THE CELL

(CYTOLOGY)

Dr. Moono Silitongo

Introduction
cells are the basic structural and functional units (the smallest living parts)
of the body
each cell performs all the functions necessary to sustain life
can obtain nutrients and other essential substances from surrounding body
fluids and use these nutrients to make the molecules it needs to survive
each cell also disposes off its wastes, maintains its shape and integrity
and can replicate themselves
these functions are carried out by the cells many subunits most of which
are called organelles
Discovery of Cells
the invention of the lens

Robert Hooke (1665): observed a thin slice of

cork (dead plant cells) with a microscope

He described what he observed as little boxes

(cells)
 Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1675): was the first person to observe living
cells.
Microscopes
Magnification: refers to the microscopes power to increase an
objects apparent size

Resolution: refers to the microscopes power to show detail clearly

Light Microscope
The Cell theory

Who developed the cell theory?

Matthias Schleiden (1838): concluded that all plants are composed of cells

Theodor Schwann (1839): concluded that all animals are composed of cells

Rudolph Virchow (1855): determined that cells come only from other cells
 What is the cell theory?

1. All living things are composed of one or more cells

2. Cells are organisms basic units of structure and function

3. Cells come only from existing cells

The Cell
 animal cells can be :

eukaryotic with distinct membrane-limited nuclei surrounded by

cytoplasm containing various membrane-limited organelles

prokaryotic cells of bacteria typically have a cell wall around the

plasmalemma and lack other membranous structures, including an
envelope around their DNA
 human cells have three main parts:
plasma membrane

cytoplasm

nucleus

plasma membrane is the outer boundary

internal to this membrane is the cytoplasm, which makes up the bulk of

the cell, contains most of the cellular organelles and surrounds the nucleus

nucleus controls cellular activities and lies near the cells centre
Plasma membrane (cell membrane or plasmalemma )
is the lipid bilayer with embedded proteins that surrounds a cell and is
seen only with the TEM
lipid bilayer forms from amphipathic phospholipids, stabilized by
cholesterol and contains many embedded integral proteins and many
peripheral proteins on its cytoplasmic surface
membrane proteins move laterally within the lipid bilayer
integral membrane proteins include receptors for external ligands,
channels for passive or active movement of molecules across the
membrane and pumps for active membrane transport
 Endocytosis is cellular uptake of macromolecules or fluid by plasma membrane
engulfment or invagination, followed by the pinching off of a filled
membranous vesicle in the cytoplasm

major types of endocytosis include phagocytosis (uptake of particulate material),

pinocytosis (uptake of dissolved substances) and receptor-mediated endocytosis
(uptake of specific molecules bound to integral membrane receptor proteins).

Exocytosis is a type of cellular secretion in which cytoplasmic membrane vesicles

fuse with the plasma membrane and release their contents to the extracellular
space.
Membrane Transport
Osmosis

Simple diffusion

Active transport

Endocytosis

Exocytosis

Phagocytosis

Pinocytosis
Ribosomes
small electron dense particles (20 x 30 nm) in size
synthesize proteins
2 subunits synthesized in the nucleus
polysomes/polyribosomes
intensely basophilic
 the two ribosomal subunits , each a complex of rRNA and many

proteins, attach to mRNA and translate that message into protein

multiple ribosomes on the same mRNA make up a polyribosome

(polysome), and an abundance of these produces basophilic cytoplasm

after H&E staining

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
is a convoluted network of membrane enclosing continuous spaces
called cisternae and extending from the nucleus to the plasma
membrane

Rough ER has a granular, basophilic cytoplasmic surface due to the

presence of polysomes making most membrane proteins, proteins in
certain other organelles or for exocytosis

RER is always well developed in cells actively secreting proteins

 proteins to be processed through the RER contain initial signal
peptides which bind receptors in the ER membrane, localizing them to
that organelle

after translocation across the membrane into the cisterna, the proteins
undergo posttranslational modification and folding in a process
monitored by RER molecular chaperones and enzymes
 convoluted membranous network (reticulum)
rough and smooth
cisternae
biosynthesis of proteins and lipids

RER
prominent in cell specialized for secretion
synthesizes protein destined for export
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER)
smooth ER ( SER) lacks ribosomes and not basophilic

includes enzymes for lipid and glycogen metabolism, for detoxification

reactions, and for temporary Ca 2+ sequestration

phospholipids synthesis

synthesized lipids and proteins destined within the cell

sequestration and release Ca2+ i. e in muscle cells (sarcoplasmic

reticulum)
Golgi Apparatus
named after Camillo Golgi, 1898
the Golgi apparatus is a dynamic organelle consisting of stacked
membranous cisternae in which proteins made in RER are processed
further and packaged for secretion or other roles

proteins in transport vesicles enter the cis or receiving face of the

Golgi, move through medical cisternae of the Golgi network for
enzymatic modifications and are released in other vesicles at the trans
face
 vesicle movement through the Golgi apparatus is guided by specific

coat proteins such as COPII and COPI

important protein modifications in the Golgi apparatus include

sulfation and many glycosylation reactions

modified proteins leave the Golgi apparatus after packaging in vesicles

with coat proteins that direct movement to lysosomes, the plasma
membrane or secretion by exocytosis
Lysosomes
are membrane bound organelles particularly abundant in cells with great
phagocytic activity (e.g. macrophages, neutrophils)

