SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES

PRE-MEDICAL BIOLOGY (PMBI 130)

Biological Membranes – Supplementary Notes

Introduction
An important feature shared by all cellular organisms is that their cells are membrane bound.
Biological membranes are the most important structural features of the cell and the cell
organelles. Membranes also contain various functional molecules such as the receptors, ionic
channels, carriers etc. The interaction of the cell with its surrounding environment is critical
for the existence of the living organisms. It is for this reason that the living cell is encased
within a plasma membrane through which water and soluble substances can pass. This
plasma membrane is also known as a biological membrane (biomembrane).

Membranes can also be viewed as highly viscous plastic structures. For example, the plasma
membranes form closed compartments around the protoplasm (cytoplasm) to separate one
cell from another cell so as to permit cellular individuality. Membranes also form specialized
compartments within the cell. The intracellular membranes help to shape a diversity of
organelles such as the mitochondria, the Golgi apparatus, the endoplasmic reticulum etc
found in the cytoplasm. It has been noted that changes in membrane structure can affect water
balance and ion flux. In this regard ion flux is the movement of ions across the cell
membrane. The normal cellular function depends on the integrity of normal structure of the
membrane.

Components of Biomembranes
Current advances relating to the biology of membranes reveal that the cell membranes are
assembled from four components, and these are:

i. the phospholipid layer;

ii. the transmembrane proteins;
iii. the interior protein network;
iv. the cell surface markers.

(i) The Phospholipid layer

This is a bilayer of phospholipid in which other components of the membrane are embedded
within it. This form of lipid bilayer provides a flexible matrix, and at the same time it is a
molecular structure which imposes a barrier to permeability processes. Phospholipids are a
class of lipids that are the major components of all cell membranes. The phospholipid
molecule consists of two hydrophobic tails and a hydrophilic head which consists of a
phosphate group. The two components (fatty acids and phosphate group) are both attached to
the glycerol molecule, as illustrated in Fig. 1 below. The phosphate group is the negatively
charged polar head which is hydrophilic component of the phospholipid. The two fatty acid
chains are the uncharged, nonpolar tails which are hydrophobic. Since the tails are
hydrophobic, they are orientated to face toward the inside, away from the water and these

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tails meet in the inner region of the membrane. Since the heads are hydrophilic, they are
oriented to face outward and thus attracted to the intracellular and extracellular fluids.

The amphipathic nature of phospholipids favours their arrangement in a lipid bilayer. The
polar heads are in contact with the surrounding aqueous medium whereas the hydrophobic
fatty acid tails are orientated toward the middle of the membrane. This structural
configuration is exhibited in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1: Molecular structure of phospholipid as part of the biomembrane. a) formula;

b) space model of the lipid; and c) icon (symbol) of a phospholipid.

(ii) The Transmembrane proteins

Membrane proteins represent about one-third of proteins in living organisms.
Transmembrane proteins constitute a major component of the biomembrane and these float in
the lipid layer. Since the lipid bilayers form a barrier which is relatively impervious to most
molecules, then proteins embedded in the membrane will allow the transfer of molecules and
information across the lipid bilayer. Hence, transmembrane proteins have a variety of
functions, including transport and communication across the membrane. Many integral
proteins found in membranes are not fixed in position, but usually move about.

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(iii) The Interior Protein Network
The role of this version of protein network is to reinforce (strengthen) the membrane’s shape.
Membranes use networks of other proteins to control the lateral movements of some key
membrane proteins by anchoring them to specific sites.

(iv) Cell-surface Markers

Cell surface markers are the special proteins attached to cell membranes. They play the role
of inter-cellular communication and recognition. Features that occur as cell-surface markers
include the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi apparatus. In this regard, the ER adds
chains of sugar molecules to membrane proteins and lipids, thus converting them to
glycoproteins and glycolipids respectively. Different types of glycoproteins and glycolipids
that are found on the surface of membranes act as cell identity markers.

Models of Biological Membranes

The development of the electron microscope has helped to reveal detailed structures of the
cell membranes. The structures of biological membranes have been described along two
schools of thought, these being based on (a) the Davson-Danielli model and (b) the Singer-
Nicholson model.

(a) The Davson-Danielli Model of Membranes

In 1935 Hugh Davson and James Danielli proposed a model on the structure of biological
membranes. The two scientists conceived a model of the membrane to consist of a
phospholipid bilayer coated on both sides with thin sheets of globular proteins. The Davson-
Danielli model of the biomembrane is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. The Davson-Danielli model of biomembrane. Note that the bilayer of

phospholipids are coated by a single layer of protein on each side.

The Davson-Danielli model was an earlier concept of the biological membrane which was
portrayed to consist of the bimolecular layers (2-layers) of phospholipids coated on each
side with a single layer of protein. Davson and Danielli proposed that the membrane would
exhibit selective permeability which would be capable of distinguishing between molecules
of different sizes and also distinguish between ions of different charges. This model of
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membrane structure had been a known and accepted by most cell biologists for about 30
years since its conception in 1935, until the time when Singer and Nicholson later advanced
the ‘fluid mosaic model’ in 1972.

