The cell is the most basic unit of life on Earth, and the development of the cell membrane (or plasma membrane) may be one of the most important parts of the story of the evolution of life. Both prokaryotes (single-celled organisms that lack a distinct nucleus and other organelles) and eukaryotes (single-celled or multicellular organisms whose cells have a distinct nucleus and various organelles) have cell membranes that help the cell remain separate, in a sense, from the outside world. The cell membrane is the barrier by which a cell’s insides are kept in and the environment is kept out. It also performs several other functions to maintain the cell’s homeostasis—that is, the cell’s state of equilibrium or stability as conditions change within the cell or in the outside environment.
It is made up of a double layer of phospholipids that separates the cell from the outside world.
The cell membrane’s main mission is to serve as a barrier between the cell (which might also be a single-celled organism) and the world; so the cell needs to have a structure which allows it to interact with both. A cell’s membrane is primarily made up of a double layer of phospholipids (fatlike, phosphorus-containing substances). Each layer is composed of phospholipid molecules that contain a hydrophilic (water-loving) head and a hydrophobic (water-repellent) tail. The heads in the outermost layer face and interact with the watery external environment, while the heads of those in the interior layer point inward and interact with the cell’s watery cytoplasm. The region between the two layers is fluid repellent, which has the effect of separating the inside of the cell from the outside world. The cell membrane is semipermeable, which allows selected molecules to pass into or out of the cell.
It contains proteins that provide a number of critical functions.
Since proper cell functioning depends on the movement of nutrients and useful materials into the cell and the removal of waste products from the cell, the cell membrane also contains proteins and other molecules that perform a wide variety of these duties. Some proteins are attached to these mats of phospholipids to help move nutrients (such as oxygen and water) and wastes (such as carbon dioxide); some help the cell connect with and attach to the right kinds of materials (as well as other cells); and some proteins keep the cell from linking up with toxic materials as well as the wrong kinds of cells, foreign or otherwise. Specialized proteins called enzymes help break down larger nutrients or help combine different nutrients with one another into more useable forms. Depending upon their design and function, protein molecules may be attached to the surface of one of the cell membrane’s layers or they may be fully embedded within the layer residing alongside the phospholipids. Some proteins tasked with funneling nutrients into and out of the space between the cell membrane’s inner and outer layer cross only one of the phospholipid layers. Others, which are designed to transport nutrients into the cell itself or funnel wastes away from the cell, are large enough to span both. There are also proteins that help the cell maintain its shape.
It contains carbohydrates that help to identify the cell and link the cell to others.
Carbohydrates, compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (such as sugars, starches, and celluloses), are found along the surface of the outermost layer of the cell membrane. Carbohydrates form glycolipids after linking with lipids, and glycoproteins after linking with proteins. Depending upon their design, glycolipid and glycoprotein molecules may act as chemical markers or receptors that help identify the cell or assist in linking the cell to other cells. Glycoproteins also bind with other proteins to make enzymes and other substances that, depending on the molecule’s purpose, could be involved in blood clotting, capturing foreign bacteria, protecting against diseases, and other activities.
Singer and Nicolson’s fluid mosaic model is often used to describe the cell membrane’s structure.
It can be difficult to envision how the cell membrane functions. After all, the cell, cell membrane, and all the activities the cell engages in occur at levels too small for the naked eye to see. In 1972, two American scientists, S.J. Singer and G.L. Nicolson, developed the fluid mosaic model to describe the structure and functions of the cell membrane. The model notes that the membrane itself is fluid, in the sense that it is constantly changing. Individual phospholipids move about laterally (in the same layer); however, one or more lipids may flip to the other layer on occasion. Lipids are drawn to one another through weak hydrophobic attractions, so while they do stick to one another, the bonds are routinely broken. The membrane’s proteins also move about within this sea of lipids—as do cholesterols (which occur only in animal cells). Cholesterols increase the membrane’s rigidity and firmness at moderate and higher temperatures by making the membrane less soluble. At lower temperatures, however, cholesterols separate phospholipids from one another so that the membrane does not become too rigid.
The fluid mosaic model also describes how nutrients are transported into and out of the cell.
Nutrient and waste transport may be passive (that is, it does not require energy) or active (that is, energy is required) to move molecules across the cell membrane. Passive transport can occur through diffusion, where molecules flow from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration (down a concentration gradient). If molecules diffuse through a semipermeable membrane, the process is called osmosis. However, in cells, a type of assisted passive transport called facilitated diffusion works because of transport proteins, which create membrane-spanning portals for specific kinds of molecules and ions or attach to a specific molecule on one side of the membrane, carry it to the other side, and release it. In contrast, active transport is fueled by a coenzyme called adenosine triphosphate (ATP)—which delivers chemical energy captured from the breakdown of food to other parts of the cell—to move molecules up a concentration gradient. Among other things, active transport allows the cell to expel waste ions, such as sodium (Na+), from the cell even though the concentration of sodium ions outside the cell may be higher than the concentration inside.