primary lysosomes emerge from the Golgi apparatus containing inactive acid
hydrolases specific for degrading a wide variety of cellular macromolecules

secondary lysosomes are more heterogeneous, having fused with vesicles

produced by endocytosis that contain material to be digested by the
hydrolytic enzymes
 during autophagy, lysosomes digest unneeded or non-functional
organelles after these are surrounded by membrane that then fuses
with a lysosome

products of digestion in secondary lysosomes are released to the

cytoplasm for reuse

final condensed vesicles containing any indigestible molecules are

called residual bodies
Mitochondria
are the major sites of ATP synthesis

are abundant in cells or cytoplasmic regions where large amounts of energy are
expended

are usually elongated organelles and form by fission of preexisting mitochondria

have two membranes:

a porous outer membrane encloses the intermembrane space

an inner membrane with many folds (cristae) enclosing a gel-like matrix

 the mitochondrial matrix contains enzymes for -oxidation of fatty
acids and the citric acid (Krebs) cycle

the inner membrane includes enzyme assemblies of the electron

transport system and ATP synthase

mitochondria of stressed cells may release cytochrome c from the

inner membrane, triggering a regulated series of events culminating in
cell death (apoptosis)
Peroxisomes
enclosed by a single membrane
peroxisomes are small spherical organelles containing enzymes for
various metabolic reactions, notably for oxidation and detoxification
and catalase (peroxidase) that breaks down the hydrogen peroxide
resulting from those reactions
formed by budding from ER and dividing from preexisting
peroxisomes
deficiency of peroxisomes causes Zellweger syndrome: affects several
organ system
Proteasomes

proteasomes are small cytoplasmic protein complexes which degrade

improperly folded proteins
Nucleus

cytoplasm is separated from nucleoplasm by the nuclear envelope which is a

double set of membranes with a narrow perinuclear space

the outer membrane binds ribosomes and is continuous with the RER

nuclear envelope is penetrated by nuclear pore complexes, large assemblies of

nucleoporins with through which proteins and protein-RNA complexes move in
both directions

nuclear envelope is supported internally by a meshwork, the nuclear lamina,

composed of intermediate filament subunits called lamins
 chromatin is the combination of DNA and its associated proteins

chromatin with DNA that is active in transcription stains lightly and

is called euchromatin; inactive chromatin stains more darkly and is

called heterochromatin

DNA molecule initially wraps around complexes of basic proteins

called histones to form nucleosomes producing a structure resembling

beads on a string
Nucleolus

is a very basophilic or electron-dense area of chromatin

localized where rRNA transcription and ribosomal subunits assembly

occur

by TEM, an active nucleolus is seen to have fibrous and granular

parts where rRNA forms and ribosomal subunits are assembled

respectively
The Cytoskeleton
determines the cell shape

movement of organelles

allow movement of entire cells

they include:-
Microtubules

Microfilaments

Intermediate filaments
Microtubules
hollow, 25 nm in diameter and are made up of and tubulin

larger array called axoneme i.e. in cilia and flagella

microtubules are important in maintaining cell shape and as tracks for transport
of vesicles and organelles by the motor proteins kinesin and dynein

centrioles composed of nine highly organized microtubules triplets with their

long axes at right angle

forms intracellular transport system

form mitotic spindles in developing cells

Microfilaments (actin filaments)

actin filaments:- 5 7 nm in diameter

are short, flexible, highly dynamic filaments of actin subunits, in

which changes in length and interactions with binding proteins
regulate cytoplasmic viscosity and movement

myosins are motor proteins that bind and move along actin filaments,

carrying vesicles or producing cytoplasmic movement

 movements of cytoplasm produced by actin filaments and myosins are
important for endocytosis, cell cleavage after mitosis and cell
locomotion on substrates

microvilli are maintained by microfilaments

Intermediate filaments
intermediate in size between microtubules and microfilaments
10 nm in diameter
contain proteins such as:-
Keratins
Neurofilaments
Laminins
vimentin
more stable than microtubules and microfilament

link cells together i.e. epithelial cells

constituents of hair and nails
Centrioles
forms mitotic spindles of dividing cell, flagella, cilia, axial filament of
the spermatozoa

short cylindrical, lying at right angle to each other

9 +2 configuration of microtubule
Inclusions
cytoplasmic inclusions have little or no metabolic activity (which
distinguishes them from organelles), but contain accumulated
metabolites or other substances not enclosed by membrane

most kinds of inclusions are transitory cytoplasmic components not

enclosed by membrane

important and commonly seen inclusions include the following:

 Fat droplets
accumulations of lipid molecules prominent in adipocytes (fat cells), adrenal
cortex cells, liver and other cells

Glycogen granules
aggregates of the carbohydrate polymer in which glucose is stored, are visible
in several cell types, mainly liver cells, in the form of irregular clumps of
periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) positive or electron-dense material
 Lipofuscin
is a yellowish-brown pigment visualized by H&E staining in many cells, especially
in stable non dividing cells (e.g. neurons, cardiac muscle)
granules of lipofuscin contain a complex mix of material partly derived from
residual bodies after lysosomal digestion
Hemosiderin
is a dense brown aggregate of denatured ferritin proteins with many atoms of bound
iron
it occurs in phagocytic cells, especially macrophages of the liver and spleen, where
it results from phagocytosis of red blood cells