Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026
06:45
Transmembrane Domain Oligomerization Propensity determined by ToxR Assay
Published on: May 26, 2011
Spatial organization of transmembrane receptor signalling.
Ioanna Bethani1, Sigrid S Skånland, Ivan Dikic
1Frankfurt Institute for Molecular Life Sciences and Institute of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The EMBO Journal
|August 19, 2010
Summary
Transmembrane receptor clustering and lipid interactions organize cell signaling. Membrane lipid composition influences receptor activity, impacting signal transduction and trafficking.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Transmembrane receptors are crucial for cellular signal transduction and trafficking.
- Receptor organization, including clustering and interactions, dictates signaling network initiation.
- Membrane lipid composition plays a role in receptor behavior and signaling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on transmembrane receptor clustering.
- To explore the role of lipid-protein interactions in spatial signaling organization.
- To understand how lipid microdomains tune transmembrane receptor activity.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing research on transmembrane receptors.
- Analysis of studies investigating receptor clustering and lipid interactions.
- Synthesis of data on lipid microdomain functions in signal transduction.
Main Results:
- Transmembrane receptors form signaling foci through cis- and trans-interactions.
- Ligand-induced receptor clustering is modulated by membrane lipid composition.
- Lipid microdomains can positively or negatively influence receptor clustering and signaling.
Conclusions:
- Spatial organization of transmembrane receptors is vital for signal transduction.
- Lipid-protein interactions and membrane microdomains are key regulators of receptor activity.
- Understanding these interactions provides insights into cellular signaling mechanisms.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Assembly of Signaling Complexes
Multiprotein signaling complexes are formed in a dynamic process involving protein-protein interactions at the cytoplasmic domain of transmembrane receptors or enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins associated with the receptor. These complexes ensure the activation and propagation of intracellular signals that regulate cell functions.
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
01:26Signal Transduction: Overview
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. They respond to chemical signals, such as hormones, neurotransmitters, and other signaling molecules, initiating a series of molecular reactions to produce an appropriate response. This is called signal transduction. Cells also coordinate different responses elicited by the same signaling molecule via mediators, allowing molecular cross-talk.
Typically, signal transduction involves three...
Typically, signal transduction involves three...
01:21Cell-surface Signaling
Hormones—or any molecule that binds to a receptor, known as a ligand—that are lipid-insoluble (water-soluble) are not able to diffuse across the cell membrane. In order to be able to affect a cell without entering it, these hormones bind to receptors on the cell membrane. When a first messenger, a hormone, binds to a receptor, a signal cascade is set off, causing second messengers, proteins inside the cell, to become activated, resulting in downstream effects.
01:28Types of Receptors: Cell Surface Receptors
Cell-surface receptors, also known as transmembrane receptors, are cell surface, membrane-anchored (integral) proteins that bind to external ligand molecules. This type of receptor spans the plasma membrane and performs signal transduction, converting an extracellular signal into an intracellular signal. Ligands that interact with cell-surface receptors do not have to enter the cell that they affect. Cell-surface receptors are also called cell-specific proteins or markers because they are...
01:09Multi-pass Transmembrane Proteins and β-barrels
In multi-pass transmembrane proteins, the polypeptide chain crosses the membrane more than once. The transmembrane polypeptide chain either forms an α-helix or β-strand structure. α-Helix containing multi-pass transmembrane proteins are ubiquitous, whereas β-strand containing ones are mainly found in gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts.
α-Helix containing multi-pass transmembrane proteins
Multi-pass transmembrane proteins such as G-protein-linked receptors (GPCRs) and...
α-Helix containing multi-pass transmembrane proteins
Multi-pass transmembrane proteins such as G-protein-linked receptors (GPCRs) and...
01:26Insertion of Single-pass Transmembrane Proteins in the RER
Integral membrane proteins are proteins adhered to the lipid bilayer of a cell organelle or membrane. They can be of two types: transmembrane integral proteins that span the lipid bilayer and monotopic proteins that are attached to either side of the membrane but do not pass through it.
Integral transmembrane proteins possess transmembrane and extra membrane domains. The transmembrane domains are primarily made of 20-25 hydrophobic amino acids arranged in a helical secondary confirmation. These...
Integral transmembrane proteins possess transmembrane and extra membrane domains. The transmembrane domains are primarily made of 20-25 hydrophobic amino acids arranged in a helical secondary confirmation. These...