2.

CELL FUNCTIONAL
MORPHOLOGY
By Musenge E.
(07/08/2015)

I. Background

The word cell comes from the Latin cella,

meaning "small room and was coined by
Robert Hooke (Lodish, 2007)
Entire human body contains about 100
trillion cells, of which about 25 trillion are
the RBCs (Guyton and Hall, 2010)
Each of the 100 trillion cells is a living
structure that can survive for months or
many years, provided its nourished
appropriately
Cell is the basic structural, functional and
biological unit of all known living
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Background cont
Specific types of cells are adapted to
perform particular function
Body cells often differ markedly from
one another, but all have certain
basic characteristics that are alike
To understand the function of organs
and other structures of the body, it is
essential to first understand the
basic organisation of the cell, its
structures and their functions

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II. Cell organisation

A typical cell, under light microscope has
two major parts; the nucleus (enclosed by
nuclear membrane) and the cytoplasm
(enclosed by cell membrane)
Protoplasm is a colourless material
comprising the living part of cell,
including the cytoplasm, nucleus, and
other organelles
Protoplasm is composed mainly of five
basic substances:
Water (70-85%), electrolytes, proteins (1020%), lipids (2%),
and carbohydrates
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III. Functions of cell organelles

and other structures
Structure of Animal Cell

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i. Cell membrane

Cell membrane is a thin, lipid bilayer,

pliable, elastic structure of only 7.5 to 10
nm thick enclosing the cell
It comprises almost entirely proteins and
lipids (proteins-55%, phospholipids-25%,
cholesterol-13%, other lipids-4%, and
carbohydrates-3%) (Guyton and Hall,
2010)
Lipid bilayer comprises:
Hydrophilic head portions constituting the
two surfaces of the complete cell
membrane

Hydrophobic MME
tail of the membrane
in the
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Cell membrane cont

Equally, fat-soluble substances, such as
O2, CO2, and alcohol, can penetrate the
hydrophobic tails with ease
Cholesterol molecules; are dissolved in
membrane mainly help determine the
degree of permeability (or impermeability)
of the bilayer to water-soluble constituents
of body fluids
Cholesterol controls much of the fluidity of
the membrane as well
Cell membrane proteins
Are globular masses floating in the lipid
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bilayer, most MME
of which are glycoproteins

Cell cembrane cont

Two types of proteins: Integral, and
peripheral proteins.
Functions of integral proteins
Provide structural channels
Act as carrier proteins
Act as enzymes
Can also serve as receptors e.g. for peptide
hormones
Functions of peripheral protein
Molecules are often attached to the integral
proteins
Function almost entirely as enzymes or as
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controllers of MME
transport of substances

Cell membrane cont

Membrane Carbohydrates
Occur almost invariably in combination with
proteins or lipids in the form of glycoproteins
(most integral proteins) or glycolipids (one
tenth of lipid molecules), many other
carbohydrate are proteoglycans
Important functions of carbohydrates
Gives most cells an overall negative surface
charge
Provide for cell to cell attachment
Receptors for binding hormones e.g. insulin
Some carbohydrate moieties enter into immune
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reactions

Structure of phospholipid

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Structure of cell membrane

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ii. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

ER is a network of lipid bilayer membrane
walled tubular and flat vesicular structures
in the cytoplasm filled with endoplasmic
matrix
Granular ER and Ribosomes
Ribosomes comprises a mixture of RNA
and proteins, and function to synthesize
new protein molecules in the cell and the
initial folding of polypeptide chains with
the formation of disulfide bonds (Barrett et
al., 2010).
Agranular (smooth) ER
Steroid synthesis
in steroid-secreting
cells
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Granular ER

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iii. Golgi apparatus (GA)

