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Illustration of a eukaryotic cell membrane Comparison of a eukaryotic vs. a prokaryotic cell membrane. The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment (the extracellular space).
Cross-sectional view of the structures that can be formed by phospholipids in an aqueous solution. A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the cell and another.
Glycoproteins on the membrane assist the cell in recognizing other cells, in order to exchange metabolites and form tissues. Other proteins on the plasma membrane allow attachment to the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix; a function that maintains cell shape and fixes the location of membrane proteins. Enzymes that catalyze reactions are ...
Its primary function is to give the cell its shape and mechanical resistance to deformation, and through association with extracellular connective tissue and other cells it stabilizes entire tissues. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] The cytoskeleton can also contract, thereby deforming the cell and the cell's environment and allowing cells to migrate . [ 6 ]
Peripheral membrane proteins are transiently associated with the cell membrane. Membrane proteins are common, and medically important—about a third of all human proteins are membrane proteins, and these are targets for more than half of all drugs. [1]
Stamen is the Latin word meaning "thread" (originally thread of the warp, in weaving). [8]Filament derives from classical Latin filum, meaning "thread" [8]; Anther derives from French anthère, [9] from classical Latin anthera, meaning "medicine extracted from the flower" [10] [11] in turn from Ancient Greek ἀνθηρά (anthērá), [9] [11] feminine of ἀνθηρός (anthērós) meaning ...
Cell mechanics is a sub-field of biophysics that focuses on the mechanical properties and behavior of living cells and how it relates to cell function. [1] It encompasses aspects of cell biophysics , biomechanics , soft matter physics and rheology , mechanobiology and cell biology .
Cells have developed several types of junctional complexes to serve these functions, and in each case, anchoring proteins extend through the plasma membrane to link cytoskeletal proteins in one cell to cytoskeletal proteins in neighboring cells as well as to proteins in the extracellular matrix. [6]