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Eukaryotic cells usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells, have no nuclei, and a few others including osteoclasts have many. The main structures making up the nucleus are the nuclear envelope, a double membrane that encloses the entire organelle and isolates its contents from the cellular cytoplasm ...
The nucleus is spherical and separated from the cytoplasm by a double membrane called the nuclear envelope, space between these two membrane is called perinuclear space. The nuclear envelope isolates and protects a cell's DNA from various molecules that could accidentally damage its structure or interfere with its processing.
The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. The main components of the cytoplasm are the cytosol (a gel-like substance), the organelles (the cell's internal sub-structures), and various cytoplasmic inclusions. The cytoplasm is about 80% water and is usually colorless. [1]
In 1903, Nikolai K. Koltsov proposed that the shape of cells was determined by a network of tubules that he termed the cytoskeleton. The concept of a protein mosaic that dynamically coordinated cytoplasmic biochemistry was proposed by Rudolph Peters in 1929 [12] while the term (cytosquelette, in French) was first introduced by French embryologist Paul Wintrebert in 1931.
[4] [5] Such a soluble cell extract is not identical to the soluble part of the cell cytoplasm and is usually called a cytoplasmic fraction. [6] The term cytosol is now used to refer to the liquid phase of the cytoplasm in an intact cell. [6] This excludes any part of the cytoplasm that is contained within organelles. [7]
The non-membrane bounded organelles, also called large biomolecular complexes, are large assemblies of macromolecules that carry out particular and specialized functions, but they lack membrane boundaries. Many of these are referred to as "proteinaceous organelles" as their main structure is made of proteins. Such cell structures include:
The distinction is that eukaryotic cells have a "true" nucleus containing their DNA, whereas prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus. Both eukaryotes and prokaryotes contain large RNA/protein structures called ribosomes, which produce protein, but the ribosomes of prokaryotes are smaller than those of eukaryotes.
This includes the transportation of RNA and ribosomal proteins from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, as well as proteins (such as DNA polymerase and lamins), carbohydrates, signaling molecules, and lipids moving into the nucleus. Notably, the nuclear pore complex (NPC) can actively mediate up to 1000 translocations per complex per second.