Membrane Structure and Components

A cell's plasma membrane demarcates the cell's borders and determines the nature of its interaction with the environment. Cells exclude certain …

Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of …

Scientists identified the plasma membrane in the 1890s and its principal chemical components (lipids and proteins) by 1915. The model for plasma membrane …

Lipids are an essential component of all biological membranes. The average lipid content in mammalian membranes is 50%, though it can be as low as 20% in …

Biological membranes show uneven distribution of different types of lipids in the inner and outer layers, resulting in transverse asymmetric membranes. …

The plasma membrane is a dynamic barrier composed of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. It is the epicenter of many cellular processes required for cell …

Plasma membranes have integral transmembrane proteins involved in facilitated transport. These proteins are collectively referred to as transport …

In the plasma membrane, the lipids forming the bilayer can also act as an anchor to tether proteins to the membrane. The three main types of lipid anchors …

Integral membrane proteins are tightly associated with the cell membrane and play a crucial role in cell communication, signaling, adhesion, and transport …

Detergents are used to purify the integral proteins of the membrane. The hydrophobic portion of the detergent can replace membrane phospholipids while …

Proteins show rotational as well as lateral diffusion across the membrane. The lateral diffusion of proteins was confirmed through the cell fusion …

The membrane domains concentrate specific lipids and proteins at one place within the membrane, which helps in cell signaling, adhesion, and other …

The living membranes are flexible due to their fluid mosaic nature; however, their bending into different shapes is an active process regulated by …

Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry. …

In multi-pass transmembrane proteins, the polypeptide chain crosses the membrane more than once. The transmembrane polypeptide chain either forms an …

Different physical properties of lipids and proteins allow them to localize and form distinct islands or domains in the membrane. Some membrane domains …