Saylor.org's Cell Biology

/Review of Basic Concepts/
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Identify the functions of major organic molecules.
 * Understand hydrophilic and hydrophobic bonds and their respective roles in cells (particularly in terms of cell-membrane structure).
 * Understand the four levels of protein structures and be able to identify which structure is referred to in a given example.
 * Understand the relationship between free energy and the direction of a reaction.


 * 1.1 /Biology/
 * 1.1.1 /Amino Acids/
 * 1.1.2 /Four Levels of Protein Structures/
 * 1.1.3 /Carbohydrates/
 * 1.1.4 /ATP/
 * 1.1.5 /DNA and RNA/
 * 1.1.6 /Free Energy and ATP/

The Cell Membrane
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Know and identify the components of membranes.
 * Understand how these components affect membrane properties.
 * Identify types of membrane transport (specific pumps and channels) and understand the role of various molecules and ions (e.g. sodium, calcium) in this transport.


 * 2.1 /Membrane Components/
 * 2.1.1 /Lipids, Sphingolipids, Glycolipids/
 * 2.1.2 /Sterols/
 * 2.2 /Fluid Mosaic Model/
 * 2.3 /Membrane Pumps/
 * 2.3.1 /Glycophorin and Bacteriorhodopsin/
 * 2.3.2 /ATP-Driven Pumps/
 * 2.3.3 /ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette) Transporters/
 * 2.4 /Membrane Channels/
 * 2.4.1 /Sodium and Potassium Channels/
 * 2.4.2 /Leak Channels and Membrane Potential/
 * 2.4.3 /Water Channel/
 * 2.5 /Membrane Physiology/
 * 2.5.1 /Glucose Transport in Intestines/
 * 2.5.2 /Synthesis of ATP in Mitochondria/

Cell Signaling
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Distinguish between different signaling pathways.
 * Identify the function and roles of different kinds of receptors in the cell-signaling process.
 * Understand the steps involved in signaling pathways and determine, when given certain conditions, what step of the process will be affected.


 * 3.1 /Basic Types of Cell Signaling/
 * 3.1.1 /Juxtacrine Signaling/
 * 3.1.2 /Paracrine Signaling/
 * 3.1.3 /Endocrine Signaling/
 * 3.2 /Receptors/
 * 3.2.1 /G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs)/
 * 3.2.2 /Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs)/
 * 3.2.3 /Cytokine Receptors/
 * 3.2.4 /Receptor Serine/Threonine Kinases, Guanylyl Cyclase Receptors, and the TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) Receptor Family/
 * 3.3 /Reversible Phosphorylation/
 * 3.3.1 /Kinase and Phosphatase Cycle/
 * 3.3.2 /Serine and Threonine Phosphorylation/
 * 3.3.3 /Tyrosine Phosphorylation/
 * 3.3.4 /Regulation of Kinases and Phosphatases/
 * 3.3.5 /GTPase (Guanosine TriPhosphatase) Cycle/
 * 3.3.6 /Trimeric G (Guanosine) Protein Cycle/
 * 3.4 /Secondary Messengers/
 * 3.4.1 /Cyclic Nucleotides/
 * 3.4.2 /Lipid-Derived Secondary Messengers and Calcium/
 * 3.4.3 /Nitric Oxide/
 * 3.5 /Integrated Signaling Pathways/
 * 3.5.1 /Light Signal Transduction Inside Photoreceptor Cells/
 * 3.5.2 /Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Pathways Inside Muscle/
 * 3.5.3 /MAPK (Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase) Pathway/
 * 3.6 /Synaptic Transmission at Neuromuscular Junction/

The Extracellular Matrix (ECM)
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Answers questions about ECM molecules, including their functions and where each type of molecule is most common.
 * Understand the functions of different kinds of adhesion molecules.
 * Distinguish between types of intercellular junctions.


 * 4.1 /ECM Molecules/
 * 4.1.1 /Collagen/
 * 4.1.2 /Elastic Fibers/
 * 4.1.3 /Proteoglycans, Glycosaminoglycans, and Hyaluronan/
 * 4.1.4 /Adhesive Glycoproteins/
 * 4.2 /Basal Lamina/
 * 4.3 /Cellular Adhesion Molecules (CAMs)/
 * 4.4 /Intercellular Junctions/
 * 4.4.1 /Tight Junctions/
 * 4.4.2 /Gap Junctions/
 * 4.4.3 /Adherens Junctions and Desmosomes/
 * 4.5 /ECM and Connective Tissue/
 * 4.5.1 /Loose Connective Tissue (LCT)/
 * 4.5.2 /Dense Connective Tissue (DCT)/

The Cytoskeleton
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Understand the different roles of actin, tubulin, and intermediate filaments.
 * Understand the properties and functions of actin, tubulin, and intermediate filaments.
 * Understand the means through which cytoskeletal molecules are formed.
 * Be able to determine which cytoskeletal molecule or process has been disrupted when given an example of a particular cellular problem or lack of function.
 * Understand the relationship between cytoskeletal elements and cell/intracellular movements.


