New insights into the lateral organization of biological membranes: Investigating the role of membrane dipole potential and the midplane interface
May 13, 2024 @ 11:00 – 12:00 CEST
Seminar by Frederick A. Heberle, Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
Abstract
Cells can dynamically alter the spatial organization of lipids and proteins in the plasma membrane to regulate processes including cell signaling. The size and morphology of membrane domains, and how these depend on lipid composition, have drawn attention as potentially key variables in these processes. Model membrane studies have proven invaluable for elucidating the influence of phospholipid chains and headgroups, as well as cholesterol concentration, on membrane properties and phase behavior. Using this kind of bottom-up approach, my group employs a diverse set of biophysical techniques including fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy, small-angle neutron scattering, and cryogenic electron microscopy to characterize the phase behavior of lipid bilayer mixtures. In this talk, I will show how two important yet poorly understood features of lipid membranes—namely, the membrane dipole potential and the midplane interface of a compositionally asymmetric bilayer—can profoundly affect lateral lipid organization.
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