The Fluid Mosaic Model of Membranes

In 1972, S.J. Singer and G.J. Nicolson revised the model of the membrane in a simpler way.
In their understanding of the membrane structure, Singer and Nicholson proposed that
globular proteins are inserted into the phospholipid bimolecular layer with their nonpolar
segments in contact with the nonpolar interior of the bilayer and their polar portions
protruding out of the membrane surface. The ‘fluid mosaic model’, as illustrated in Fig 3
and Fig. 4, was advanced based on the foundation of the earlier model which was developed
by Davson and Danielli in 1935.

Fig. 3.: The Fluid Mosaic Model of Cell Structure

Fig. 4.: A 3-mension view of the Fluid Mosaic Model of Membrane

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The fluid mosaic model of membrane structures suggests that protein molecules float about in
a fluid of phospholipid layer. Since the phospholipid bilayer was viewed as a fluid, the
protein forms a fluid mosaic pattern. According to this model, the membrane is viewed as a
thin sheet-like structure surrounding the cell, thus being likened to the skin of a soap bubble
with a consistency of olive oil. The phospholipids are fluid and move about rapidly by a
process of diffusion in their own layers. Most protein molecules float about in the
phospholipid bilayer to form a fluid mosaic pattern.

Current Knowledge of Biomembranes Structure

Currently, biomembranes are known to consist of a hydrophobic matrix formed by a double
layer of phospholipids to which proteins are attached in various forms. Membranes of all
living cells consist of two layers of phospholipids measuring about 5-10 nm thick. Note that a
nanometer (nm) is equivalent to one billionth of a meter, and this is translated figuratively as
(1 x 10-9 m).

Recent studies have revealed that there are two categories of membrane proteins: the integral
membrane proteins and the peripheral membrane proteins. The integral proteins are
embedded within the structure of the phospholipid bilayer where they are involved in the
movement of ions and small molecules across the membrane. Peripheral membranes occur on
outer and inner surface of the membranes, attached either to integral proteins or to
phospholipids; and these proteins are involved in cell signals and function as carriers of non-
polar compounds.

A membrane can thus be defined as an outer membrane of a cell which is composed of two
layers of phospholipids in which proteins are embedded. It is a thin semipermeable layer
which surrounds the cytoplasm and other inherent cellular components. A typical plasma
membrane contains about 50% protein by mass. However, protein content varies with nature
of membrane types. For example, it has been established that protein content is in the range
of 18% in nerve cell membranes and is about 75% in the membranes of mitochondria.

Summary of Membranes Functions

1) The plasma membrane separates cell contents from its outside environment.
2) Biomembranes regulate what enters in and exit out of the cell.
3) The membrane acts as a base for attachment for the cytoskeleton in some organisms
and the attachment to the cell wall in other organisms such as plants, fungi and
bacteria.
4) A membrane is thus a semi-permeable structure which allows a selected set of
molecules to diffuse across it.
5) Therefore, biomembranes will allow some substances to pass through freely; some
substances to pass through slowly or with difficulty; and some substances never to
pass through at all. Hence, membranes are differentially permeable.
6) Biomembrane can restrict or even prevent the passage of many dissolved substances.
7) Semipermeable membranes are very thin structures that allow small molecules, such
as oxygen, water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, glucose and amino acids to pass through
them.
8) However, the semipermeable membranes do not allow larger molecules, such as
proteins to pass through them.
9) The semi-permeability properties of the plasma membrane ensure that the essential
molecules such as glucose, amino acids and lipids readily enter the cell; ensure that

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 metabolic intermediates remain within the cell; and also ensures that waste
compounds are removed from the cell.

Bibliography
Clegg, C.J. and Mackean, D.G. (2008). Advanced Biology: Principles and Applications,
Second Edition. Hodder Education. London.
Craig, N.L., Cohen-Fix, O., Green, R., Greider, C., Storz, G. and Welberger, C. (2014).
Molecular Biology: Principles, of Genome Function. Oxford University Press.
Oxford.
Murray, R.K. and Granner, D.K. (2006). Membranes: Structure and Function, In: R.K.
Murray, D.K. Granner and V.W. Rodwell (eds.) Harpers’s Illustrated Biochemistry,
27th Edition. McGraw Hill Companies Inc. Singapore.
Raven, P.H., Johnson, G.B., Mason, K.A., Losos, J.B. and Singer, S.R. (2014). Biology,
10th Edition. McGraw-Hill Co.
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Tutorial Exercise

1. Features that are shared by both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organism include the
possession of

(a) plasma membrane, protoplasm and ribosomes.

(b) plasma membrane, protoplasm and a membrane bound nucleus.
(c) plasma membrane, protoplasm and mitochondria.
(d) plasma membrane, cytoplasm and the nucleoid region.

2. A molecule found in membranes that is involved in the transport of ions and small
molecules is known as:

(a) the phospholipid bilayer.

(b) the glycoprotein
(c) the peripheral protein
(d) the integral protein
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