Logged out
Access All our Essays in an Instant
Swap your work for FREE access, or pay £4.99 for instant access
The functions of proteins in cell membranes. The fluid mosaic model is the clearest representation of a plasma membrane
Member rating: No Rating | Words: | Submitted: Fri Mar 31 2006
Page Preview
On the left is an image preview of every page of this document, and below are the first 150 words with formatting removed:
The functions of proteins in cell membranes. The fluid mosaic model is the clearest representation of a plasma membrane. It shows a phospholipid bilayer (with a hydrophilic phosphate head, and hydrophobic fatty acid 'tails'), with glycoproteins, glycolipids and numerous proteins distributed throughout. These membrane molecules have been synthesised by endoplasmic reticulum and distributed by Golgi apparatus. The plasma membrane acts as a boundary between intercellular and extra cellular space. It is a regulatory system, controlling the movement of molecules in to, out of and within the cell. The plasma membrane is selectively permeable. Throughout this essay I will refer mainly to the plasma membrane, however many of the statements are also true for organelle membranes. An example of the fluid mosaic model is shown below. There are two main protein membrane shapes, and these effect there function. Channel proteins (non-polar ? helix segments, which cross the whole lipid bilayer from cytoplasm to...
Get instant access
- Instant, unlimited access to our documents in full
- Swap your work for free access, or pay £4.99
- To see the full version of this document and 147,038 others
Receive email updates for this category
- Simply tell us your email address and receive a weekly Study Help Email for FREE
- Receive 3 FREE essay views with each email
- Get all the latest essays from Coursework.Info & discussion from TheStudentRoom.co.uk
