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Updated: Jul 21, 2026

Fluorescence-Based Measurements of Phosphatidylserine/Phosphatidylinositol 4-Phosphate Exchange Between Membranes
Published on: March 14, 2021
Lipids at membrane contact sites: cell signaling and ion transport
Shmuel Muallem1, Woo Young Chung2, Archana Jha2
1Epithelial Signaling and Transport Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, MD, USA shmuel.muallem@nih.gov.
Abstract:
Communication between organelles is essential to coordinate cellular functions and the cell's response to physiological and pathological stimuli. Organellar communication occurs at membrane contact sites (MCSs), where the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane is tethered to cellular organelle membranes by specific tether proteins and where lipid transfer proteins and cell signaling proteins are located. MCSs have many cellular functions and are the sites of lipid and ion transfer between organelles and generation of second messengers. This review discusses several aspects of MCSs in the context of lipid transfer, formation of lipid domains, generation of Ca2+ and cAMP second messengers, and regulation of ion transporters by lipids.
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