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Cytoplasm

 
Cytoplasm

 
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Cytoplasm
 
 
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The cytoplasm is the part of a cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 that is enclosed within the plasma membrane. In eukaryotic
Eukaryote

Animals, plants, fungus, and protists are eukaryotes , organisms whose Cell are organized into complex structures enclosed within Cell membrane....
 cells the cytoplasm contains organelle
Organelle

In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function, and is usually separately enclosed within its own lipid membrane....
s, such as mitochondria
Mitochondrion

In cell biology, a mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryote cell . These organelles range from 0.5–10 micrometers in diameter....
, that are filled with liquid kept separate from the rest of the cytoplasm by biological membrane
Biological membrane

A biological membrane or biomembrane is an enclosing or separating amphipathic layer that acts as a barrier within or around a cell . It is, almost invariably, a lipid bilayer, composed of a double layer of lipid-class molecules, specifically phospholipids and cholesterol, with occasional integral membrane protein intertwined, some o...
s. The cytoplasm is the site where most cellular activities occur, such as many metabolic pathway
Metabolic pathway

In biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a series of chemistry reactions occurring within a cell . In each pathway, a principal chemical is modified by chemical reactions....
s, and processes such as cell division.

The part of the cytoplasm that is not held within organelles is called the cytosol
Cytosol

The cytosol or intracellular fluid is the liquid found inside cell . In eukaryotes this liquid is separated by cell membranes from the contents of the organelles suspended in the cytosol, such as the mitochondrial matrix inside the mitochondrion....
.






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Encyclopedia


Biological Cell
The cytoplasm is the part of a cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 that is enclosed within the plasma membrane. In eukaryotic
Eukaryote

Animals, plants, fungus, and protists are eukaryotes , organisms whose Cell are organized into complex structures enclosed within Cell membrane....
 cells the cytoplasm contains organelle
Organelle

In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function, and is usually separately enclosed within its own lipid membrane....
s, such as mitochondria
Mitochondrion

In cell biology, a mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryote cell . These organelles range from 0.5–10 micrometers in diameter....
, that are filled with liquid kept separate from the rest of the cytoplasm by biological membrane
Biological membrane

A biological membrane or biomembrane is an enclosing or separating amphipathic layer that acts as a barrier within or around a cell . It is, almost invariably, a lipid bilayer, composed of a double layer of lipid-class molecules, specifically phospholipids and cholesterol, with occasional integral membrane protein intertwined, some o...
s. The cytoplasm is the site where most cellular activities occur, such as many metabolic pathway
Metabolic pathway

In biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a series of chemistry reactions occurring within a cell . In each pathway, a principal chemical is modified by chemical reactions....
s, and processes such as cell division.

The part of the cytoplasm that is not held within organelles is called the cytosol
Cytosol

The cytosol or intracellular fluid is the liquid found inside cell . In eukaryotes this liquid is separated by cell membranes from the contents of the organelles suspended in the cytosol, such as the mitochondrial matrix inside the mitochondrion....
. The cytosol is a complex mixture of cytoskeleton
Cytoskeleton

The cytoskeleton is a cellular "scaffolding" or "skeleton" contained within the cytoplasm. The cytoskeleton is present in all cells; it was once thought this structure was unique to eukaryotes, but recent research has identified the prokaryotic cytoskeleton....
 filaments, dissolved molecules, and water that fills much of the volume of a cell. The cytosol is a gel
Gel

A gel is a solid, gelatin material that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute crosslinked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state....
, with a network of fibers dispersed through water. Due to this network of pores and high concentrations of dissolved macromolecule
Macromolecule

The term macromolecule by definition implies "large molecule". In the context of biochemistry, the term may be applied to the four conventional biopolymers , as well as non-polymeric molecules with large molecular mass such as macrocycles....
s, such as protein
Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
s, an effect called macromolecular crowding
Macromolecular crowding

The phenomenon of macromolecular crowding alters the properties of molecules in a solution when high concentrations of macromolecules such as proteins are present....
 occurs and the cytosol does not act as an ideal solution
Ideal solution

In chemistry, an ideal solution or ideal mixture is a solution in which the enthalpy of solution is zero; the closer to zero the enthalpy of solution is, the more "ideal" the behavior of the solution becomes....
. This crowding effect alters how the components of the cytosol interact with each other.

Constituents


The cytoplasm has three major elements; the cytosol
Cytosol

The cytosol or intracellular fluid is the liquid found inside cell . In eukaryotes this liquid is separated by cell membranes from the contents of the organelles suspended in the cytosol, such as the mitochondrial matrix inside the mitochondrion....
, organelles and inclusions
Inclusions

Inclusions are chemical substances that may or may not be present in a cell, depending on the cell type. Inclusions are stored nutrients, secretory products, and pigment granules....
.

