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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).
Fluid mosaic model of a cell membrane. The fluid mosaic model explains various characteristics regarding the structure of functional cell membranes.According to this biological model, there is a lipid bilayer (two molecules thick layer consisting primarily of amphipathic phospholipids) in which protein molecules are embedded.
The movement of phospholipids, even those located in the outer leaflet of the membrane, is regulated by the actin-based membrane skeleton meshwork.Which is surprising, because the membrane skeleton is located on the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane, and cannot directly interact with the phospholipids located in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane.
Original - The cell membrane, also called the plasma membrane or plasmalemma, is a semipermeable lipid bilayer common to all living cells. It contains a variety of biological molecules, primarily proteins and lipids, which are involved in a vast array of cellular processes.
By the 1950s, cell biologists verified the existence of plasma membranes through the use of electron microscopy (which accounted for higher resolutions). J. David Robertson used this method to propose the unit membrane model. [4] Basically, he suggested that all cellular membranes share a similar underlying structure, the unit membrane. Using ...
[2] [3] [4] Tunneling nanotubes that are less than 0.7 micrometers in diameter, have an actin structure and carry portions of plasma membrane between cells in both directions. Larger TNTs (>0.7 μm) contain an actin structure with microtubules and/or intermediate filaments , and can carry components such as vesicles and organelles between cells ...
The plasma membrane is not a fixed or rigid structure, the molecules that compose the membrane are capable of lateral movement. This movement and the multiple components of the membrane are why it is referred to as a fluid mosaic. Smaller molecules such as carbon dioxide, water, and oxygen can pass through the plasma membrane freely by ...
Other cellular extensions that protrude from the cell membrane are known as membrane protrusions or cell protrusions, also cell appendages, such as flagella, and microvilli. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Microtentacles are cell protrusions attached to free-floating cells, associated with the spread of some cancer cells .