Cell membrane interdigitation

Current theories propose that the development of cell membranes accelerated early life. Enclosing chemicals responsible for replication, protein synthesis and energy generation within a confined space allows these essential life processes to occur far more frequently than they would do otherwise. Biological membranes comprise two phospholipid layers held together by interdigitation of their hydrophobic alkyl tails as shown in Fig. 5.1. They form a lamellar structure with their polar internal and external surfaces separated by a non-polar region. In their extended form each... 

Ultrastructural changes of proximal tubular cells occur as early as 1 hour after cephaloridine administration to rabbits and are characterized by loss of brush border, less elongated mitochondria and disappearance of structures associated with endocytosis. Later ultrastructural changes include disorganization of lateral interdigitations of plasma cell membrane and mitochondrial swelling [28,29]. 

Numerous applications have been reported in the literature on the use of cell membrane receptors which require the use of ligand bilayer or phospholipid vesicles to maintain functionality, but other immobilization methods were also successfully used. The biosensing of e.g. acetylcholine and cholinergies has been reported with different transducers (ISFETs, interdigitated electrodes with measurements of capacity changes and optical fiber optode with fluorescence detection). 

Bntenahne is an antifnngal agent that inhibits the biosynthesis of the ergosterol component of fnngal cell membranes. It is indicated in the treatment of interdigital tinea... 

Sertaconazole nitrate is an antifnngal agent, which alters permeability of fnngal cell membrane, leading to cell death. It is indicated in the topical treatment of interdigital tinea pedis cansed by Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton men-tagrophytes, and Epidermophyton floccosum in immnno-competent patients. 

The columnar, cuboidal basal cells are 18-20 xm in height and 8-10 iim in diameter. They form a monolayer adhered to a basement membrane by hemidesmosomes which are linked to anchoring fibrils of collagen type VII. At the lateral borders, basal cells are extensively interdigitated and joined together in places only by junctional complexes (zonula adherens), desmosomes, and gap junctions. 

Hu, G., Fan, J., Chen, S., Liu, Y, Cen, K. 2004. Three-dimensional numerical analysis of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMECs) with conventional and interdigitated flow fields. J Power Sources 136 1-9. 

Circulating dendritic cells Langerhans cells Interdigitating dendritic cells Interstitial dendritic cells Blood, lymph Skin, mucous membrane Secondary lymphoid tissue (with T cells), thymus Gastrointestinal tract, heart, liver, lungs, kidney... 

Stratum corneum is a multicellular membrane of acutely-flattened, metabolically-inactive cells stacked in vertical columns (22). This stratified morphological organization is demonstrated in a freshly frozen transverse section of epidermis (Figure 2) where the swelling aids the visualization. The morphological architecture is such that the cells in one column interdigitate with those in adjacent columns to form a con-... 

Figure 3.48. Distributions of local current density along the membrane of a PEM cell with either straight (left) or interdigitated (right) channel design, at maximum average current density (=0.8 A cm" ). The membrane thickness is 0.16 mm. The figure co-ordinate system is x-z (cf. Fig. 3.36) rather than y-z as used in several previous figures. (From M. Hu et al. (2004). Three dimensional, two phase flow mathematical model for PEM fuel cell Part II. Analysis and discussion of the internal transport mechanism. Energy Conversion Management. 45, 1883-1916. Used with permission from Elsevier.)...

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