 * 5.1 /Cytoskeleton Molecules/
 * 5.1.1 /Actin and Myosin/
 * 5.1.2 /Microtubules and Tubulin/
 * 5.1.3 /Intermediate Filaments/
 * 5.2 /Actin Family/
 * 5.2.1 /Actin Polymerization/
 * 5.2.2 /Actin Filament Cross-Linking (or “Bundling”) Proteins/
 * 5.3 /Tubulin/
 * 5.3.1 /Microtubule Assembly from GTP Tubulin/
 * 5.3.2 /Microtubule Associated Proteins/
 * 5.4 /Cytoskeletal Models/
 * 5.4.1 /Treadmilling/
 * 5.4.2 /Cell Crawling/
 * 5.4.3 /Desmosomes and Hemidesmosomes/
 * 5.4.4 /Skeletal Muscle Filament/
 * 5.4.5 /Kinesin-Dynein/
 * 5.4.6 /Cilia and Flagella/

The Cell Nucleus and Gene Expression
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Distinguish between euchromatin and heterochromatin in terms of which is the active form of genes.
 * Identify the components of the nuclear envelope and their functions.
 * Understand the roles of enhancers and repressors in gene expression.
 * Answer questions about gene regulation (pre- and post-transcription).


 * 6.1 /Chromosome Organization/Chromatin/
 * 6.2 /Nuclear Organization/
 * 6.2.1 /Inner and Outer Membrane/
 * 6.2.2 /Nuclear Pore Complexes/
 * 6.2.3 /Transport across the nuclear envelope/
 * 6.2.4 /Nuclear Lamina/
 * 6.2.5 /Nucleolus/
 * 6.3 /Gene Expression Transcription Unit/
 * 6.3.1 /RNA Polymerases/
 * 6.3.2 /General Transcription Factors and DNA Binding Domains/
 * 6.3.3 /RNA Maturation/
 * 6.3.4 /Ribosome/
 * 6.3.5 /Translation/
 * 6.4 /Regulation of Gene Expression/
 * 6.4.1 /Chromatin Structure and DNA Methylation Regulates Trancription/
 * 6.4.2 /Repressors and Enhancers/
 * 6.4.3 /Inducible Systems/

Mitosis and Cytokinesis
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Identify what major cellular events occur at each phase of the mitotic cell cycle and during cytokinesis.
 * Distinguish between open and closed mitosis.
 * Understand how to visually identify the phases of the mitotic cycle.


 * 7.1 /Prophase/
 * 7.2 /Prometaphase/
 * 7.3 /Metaphase/
 * 7.4 /Anaphase/
 * 7.4.1 /Anaphase A/
 * 7.4.2 /Anaphase B/
 * 7.5 /Telophase/
 * 7.6 /Cytokinesis/

Meiosis
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Identify what major cellular events occur at each phase of the meiotic cell cycle.
 * Distinguish between mitosis and meiosis in terms of both specific cellular events and the types of cells resulting from the process.
 * Understand the differences between oocyte formation and sperm formation.


 * 8.1 /Meiosis I/
 * 8.3 /Meiosis II/
 * 8.4 /Regulation of Oocyte Meiosis/

The Cell Cycle
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Understand what cellular events (or lack of events) occur during each phase of the cell cycle.
 * Identify in what phase of the cycle specific types of cells are found.
 * Understand the roles of cyclin and CDKs in regulating the cell cycle.
 * Answer questions about the cyclin/CDK pathway and what molecules/intracellular events are involved in different aspects of cell-cycle regulation.


 * 9.1 /General Phases of Cell Cycle/
 * 9.2 /Checkpoints of Cell Cycle/
 * 9.3 /Cyclins and Cyclin-Dependent Kinases (CDKs)/
 * 9.3.1 /Positive and Negative Regulators of CDK and Cyclin Pairs/
 * 9.3.2 /Cyclin Degradation/

Cellular Transport
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Understand the roles of various organelles and molecules in cellular transport.
 * Understand the roles of receptors in cellular transport.
 * Answer questions about vesicular transport and the specific functions of different types of vesicles.


 * 10.1 /Nuclear Transport/
 * 10.1.1 /Nuclear Import/
 * 10.1.2 /Nuclear Export/
 * 10.2 /Co-translational Targeting in the Nucleus/
 * 10.2.1 /Signal Recognition Particle (SRP), SRP Receptor, and Translocation/
 * 10.2.3 /N-Linked Glycosylation and Rough ER Processing/
 * 10.3 /Post-translational Targeting to Organelles/
 * 10.3.1 /Transport to Mitochondria/
 * 10.3.2 /Transport to Chloroplasts/
 * 10.4 /Vesicular Transport/
 * 10.4.1 /COP I (Coat Complex), COP II, Clathrin, and SNARES/
 * 10.4.2 /Dynamin and Caveolin Families/

Specialized Organelle Functions
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
 * Identify specialized organelles and their specific functions.
 * Answer questions about where one would expect to find more of specific organelles (demonstrating an understanding of organelle function as it relates to larger tissue- and organ-wide processes).
 * Recognize the similarities and differences between mitochondria and chloroplasts.


 * 11.1 /Digestive Organelles/
 * 11.1.1 /Lysosomes/
 * 11.1.2 /Peroxisomes and Glyoxysomes/
 * 11.2 /Golgi/
 * 11.2.1 /Structure of the Golgi/
 * 11.2.2 /Glycosylation, lipid and polysaccharide metabolism/
 * 11.2.3 /Transport of Membrane Proteins/
 * 11.3 /Smooth ER/
 * 11.3.1 /Gluconeogenesis/
 * 11.3.2 /Detoxification and Cytochrome P450 Family/
 * 11.4 /Mitochondria/
 * 11.5 /Chloroplasts/
 * 11.5.1 /Carbon-Fixation/
 * 11.5.2 /Photosystem I and II/