GA is closely related to the ER and has

membranes similar to those of the agranular
ER
GA functions in association with the ER, small
transport vesicles (ER vesicles) continually
pinch off from the ER
The transported substances are then
processed in the GA to form lysosomes,
secretory vesicles, and other cytoplasmic
components
Synthesize certain carbohydrates that cannot be
formed in the ER e.g. hyaluronic acid and
chondroitin sulfate
Mainly provide additional processing of substances
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(proteins) already
formed in the ER 14

GA cont
GA compact and processing of ER
secretions into highly concentrated
packets
Both small and large vesicles
continually break away from the GA,
carrying with them the compacted
secretory substances, and in turn, the
vesicles diffuse throughout the cell
Two types of vesicles formed by GA are;
secretory and lysosomes
Mainly the secretory vesicles containing
proteins for extrusion or intracellular
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Golgi apparatus functions

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iv. Lysosomes
Are lipid bilayer membranous
vesicular organelles that form by
breaking off from the GA and then
dispersing throughout the cytoplasm
They are quite different in different
types of cells, but it is usually 250750 nm in diameter.
Are filled with large numbers of small
granules 5 to 8 nm in diameter,
which are protein aggregates of as
many as 40 different hydrolase
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Lysosomes cont
Functions of lysosomes
Provide an intracellular digestive system that
allows the cell to digest:-damaged cellular
structures, food particles, unwanted matter such
as bacteria
Pinocytotic or phagocytic vesicle inside a cell,
attach one or more lysosomes and empty their
acid hydrolases to the inside of the vesicle
Body tissue regression to a smaller size e.g.
uterus, muscles, mammary glands etc and
autolysis.
Contain bactericidal agents e.g. Lysozymedissolves bacterial cell membrane; Lysoferrinbinds iron and other substances before promoting
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bacterial growth;
acid at a pH of about
5.0,

v. Peroxisomes
Are similar physically to lysosomes,
but they are different in two important
ways: Believed to be formed by selfreplication (or perhaps by budding off
from the smooth ER) rather than from
the GA
Contain oxidases rather than
hydrolases
Form H2O2 a highly oxidizing
substance and is used in association
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vi. Secretory granules (Secretory

vesicles)

Nearly all of the secretory substances are

formed by the ERGA system and are then
released from the GA into the cytoplasm in
the form of storage vesicles
One example of vesicles is the secretory
vesicles inside pancreatic acinar cells;
these vesicles store protein proenzymes
The proenzymes are secreted later
through the outer cell membrane into the
pancreatic duct and thence into the
duodenum, where they become activated
and perform digestive functions on the
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food in the intestinal
tract

vii. Mitochondria
Mitochondria are called the powerhouses of
the cell as without them, cells would be
unable to extract enough energy from the
nutrients, and essentially all cellular functions
would cease
Total number of mitochondria per cell varies
from less than a 100 up to several thousand,
depending on the amount of energy required
by the cell
Additionally, the mitochondria are
concentrated in those portions of the cell that
are responsible for the major share of its
energy metabolism
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Some are onlyMME
a few 100 nm in diameter
and
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Mitochondria cont
Basic structure of the mitochondrion is
composed mainly of two lipid bilayer protein
membranes: an outer membrane and an
inner membrane
Many infoldings of the inner membrane form
shelves onto which oxidative enzymes are
attached
The inner cavity of the mitochondrion is filled
with a matrix that contains large quantities of
dissolved enzymes that are necessary for
extracting energy from nutrients
The enzymes operate in association with the
oxidative enzymes on the shelves to oxidize
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nutrients, thereby
forming CO2 and22H2O and

Mitochondria cont
The liberated energy is used to synthesize
a high-energy substance, ATP
ATP is then transported out of the
mitochondrion, and it diffuses throughout
the cell to release its own energy wherever
it is needed for performing cellular
functions
Mitochondria are self-replicative, as such
one mitochondrion can form a second one,
a third one, and so on, whenever there is a
need in the cell for increased amounts of
ATP (Barret et al., 2010).
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Mitochondria structure

