CELL MEMBRANE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does cell membrane mean? 

• CELL MEMBRANE (noun)
  The noun CELL MEMBRANE has 1 sense:

1. a thin membrane (a double layer of lipids) enclosing the cytoplasm of a cell; proteins in the membrane control passage of ions (like sodium or potassium or calcium) in and out of the cell

  Familiarity information: CELL MEMBRANE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CELL MEMBRANE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A thin membrane (a double layer of lipids) enclosing the cytoplasm of a cell; proteins in the membrane control passage of ions (like sodium or potassium or calcium) in and out of the cell

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

cell membrane; cytomembrane; plasma membrane

Context example:

all cells have a cell membrane

Hypernyms ("cell membrane" is a kind of...):

semipermeable membrane (a membrane (as a cell membrane) that allows some molecules to pass through but not others)

Holonyms ("cell membrane" is a part of...):

cell ((biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals)

 Context examples 

This allele, which encodes A-Raf proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase protein, plays a role in the transduction of mitogenic signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus.

(ARAF wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

Antibiotics kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms by targeting components of the microbial cell absent from human cells, including bacterial cell walls, cell membrane, and 30S or 50S ribosomal subunits.

(Antibiotic, NCI Thesaurus)

A normal process in which a cell destroys proteins and other substances in its cytoplasm (the fluid inside the cell membrane but outside the nucleus), which may lead to cell death.

(Autophagy, NCI Dictionary)

The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) analogue baclofen appears to activate the inhibitory GABA(B) receptor, a G protein-coupled receptor, which may result in hyperpolarization of the neuronal cell membrane and inhibition of neurotransmitter release.

(Baclofen/amitriptyline/ketamine gel, NCI Thesaurus)

Two osteoblast proteins, tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) and plasma cell membrane glycoprotein-1 (PC-1) are involved in this process.

(Bone Mineralization Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Polymyxin B sulfate, a polypeptide produced by Bacillus polymyxa, binds to negatively charged phospholipids in the cell membrane, thereby altering the permeability of the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane.

(Neosporin Cream, NCI Thesaurus)

Ebola virus uses GP to attach to cell membranes and initiate infection.

(Broadly acting antibodies found in plasma of Ebola survivors, National Institutes of Health)

This results in depolarization of the cell membrane, alterations in cell membrane permeability, leakage of important intracellular components, and cell rupture.

(Amphotericin B Deoxycholate, NCI Thesaurus)

In addition to olive oil and soya oil, this lipid emulsion contains egg lecithin and provides phosphorus and choline, which are needed to maintain cell membrane integrity.

(Olive Oil/Soya Oil/Egg Lecithin-based Emulsion, NCI Thesaurus)

Exhibiting anti-proliferative and immunomodulatory properties, alkyl-phosphocholine compounds modulate cell membrane permeability, phospholipid metabolism, and intracellular growth signal transduction pathways and induce cytotoxic macrophages, cell differentiation, and apoptosis.

(Alkylphosphocholine Compound, NCI Thesaurus)