Protein molecules with bound lipid

Model of Surface-Bound Membrane on Pt Electrode. From the foregoing discussion of experimental results we can develop a physical model of the surface-bound membrane that consists of two layers, as schematically depicted in Figure 7. The porous, hydrophobic OTS layer provides a structure to anchor the reconstituted membrane layer. Protein molecules with bound lipid may insert into the pores in the OTS layer. The... 

A model that is consistent with these observations of the action of trypsin and phospholipase A and with the discontinuities in the All-composition curves (Figures 2 and 3) is one in which the lipid monolayer is not a continuous palisade of uniformly oriented lipid molecules but rather an assembly of surface micelles. In this model, proposed by Colacicco (4, 5), the protein first comes into contact with the lipid molecules at the periphery of the surface micelles and then inserts itself as a unit between them. This is the basis for the generalized nonspecific interaction between lipids and proteins which results in increase of surface pressure. One may thus explain the identical All values obtained with films of lecithin and 80 mole % lactoside by picturing the lecithin molecules outside and the lactoside molecules inside the surface micelles. In this model lecithin prevents the bound lactoside from interacting nonspecifically with globulin and produces the same increase in pressure as with a film of pure lecithin. In the mixed micelle the lactose moiety of the lactoside protrudes into the aqueous subphase. Contact of the protein with these or other nonperipheral regions of the surface micelle would not increase the surface pressure. 

The dye l-Anilino 8-Naphthalene Sulfonic acid (ANS) has high specificity for protein. It fluoresces only when bound to protein [30]. In smears and handsections (i.e. unembedded materials) we have never observed it to effect emulsion stability in the manner more traditional protein dyes such as Coomassie Brilliant Blue or Fast Green often do. This relative pH independence probably is due to the mode of action of this dye. It becomes fluorescent in hydrophobic pockets on protein molecules [30] in contrast to the ionic bonding necessary for Fast Green FCF and Coommassie Blue [22]. We have not observed a strong cross-reaction with lipids, either, although a fluorescence of different spectral characteristics sometimes is seen. 

Cholesterol, which is interspersed between the phospholipids, maintains membrane fluidity. In the phosphoacylglycerols, unsaturated fatty acid chains bent into the cis conformation form a pocket for cholesterol, which binds with its hydroxyl group in the external hydrophilic region of the membrane and its hydrophobic steroid nucleus in the hydrophobic membrane core (Fig. 10.5). The presence of cholesterol and the cis unsaturated fatty acids in the membrane prevent the hydrophobic chains from packing too closely together. As a consequence, lipid and protein molecules that are not bound to external or internal structural proteins can rotate and move laterally in the plane of the leaflet. This movement enables the plasma membrane to partition between daughter cells during cell division, to... 

Phospholipid contents are very similar (about 1 to 2% dry matter) in microbial, plant, and animal tissues. If the content of neutral lipids is low, phospholipids may account for 20 to 40% of lipid extracts (e.g., in marine invertebrates). In egg yolk, 23% of the total lipids are phospholipids and other polar lipids (Kuksis, 1985). On the contfary, in adipose tissue or in oilseeds, the content of phospholipids is between 1 and 3% of total lipids. In oilseeds rich in oil (such as in rapeseed), it is lower than in oilseed with lower oil content (such as soybeans) when the results are expressed in % oil content, but much the same if the content is expressed in terms of total dry matter of the oilseed. Phospholipids are mainly extracted by nonpolar solvents, together with other lipids, and are obtained in the crude oil. However, in the original material, phospholipids are primarily bound to proteins (e.g., in membranes) or may be bound to other tissue components for example, phospholipids interact with chlorophyll pigments, where they may form complexes between the magnesium ion of the chlorophyll molecule and the phospho group of the phospholipids. 

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