Membrane Lipid Replacement is the use of functional, oral supplements containing mixtures of cell membrane glycerolphospholipids, plus fructooligosaccharides (for protection against oxidative, bile acid and enzymatic damage) and antioxidants, in order to safely replace damaged, oxidized, membrane phospholipids and restore membrane, organelle, cellular and organ function. Defects in cellular and...

We describe applications of a colorimetric assay based on supramolecular assemblies of lipid-polydiacetylene vesicles for analysis and screening of membrane interactions of lipophilic enzymes, peptides, and ions and for study of the effects of lipid composition upon membrane properties. The lipid-polymer aggregates undergo visible and quantifiable blue-to-red transitions following interfacial i...

In the Fluid Mosaic Model for biological membrane structure, proposed by Singer and Nicolson in 1972, the lipid bilayer is represented as a neutral two-dimensional solvent in which the proteins of the membrane are dispersed and distributed randomly. The model portrays the membrane as dominated by a membrane lipid bilayer, directly exposed to the aqueous environment, and only occasionally interr...

We explore the equilibrium mechanics of a binary lipid membrane that wraps around a spherical or cylindrical particle. One of the lipid membrane components induces a positive spontaneous curvature, while the other induces a negative local curvature. Using a Hamiltonian approach, we derive the equations governing the membrane shape and lipid concentrations near the wrapped object. Asymptotic exp...

This critique points out that a number of possible alterations in cell metabolism could lead to changes in membrane structure and that the observed effects might not necessarily play a primary role in the physiology of aging. Experimental approaches, while not simple, should distinguish causes of altered membrane asymmetry from its consequences. THE idea that cross-linking agents might play a r...

One of the fundamental problems in membrane biology is that of lipid diversity. The number of chemically different membrane lipids is much larger than other key biological building blocks such as nucleotides, amino acids, and carbohydrates. For instance, a relatively simple biomembrane such as that of the red blood cell contains well over a hundred different lipid species. Except for some metab...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)plays an important role in sperm motility. The physiological generation at low concentration induces beneficial effects on sperm functions and plays a significant role in sperm metabolism. Meanwhile, the excessive generation of reactive oxygen species can overwhelm protective mechanism and triggers changes in lipid and protein layers of sperm plasma membrane, which ...