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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).
The glycocalyx (pl.: glycocalyces or glycocalyxes), also known as the pericellular matrix and cell coat, is a layer of glycoproteins and glycolipids which surround the cell membranes of bacteria, epithelial cells, and other cells. [1] Animal epithelial cells have a fuzz-like coating on the external surface of their plasma membranes.
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.
According to the Gene Ontology, the extracellular space is a cellular component defined as: "That part of a multicellular organism outside the cells proper, usually taken to be outside the plasma membranes, and occupied by fluid. For multicellular organisms, the extracellular space refers to everything outside a cell, but still within the ...
These proteins insert and assume a place in the bilayer structure of the membrane alongside the similar fatty acid tails. The lipid-anchored protein can be located on either side of the cell membrane. Thus, the lipid serves to anchor the protein to the cell membrane. [1] [2] They are a type of proteolipids.
Alpha-helical proteins are present in the inner membranes of bacterial cells or the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells, and sometimes in the bacterial outer membrane. [5] This is the major category of transmembrane proteins. In humans, 27% of all proteins have been estimated to be alpha-helical membrane proteins. [6]
The glomerular basement membrane is a special case, consisting of a fusion of the podocyte and endothelial basal laminas, and lacking a lamina reticularis. Thus, it consists of an especially thick lamina densa, sandwiched on its inside and outside by layers of lamina lucida / rara (one from each cell type).
Cell surface receptors (membrane receptors, transmembrane receptors) are receptors that are embedded in the plasma membrane of cells. [1] They act in cell signaling by receiving (binding to) extracellular molecules. They are specialized integral membrane proteins that allow communication between the cell and the extracellular space.