Roles of bilayer material properties in function and distribution of membrane proteins

• Published in: Annual review of biophysics and biomolecular structure Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 177 - 198
• Main Authors: McIntosh, Thomas J, Simon, Sidney A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-01-2006
• Subjects: Cell Membrane - chemistry; Cell Membrane - metabolism; Ion Channel Gating - physiology; Ion Channels - chemistry; Ion Channels - physiology; Lipid Bilayers - chemistry; Lipid Bilayers - metabolism; Membrane Fluidity; Membrane Proteins - chemistry; Models, Biological; Models, Chemical; Models, Molecular; Molecular Conformation; Phospholipids - chemistry; Static Electricity
• ISSN: 1056-8700; 1545-4266
• DOI: 10.1146/annurev.biophys.35.040405.102022

Structural, compositional, and material (elastic) properties of lipid bilayers exert strong influences on the interactions of water-soluble proteins and peptides with membranes, the distribution of transmembrane proteins in the plane of the membrane, and the function of specific membrane channels. Theoretical and experimental studies show that the binding of either cytoplasmic proteins or extracellular peptides to membranes is regulated by the presence of charged lipids and that the sorting of transmembrane proteins into or out of membrane microdomains (rafts) depends on several factors, including bilayer material properties governed by the presence of cholesterol. Recent studies have also shown that bilayer material properties modify the permeability of membrane pores, formed either by protein channels or by cell-lytic peptides.