Cytosol


Localisations02eng
The cytosol is the portion of a cell that is not enclosed within membrane-bound organelles. The cytosol is a translucent fluid in which the other cytoplasmic elements are suspended. Cytosol makes up about 70 % of the cell volume and is composed of water, salts and organic molecules. The cytoplasm also contains the protein filament
Protein filament

In biology, a filament is a long chain of protein subunits, such as those found in hair, muscle, or in flagella. They are often bundled together for strength and rigidity....
s that make up the cytoskeleton
Cytoskeleton

The cytoskeleton is a cellular "scaffolding" or "skeleton" contained within the cytoplasm. The cytoskeleton is present in all cells; it was once thought this structure was unique to eukaryotes, but recent research has identified the prokaryotic cytoskeleton....
, as well as soluble proteins and large structures such as ribosome
Ribosome

Ribosomes are complexes of RNA and protein that are found in all cell s. Ribosomes from bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes, the three domains of life on Earth, have significantly different structure and RNA....
s, proteasome
Proteasome

Proteasomes are large protein complexes inside all eukaryotes and archaea, as well as in some bacteria. In eukaryotes, they are located in the cell nucleus and the cytoplasm....
s, and the mysterious vault complexes
Vault (organelle)

The vault or vault cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein is a eukaryotic organelle whose function is not fully understood. Discovered and successfully isolated by cell biologist Nancy Kedersha and biochemist Leonard Rome of the UCLA School of Medicine in the 1980s, vaults are cytoplasmic organelles which under an electron microscope resemble th...
. The inner, granular and more fluid portion of the cytoplasm is referred to as endoplasm.

Organelles


Organelles are membrane-bound compartments within the cell that have specific functions. Some major organelles that are suspended in the cytosol are the mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum
Endoplasmic reticulum

The endoplasmic reticulum is a eukaryote organelle that forms an interconnected network of tubules, vesicle , and cisternae within cell . The lacey membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum were first seen by Keith R....
, the Golgi apparatus
Golgi apparatus

The Golgi apparatus is an organelle found in most eukaryote Cell . It was identified in 1898 by the Italian physician Camillo Golgi and was named after him....
, lysosomes, and in plant cells chloroplast
Chloroplast

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryote organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve Thermodynamic free energy in the form of Adenosine triphosphate and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis....
s.

Cytoplasmic inclusions


The inclusions
Inclusions

Inclusions are chemical substances that may or may not be present in a cell, depending on the cell type. Inclusions are stored nutrients, secretory products, and pigment granules....
 are small particles of insoluble substances suspended in the cytosol. A huge range of inclusions exist in different cell types, and range from crystals of calcium oxalate
Calcium oxalate

Calcium oxalate is a chemical compound that forms needle-shaped crystals. Its chemical formula is CaC2O4 or Ca2....
 or silicon dioxide
Silicon dioxide

The chemical compound 'silicon dioxide', also known as 'silica' , is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of and has been known for its hardness since antiquity....
 in plants, to granules of energy-storage materials such as starch
Starch

File:Amylose2.svgFile:Amylopektin Sessel.svgStarch or amylum is a polysaccharide carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds....
s, glycogen
Glycogen

Glycogen is a polysaccharide of glucose which functions as the secondary short term energy storage in animal cells. It is made primarily by the liver and the muscles, but can also be made by the brain and stomach....
, or polyhydroxybutyrate
Polyhydroxybutyrate

Polyhydroxybutyrate is a Polyhydroxyalkanoates , a polymer belonging to the polyesters class that was first isolated and characterized in 1925 by France microbiologist Maurice Lemoigne....
. A particularly widespread example are lipid droplets, which are spherical droplets composed of lipids and proteins that are used in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes as a way of storing lipids such as fatty acid
Fatty acid

In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid often with a long unbranched aliphatic tail , which is either saturation or Unsaturated compound....
s and sterol
Sterol

Sterols are an important class of organic molecules. They occur naturally in plants, animals and fungi, with the most familiar type of animal sterol being cholesterol, which has been shown to contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease....
s. Lipid droplets make up much of the volume of adipocyte
Adipocyte

Adipocytes are the cell s that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat.There are two types of adipose tissue, white adipose tissue and brown adipose tissue , which are also known as white fat and brown fat, respectively, and comprise two types of fat cells....
s, which are specialized lipid-storage cells, but they are also found in a range of other cell types.

Further reading


  • Alberts, Bruce et al. (2003). Essential Cell Biology, 2nd ed., Garland Science, 2003, ISBN 081533480X.
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology, seventh edition By; Elain N Marieb and Latja Hoehn.


External links


  • - by Genevieve Theirs -2002
  • Luby-Phelps K. Int Rev Cytol. 2000;192:189-221.