[A nonplanar condenser model for calculating electric fields in membrane proteins]

A method for calculating the transmembrane electric fields in surface and integral proteins of plasma membrane is suggested. It is shown that the function of distribution of electrostatic potential along the length of the membrane channel in protein differs essentially from the linear function. A nonuniform distribution of the electric field in the hydrophobic moiety of the lipid bilayer around the protein was found and the electrostatic interaction of proteins in a bilayer was analyzed. The effect of electric polarization on proteins and lipids was estimated. The mechanisms of formation of "lipid rings" around the proteins was explained. The shape and size of the membrane protein are predicted that is able to perform unilateral transfer across the membrane of neutral molecules possessing the dipole moment.