Tuning Membrane Asymmetry

Plasma membrane phospholipid asymmetry.

Protein asymmetry in chick synaptosomal plasma membrane.

The topographical arrangement of chick synaptosomal plasma membrane polypeptides was examined by lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination and trypsin digestion of proteins exposed at the exterior surface. The ““I-labeling profile on sucrose gradients of lysed, subfractionated synaptosomes generally coincided with the activity of the membrane marker (Na+-K+)-activated ATPase, which suggested that la...

How membrane asymmetry regulates ADAM17 sheddase function

Asymmetrical distribution of lipids in the cell membrane is a fundamental feature of all eukaryotic cells. The most important negatively charged phospholipids phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylinositol species reside almost exclusively in the cytoplasmic leaflet, where they serve as essential co-factors for many membrane-bound enzymes including protein kinase C, phosphatase PTEN, tyrosine...

Membrane phospholipid asymmetry in human thalassemia.

Phospholipid asymmetry in the red blood cell (RBC) lipid bilayer is well maintained during the life of the cell, with phosphatidylserine (PS) virtually exclusively located in the inner monolayer. Loss of phospholipid asymmetry, and consequently exposure of PS, is thought to play an important role in red cell pathology. The anemia in the human thalassemias is caused by a combination of ineffecti...

Regulation of transbilayer plasma membrane phospholipid asymmetry.

Lipids in biological membranes are asymmetrically distributed across the bilayer; the amine-containing phospholipids are enriched on the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane, while the choline-containing and sphingolipids are enriched on the outer surface. The maintenance of transbilayer lipid asymmetry is essential for normal membrane function, and disruption of this asymmetry is associa...