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Osmosis

Active transport processes

• Ion pumps
– An ion pump is a protein complex in the cell membrane
– Ion pumps use energy from adenosine triphosphate
(ATP) to move substances across cell membranes against
their concentration gradients
• Phagocytosis
– This term means “cell eating”
– Engulfs large particles in a vesicle as a protective
mechanism
• Pinocytosis
– This term means “cell drinking”
– Engulfs fluids or dissolved substances into cells

Sodium-Potassium Pump

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Cell Growth
• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) structure
– Large molecule shaped like a spiral staircase
– Base pairings are always the same (complementary
base pairing), but the sequence of base pairs differs in
different DNA molecules
• A gene is a specific sequence of base pairs within a
DNA molecule
• Genes dictate formation of enzymes and other
proteins by ribosomes, thereby indirectly
determining a cell’s structure and functions; in
short, genes determine heredity

• Genetic code
– Genetic information
• Stored in base-pair sequences on genes
• Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
– Copies genetic information from the nucleus and
carries it to the cytoplasm
• Protein synthesis
– Occurs in cytoplasm, thus genetic information must
pass from the nucleus to the cytoplasm
– Process of transferring genetic information from
nucleus to cytoplasm where proteins are produced
requires completion of transcription and translation

• Protein synthesis
– Transcription
• Double-stranded DNA molecule separates to
form messenger RNA (mRNA)
– Translation
• Involves synthesis of proteins in cytoplasm by
ribosomes
• Codon
–A series of three nucleotide bases that act
as a code for specific amino acid

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Cell Reproduction
• Cell life cycle
– Reproduction of cell involving division of the nucleus
(mitosis) and the cytoplasm
– Two daughter cells result from the division
– Interphase
• Period when cell is not actively dividing
• DNA replication
• Process by which each half of a DNA molecule
becomes a whole molecule identical to the original
DNA molecule; precedes mitosis

• Mitosis
– Enables cells to reproduce their own kind; makes
heredity possible
– Prophase: First stage
• Chromosomes (pairs of linked chromatids) appear
• Centrioles move away from nucleus
• Nuclear envelope disappears, freeing genetic
material
• Spindle fibers appear
– Metaphase: Second stage
• Chromosomes align across center of cell
• Spindle fibers attach to each chromatid

– Anaphase: Third stage

• Separated chromatids are called chromosomes
• Chromosomes are pulled to opposite ends of cell
• Cleavage furrow develops at end of anaphase
– Telophase: Fourth stage
• Nuclei appear in daughter cells
• Nuclear envelope and nucleoli appear
• Cytoplasm is divided (cytokinesis)
• Daughter cells become fully functional

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• Results of cell division

– Two identical cells result from cell division,
growing tissues or replacing old damaged cells
– Differentiation: Process by which daughter cells
can specialize and form different kinds of tissue
– Abnormalities of mitotic division can produce
benign or malignant neoplasms