The electrical interplay between proteins and lipids in membranes
Joanna L Richens1, Jordan S Lane1, Jonathan P Bramble1
1Cell Biophysics Group, Institute of Biophysics, Imaging and Optical Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom.
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta
|March 31, 2015
Summary
Electrical interactions between membrane proteins and lipids are key to cell membrane functions. This review categorizes these interactions to clarify their roles in protein activity and membrane structure.
Area of Science:
- Cellular Biology
- Biophysics
- Molecular Interactions
Background:
- Molecular interactions governing cellular structures are fundamentally electrical.
- These electrical interactions manifest in diverse forms, influencing molecular species interactions.
- Membrane functions are significantly underpinned by electrical interactions between protein and lipid components.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline the electrical interactions between membrane proteins and lipids.
- To emphasize spatially localized membrane behaviors, including protein activity modulation and microdomain structure.
- To establish broad rules and consensus on the interplay between lipids and proteins.
Main Methods:
- Categorization of lipid-protein interactions into Type I (specific) and Type II (non-specific).
- Focus on electrical interactions primarily in extra-membrane regions.
- Review of existing literature on lipid-protein interactions in cell biology.
Main Results:
- Electrical interactions are central to membrane protein and lipid functions.
- Specific (Type I) and non-specific (Type II) interactions provide a framework for understanding lipid-protein interplay.
- Spatially localized behaviors, such as protein activity modulation and microdomain formation, are influenced by these interactions.
Conclusions:
- Electrical interactions are a dominant feature of lipid-protein interplay in membranes.
- Despite complexity, defining interaction types aids in understanding membrane component roles.
- Further consensus building is needed, even with simplified model systems.
Related Concept Videos
01:35Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
11.2K
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%...
11.2K
00:59Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation
4.5K
Different physical properties of lipids and proteins allow them to localize and form distinct islands or domains in the membrane. Some membrane domains are formed due to protein-protein interactions, whereas others are formed due to the presence of specific lipids such as sphingolipids and sterols—for example, large proteins, such as bacteriorhodopsin, aggregate and create distinct domains.
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with...
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with...
4.5K
01:26Membrane Fluidity
18.3K
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...
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...
18.3K
01:23Membrane Fluidity
179.9K
Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.
179.9K
01:19Fluid Mosaic Model
20.3K
Scientists identified the plasma membrane in the 1890s and its principal chemical components (lipids and proteins) by 1915. The model for plasma membrane structure, proposed in 1935 by Hugh Davson and James Danielli, was the first model to be widely accepted in the scientific community. The model was based on the plasma membrane's "railroad track" appearance in early electron micrographs. Davson and Danielli theorized that the plasma membrane's structure resembled a sandwich...
20.3K
01:24Protein Diffusion in the Membrane
6.3K
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...
6.3K