Lateral Segregation of Molecular Components Enhances Functionality of Biological Membranes
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biophysics: Structure, Dynamics, and Function".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 27709
Special Issue Editor
Interests: membrane microdomains; membrane biophysics; lipid metabolism; steady-state segregation of cellular components; fluorescence microscopy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The idea of biological membranes being subdivided into lateral microdomains, which are characterized by specific composition, structure and biological function, has become widely accepted among scientists worldwide. Membrane microdomains have been observed in numerous species of all kingdoms of life, in the plasma membrane as well as in various internal membranes of complex eukaryotes. Different mechanisms of membrane microdomain formation have been described. These include spontaneous segregation of membrane lipids based on phase separation or hydrophobic mismatch, directed vesicular and non-vesicular transport of membrane components, fencing and scaffolding by membrane-associated proteins, etc. At the same time, more and more accent is being put on overall membrane dynamics – lateral diffusion and membrane fluidity, exchange of membrane contents at membrane contact sites – and the consequent temporal character of membrane microdomains throughout the whole cellular membrane system. Keeping in mind that a substantial part of biochemical reactions within the cell takes place at cellular and organellar surfaces, i.e., membranes, the membrane microdomain architecture represents an intriguing platform for fast and efficient reprogramming of the cell metabolism.
In this Special Issue, having in focus a wide variety of membrane functions, we expect to shed new light on how the clustering of membrane components (lipids, proteins) into microdomains possessing characteristic biochemical and biophysical traits contributes to triggering, regulation and performance of cellular signaling, metabolic pathways and stress adaptation.
Assoc. Prof. Jan Malínský
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- membrane microdomain
- lipid order
- protein conformation
- membrane dynamics
- membrane contact sites
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