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Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending01:15

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending

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The living membranes are flexible due to their fluid mosaic nature; however, their bending into different shapes is an active process regulated by specific lipids and proteins. The membrane bending can be transient as seen in vesicles or stable for a long time as in microvilli. Cells regulate the size, location, and duration of the membrane curvature.
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The membrane domains concentrate specific lipids and proteins at one place within the membrane, which helps in cell signaling, adhesion, and other critical cellular processes. These domains can differ in size, composition, function, and lifespan.
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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.
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Plasma membranes have integral transmembrane proteins involved in facilitated transport. These proteins are collectively referred to as transport proteins, and they function as either channels for the material or as carriers themselves. Channel proteins have hydrophilic domains exposed to the intracellular and extracellular fluids and a hydrophilic channel through their core that provides a hydrated opening for solutes to pass through the membrane layers. Passage through the channel allows...
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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...
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The cell membrane, or plasma membrane, is an ever-changing landscape. It is described as a fluid mosaic where various macromolecules are embedded in the phospholipid bilayer. Among the macromolecules are proteins. The protein content varies across cell types. For example, mitochondrial inner membranes contain ~76% protein content, while myelin contains ~18% protein content. Individual cells contain many types of membrane proteins—red blood cells contain over 50—and different cell...
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Nitrogen Cavitation and Differential Centrifugation Allows for Monitoring the Distribution of Peripheral Membrane Proteins in Cultured Cells
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Toward a Membrane-Centric Biology.

Yan Shi1,2,3,4,5, Hefei Ruan1,2,3,4

  • 1Tsinghua-Peking University Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Frontiers in Immunology
|October 5, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cell signaling research is shifting focus from proteins to lipids. This study proposes a new framework where lipid dynamics, not just protein interactions, drive cellular complexity and signaling events.

Keywords:
evolutionlipid interactionlipid raftsplasma membranereceptor activation mechanismreceptor ligand model

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Membrane Biology

Background:

  • Current cell signaling models predominantly focus on protein interactions.
  • This protein-centric view overlooks the crucial role of membrane lipid dynamics in cellular events.
  • A theoretical framework is lacking to integrate biophysical analyses of membrane biology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a theoretical framework for cellular signaling events mediated by lipid dynamics.
  • To reframe receptor integration into signaling cascades as a secondary event.
  • To explain receptor dormancy and activation through lipid-mediated suppression and release mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical framework development.
  • Hypothesis generation based on biophysical principles.
  • Analysis of existing literature on cell signaling and membrane biology.

Main Results:

  • Hypothesized that lipid dynamics, not protein interactions, are fundamental to cellular complexity.
  • Proposed that cell surface receptors integrate into pre-existing lipid-based signaling networks.
  • Suggested lipid-mediated suppression explains receptor dormancy, with activation occurring upon lipid environment changes.

Conclusions:

  • Cellular signaling and complexity evolutionarily originated from lipid dynamics.
  • Receptors are late-stage integrators into established lipid-based signaling pathways.
  • Understanding lipid dynamics is essential for a complete model of cell surface receptor function and cellular signaling.