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Mitochondria cont
Function of the Mitochondria
Cells extract energy from carbohydrates,
fats, and proteins that react chemically
with O2, to glucose, amino acids and fatty
acids
Inside the cell, nutrients react chemically
with O2, under the influence of enzymes
that control the reactions and channel the
energy released in the proper direction
Almost all these oxidative reactions occur
inside the mitochondria, and the energy
that is released is used to form the high10/3/15
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energy compound ATP

Mitochondria cont
Then, ATP, not the original foodstuffs, is
used throughout the cell to energize
almost all the subsequent intracellular
metabolic reactions
High-energy bonds contains about 12,000
calories of energy per mole of ATP
The newly formed ATP is transported out of
the mitochondria into all parts of the cell
cytoplasm and nucleoplasm, where its
energy is used to energize multiple cell
functions
This overall process for formation of ATP is
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called the chemiosmotic
mechanism
of

ATP synthesis

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viii. Cytoskeletons
These are the fibrillar proteins of the cell
usually organized into filaments and tubules
structures
These originate as precursor protein
molecules synthesized by ribosomes in the
cytoplasm
The precursor molecules then polymerize to
form filaments e.g. large numbers of actin
filaments frequently occur in the outer zone
of the cytoplasm, called the ectoplasm, to
form an elastic support for the cell membrane
Also, in muscle cells, actin and myosin
filaments are organized into a special
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contractile machine
that is the basis
for

Cytoskeleton cont
A special type of stiff filament composed of
polymerized tubulin molecules is used in all
cells to construct very strong tubular
structures (microtubules) and include;
Tubular skeletal structure in the center of
each cilium that radiates upward from the cell
cytoplasm to the tip of the cilium
Both the centrioles and the mitotic spindle of
the mitosing cell are composed of stiff
microtubules
The primary function of microtubules is to act
as a cytoskeleton (three types; microfilament,
microtubules and intermediate filaments),
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providing rigidMME
physical structures for
certain

Types of cytoskeleton

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Cytoskeletons in the Cell

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ix. Nucleus
The nucleus is the control center of the cell
Nucleus contains large quantities of DNA,
which are the genes
The genes determine the characteristics of
the cells proteins, including the structural
proteins, as well as the intracellular enzymes
that control cytoplasmic and nuclear activities
Genes also control and promote reproduction
of the cell itself
The genes first reproduce to give two
identical sets of genes; then the cell splits by
a special process called mitosis to form two
daughter cells, each of which receives one of
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the two sets ofMMEDNA genes.

Nucleus cont
Unfortunately, the appearance of the nucleus
under the microscope does not provide many
clues to the mechanisms by which the
nucleus performs its control activities
The light microscopic appearance of the
interphase nucleus (during the period
between mitoses), reveal darkly staining
chromatin material throughout the
nucleoplasm
During mitosis, the chromatin material
organizes in the form of highly structured
chromosomes, which can then be easily
identified using the light microscope
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Nucleus cont

Nucleus is encased in the nuclear

membrane
Nuclear membrane is actually two separate
bilayer membranes, one inside the other
The outer membrane is continuous with the
ER of the cell cytoplasm
The space between the two nuclear
membranes is also continuous with the
space inside the ER
Nucleolus is non-membrane bound
structure comprising proteins and nucleic
acids found within the nucleus of eukaryotic
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cells

Nucleus structure

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x. References
Barrett E. Kim, Barman M. Susan, Boitano
Scott and Brooks L. Heddwen,(2010).
Ganongs Review of Medical Physiology, 23rd
Ed., San Francisco: McGraw-Hill Companies
Inc.
Guyton, A. C. and Hall, J. E., (2010). Text
Book of Medical Physiology, Philadelphia:
Elsevier Inc.
Kerfeld, C. A.; Sawaya, M. R; Tanaka, S;
Nguyen, C. V.; Phillips, M; Beeby, M; Yeates,
T. O. (5 August 2005). "Protein structures
forming the shell of primitive bacterial
organelles.". Science
309 (5736):369368.
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