Search results for " Fluidity"
showing 10 items of 115 documents
Pore Formation by a Bax-Derived Peptide: Effect on the Line Tension of the Membrane Probed by AFM
2007
AbstractBax is a critical regulator of physiological cell death that increases the permeability of the outer mitochondrial membrane and facilitates the release of the so-called apoptotic factors during apoptosis. The molecular mechanism of action is unknown, but it probably involves the formation of partially lipidic pores induced by Bax. To investigate the interaction of Bax with lipid membranes and the physical changes underlying the formation of Bax pores, we used an active peptide derived from helix 5 of this protein (Bax-α5) that is able to induce Bax-like pores in lipid bilayers. We report the decrease of line tension due to peptide binding both at the domain interface in phase-separa…
Dynamics of surface of lipid membranes: theoretical considerations and the ESR experiment.
2016
The effect of the surface layer of model membranes on their physical properties was discussed in this paper. The research involved a physical ESR experiment with the use of spin probes and computer simulation based on the Monte Carlo technique. Liposomes formed during the process of sonication of lecithin were scanned in an ESR spectrometer. The membrane surface layer model, represented by the system of electric dipoles arranged in rectangular or hexagonal matrices, was studied. The final states of computer simulations were presented as textures. It was found that in the gel phase some ordered domain structures are formed, while in the liquid–crystal phase we got complex textures comprising…
Molecular modelling study of the role of cholesterol in the stimulation of the oxytocin receptor.
2001
Cholesterol, an integral component of membranes in Eucaryota, is a modifier of membrane properties. In vivo studies have demonstrated that cholesterol can also modulate activities of some G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are integral membrane proteins. This can result either from an effect of cholesterol on the membrane fluidity or from specific interactions of the membrane cholesterol with the receptor, as recently demonstrated for the cholecystokinin type beta (CCKRbeta) or the oxytocin receptor (OTR). Using molecular modelling, we studied conformational preferences of cholesterol and several of its analogues. Subsequently, we simulated the distributions of their preferred confo…
The dynamics of the surface layer of lipid membranes doped by vanadium complex: computer modeling and EPR studies
2015
Abstract Penetration of the liposome membranes doped with vanadium complex formed in the liquid-crystalline phase from egg yolk lecithin (EYL) by the TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl) spin probes has been investigated. The penetration process was followed by 360 hours at 24°C, using the electron spin resonance (EPR) method. The spectroscopic parameter of the partition (F) of this probe indicated that a maximum rigidity of the membrane was at 3% concentration of the vanadium complex. Computer simulations showed that the increase in the rigidity of the membrane corresponds to the closure of gaps in the surface layer of the membrane, and indicates the essential role of the membrane …
The stability and functional properties of proteoliposomes mixed with dextran derivatives bearing hydrophobic anchor groups
1992
Liposomes composed of Escherichia coli phospholipid were coated with polysaccharides bearing hydrophobic palmitoyl anchors. The effect on the stability of liposomes without or with integral membrane proteins was investigated. A high concentration of hydrophobized dextrans protected the liposomes against detergent degradation, decreased the fluidity of the membranes, prevented fusion of the liposomes and enhanced their stability. Proteoliposomes containing beef heart cytochrome-c oxidase and the lactose transport carrier of E. coli were similarly affected by coating with the dextrans. Under these conditions both membrane proteins were still active. Long-term stability of the coated liposomes…
Thermal Expansion of Microstructured DMPC Bilayers Quantified by Temperature-Controlled Atomic Force Microscopy
2006
Pho85 and PI(4,5)P(2) regulate different lipid metabolic pathways in response to cold
2019
Lipid homeostasis allows cells to adjust membrane biophysical properties in response to changes in environmental conditions. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a downward shift in temperature from an optimal reduces membrane fluidity, which triggers a lipid remodeling of the plasma membrane. How changes in membrane fluidity are perceived, and how the abundance and composition of different lipid classes is properly balanced, remain largely unknown. Here, we show that the levels of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2], the most abundant plasma membrane phosphoinositide, drop rapidly in response to a downward shift in temperature. This change triggers a signaling cascade trans…
Modification of Plasma Membrane Organization in Tobacco Cells Elicited by Cryptogein
2014
Abstract Lipid mixtures within artificial membranes undergo a separation into liquid-disordered and liquid-ordered phases. However, the existence of this segregation into microscopic liquid-ordered phases has been difficult to prove in living cells, and the precise organization of the plasma membrane into such phases has not been elucidated in plant cells. We developed a multispectral confocal microscopy approach to generate ratiometric images of the plasma membrane surface of Bright Yellow 2 tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) suspension cells labeled with an environment sensitive fluorescent probe. This allowed the in vivo characterization of the global level of order of this membrane, by which w…
Polymorphonuclear leukocyte membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ content in young adults with acute myocardial infarction. Evaluation at the initial …
2004
Our aim was to examine two aspects of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) rheology (membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ content), at baseline and after in vitro activation, in a group of young adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at the initial stage and after 12 months. We enrolled 21 AMI subjects aged < or = 45 years (mean age 41.1 +/- 3.5 years) and evaluated PMN membrane fluidity, labelling intact PMN cells with the fluorescent probe 1,4-(trimethylamino)-phenyl-4-phenylhexatriene and the PMN cytosolic Ca2+ content marking PMN cells with the fluorescent probe Fura 2-AM, at baseline and after in vitro activation with 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and N-formyl-methionyl-l…