Surface structure, membrane proteins

Figure 41-7. The fluid mosaic model of membrane structure. The membrane consists of a bimolecu-lar lipid layer with proteins inserted in it or bound to either surface. Integral membrane proteins are firmly embedded in the lipid layers. Some of these proteins completely span the bilayer and are called transmembrane proteins, while others are embedded in either the outer or inner leaflet of the lipid bilayer. Loosely bound to the outer or inner surface of the membrane are the peripheral proteins. Many of the proteins and lipids have externally exposed oligosaccharide chains. (Reproduced, with permission, from Junqueira LC, Carneiro J Basic Histology. Text Atlas, 10th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2003.)...

Fluorescence is also a powerful tool for investigating the structure and dynamics of matter or living systems at a molecular or supramolecular level. Polymers, solutions of surfactants, solid surfaces, biological membranes, proteins, nucleic acids and living cells are well-known examples of systems in which estimates of local parameters such as polarity, fluidity, order, molecular mobility and electrical potential is possible by means of fluorescent molecules playing the role of probes. The latter can be intrinsic or introduced on purpose. The high sensitivity of fluo-rimetric methods in conjunction with the specificity of the response of probes to their microenvironment contribute towards the success of this approach. Another factor is the ability of probes to provide information on dynamics of fast phenomena and/or the structural parameters of the system under study. 

Fig. 3 Structural model of the cell membrane. The membrane is composed of a bimolecular leaflet of phospholipid with the polar head groups facing the extracellular and cytosolic compartments and the acyl groups in the middle of the bilayer. Integral membrane proteins are embedded in the lipid bilayer. Integral proteins are glycosylated on the exterior surface and may be phosphorylated on the cytoplasmic surface. Extrinsic membrane proteins, peripheral proteins, are linked to the cytosolic surface of the intrinsic proteins by electrostatic interactions. (From Ref. l)...

In chloroplasts of higher plants the ferredoxin-thioredoxin system links light-triggered events in thylakoid membranes with the regulation of enzymes in the stroma (1,2). If the conformation of enzymes changes because of modulators action then the surface exposed to the solvent will be different from the native state (3). As a consequence, interactions of modified enzymes with supramolecular structures (membranes, protein complexes) will differ respect to native forms. Since thylakoid membranes are complex structures they are not adequate for uncovering molecular mechanisms that participate in protein interactions(4). In thfe respect, the well-defined structure of micelles of non-ionic detergents constitute model compounds for the analysis of hydrophobic interactions in proteins (5,6). We report herein that chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase interacts with micelles of Triton X-114 in a pH-dependent process. 

Structure of Membrane Protein.s Membrane and Cell-Surface... 

While the fluid mosaic model of membrane stmcture has stood up well to detailed scrutiny, additional features of membrane structure and function are constantly emerging. Two structures of particular current interest, located in surface membranes, are tipid rafts and caveolae. The former are dynamic areas of the exo-plasmic leaflet of the lipid bilayer enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids they are involved in signal transduction and possibly other processes. Caveolae may derive from lipid rafts. Many if not all of them contain the protein caveolin-1, which may be involved in their formation from rafts. Caveolae are observable by electron microscopy as flask-shaped indentations of the cell membrane. Proteins detected in caveolae include various components of the signal-transduction system (eg, the insutin receptor and some G proteins), the folate receptor, and endothetial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Caveolae and lipid rafts are active areas of research, and ideas concerning them and their possible roles in various diseases are rapidly evolving. 

Proteins either strengthen the membrane structure (building proteins) or fulfil various transport or catalytic functions (functional proteins). They are often only electrostatically bound to the membrane surface (extrinsic proteins) or are covalently bound to the lipoprotein complexes (intrinsic or integral proteins). They are usually present in the form of an or-helix or random coil. Some integral proteins penetrate through the membrane (see Section 6.4.2). 

The surface structure of gram-negative bacteria (these are not stained by Gram s method and must be stained red with carbol fuchsin) is more diversified. It consists of an outer membrane whose main building unit is a lipopolysaccharide together with phospholipids and proteins. The actual cell... 

Indeed, hydrophilic N- or C-terminal ends and loop domains of these membrane proteins exposed to aqueous phases are able to undergo rapid or intermediate motional fluctuations, respectively, as shown in the 3D pictures of transmembrane (TM) moieties of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) as a typical membrane protein in the purple membrane (PM) of Halobacterium salinarum.176 178 Structural information about protein surfaces, including the interhelical loops and N- and C-terminal ends, is completely missing from X-ray data. It is also conceivable that such pictures should be further modified, when membrane proteins in biologically active states are not always present as oligomers such as dimer or trimer as in 2D or 3D crystals but as monomers in lipid bilayers. 

Structural changes of Rn/Rn-d exposed lung cells similar to heat symptoms can be interpreted as being caused by the similar underlying mechanism, e.g. re-arrangements of membrane protein-lipid components, and by releasing some of the attachment points of the cell to the petridish-surface. 

It is important that the method used to detach cells from their growing surface is compatible with end use. For final use as cell control material, it is important to use a methodology that preserves structural integrity and membrane protein localization. Enzymatic-based reagents may affect proteins on the surface of cells. 

A bacterial phosphatidylinositol specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) had been available for many years before it was demonstrated to strip a number of membrane-bound proteins from eukaryotic cell surfaces [1], Such proteins are anchored by a PI moiety in which the 6 position of inositol is glycosidically linked to glucosamine, which in turn is bonded to a polymannan backbone (Fig. 3-10). The polysaccharide chain is joined to the carboxyl terminal of the anchored protein via amide linkage to ethanolamine phosphate. The presence of a free NH2 group in the glucosamine residue makes the structure labile to nitrous acid. Bacterial PI-PLC hydrolyzes the bond between DAG and phosphati-dylinositols, releasing the water-soluble protein polysac charide-inositol phosphate moiety. These proteins are tethered by glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors. 

Myelin in situ has a water content of about 40%. The dry mass of both CNS and PNS myelin is characterized by a high proportion of lipid (70-85%) and, consequently, a low proportion of protein (15-30%). By comparison, most biological membranes have a higher ratio of proteins to lipids. The currently accepted view of membrane structure is that of a lipid bilayer with integral membrane proteins embedded in the bilayer and other extrinsic proteins attached to one surface or the other by weaker linkages. Proteins and lipids are asymmetrically distributed in this bilayer, with only partial asymmetry of the lipids. The proposed molecular architecture of the layered membranes of compact myelin fits such a concept (Fig. 4-11). Models of compact myelin are based on data from electron microscopy, immunostaining, X-ray diffraction, surface probes studies, structural abnormalities in mutant mice, correlations between structure and composition in various species, and predictions of protein structure from sequencing information [4]. 

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