Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions
10:02

Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions

Published on: May 27, 2021

3.4K

NRas slows the rate at which a model lipid bilayer phase separates

Elizabeth Jefferys1, Mark S P Sansom, Philip W Fowler

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK. philip.fowler@bioch.ox.ac.uk.

Faraday Discussions
|October 24, 2014
PubMed

Insights

NRas proteins cluster on cell membranes by interacting with cholesterol-rich domains. Simulations show NRas proteins reduce the line tension between membrane domains, slowing their growth.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • Ras proteins are key regulators of cell signaling pathways.
  • Ras proteins are believed to cluster in cholesterol-rich membrane nanodomains.
  • The precise mechanisms of Ras protein clustering and membrane domain interaction are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of NRas protein on lipid bilayer domain formation and growth.
  • To understand how NRas proteins interact with cholesterol-rich membrane domains.
  • To elucidate the role of NRas in regulating membrane organization.

Main Methods:

  • Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of a three-component lipid bilayer.
  • Simulations included a large bilayer with and without NRas proteins.
  • Analysis involved techniques adapted from image processing.

Main Results:

  • NRas proteins preferentially localized at the interface between lipid domains.
  • The presence of NRas proteins slowed down the growth rate of these domains.
  • NRas proteins were inferred to reduce the line tension between ordered and disordered membrane regions.

Conclusions:

  • NRas proteins play a role in modulating membrane domain organization.
  • The interaction of NRas with membrane domains influences their dynamics.
  • Further research is needed to fully understand NRas C-terminus structure and lipid anchor interactions.

More Related Videos

Dissipative Microgravimetry to Study the Binding Dynamics of the Phospholipid Binding Protein Annexin A2 to Solid-supported Lipid Bilayers Using a Quartz Resonator07:11

Dissipative Microgravimetry to Study the Binding Dynamics of the Phospholipid Binding Protein Annexin A2 to Solid-supported Lipid Bilayers Using a Quartz Resonator

Published on: November 1, 2018

8.3K
Ligand Nano-cluster Arrays in a Supported Lipid Bilayer10:34

Ligand Nano-cluster Arrays in a Supported Lipid Bilayer

Published on: April 23, 2017

6.3K

Related Concept Videos

Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer01:35

Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer

Biological membranes show uneven distribution of different types of lipids in the inner and outer layers, resulting in transverse asymmetric membranes. The treatment of the erythrocyte membrane with the enzyme phospholipase confirmed the asymmetric nature of the lipid bilayer. The enzyme hydrolyzes lipids into fatty acids and hydrophilic groups. The phospholipase acts only on the outer layer of the membrane, while the inner layer remains intact. The phospholipase treatment resulted in 80%...
7.9K
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER01:28

Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER

Biological membranes are more than just a barrier separating cell cytoplasm from the outside environment. They are highly dynamic and help maintain the integrity and physiological stability of the cells as well as membrane-bound organelles. Membranes also play vital roles in cell-to-cell and intracellular communication.
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
3.2K
Membrane Fluidity01:26

Membrane Fluidity

Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
13.8K
Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters01:19

Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters

Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry.
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...
5.9K
SNAREs and Membrane Fusion01:43

SNAREs and Membrane Fusion

Once a transport vesicle has recognized its target organelle, the vesicular membrane needs to fuse with the target membrane to unload the cargo. Transmembrane proteins called SNAREs present on organelle membranes and their vesicles, mediate vesicle fusion.
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...
10.2K
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane01:24

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane

Proteins show rotational as well as lateral diffusion across the membrane. The lateral diffusion of proteins was confirmed through the cell fusion experiment where mouse and human cells were fused, resulting in hybrid cells. When the human and mouse cells fused, the specific membrane proteins on human and mouse cells were marked with the red and green-fluorescent markers, respectively. Initially, the red and green fluorescence was located on the respective hemisphere of the cell. As time...
4.7K