CD59 is a GPI-anchored cell surface receptor that serves as gatekeeper to controlling pore formation. It the only membrane-bound inhibitor of complement membrane attack complex (MAC), an immune can damage human cells. While blocks MAC pores, co-opted by bacterial pore-forming proteins target Recent structures in complexes with binding partners showed dramatic differences orientation its ectodom...

Abstract Sphingolipids (lipids with a sphingoid base backbone) are important components of eukaryotic membrane systems and key signaling molecules that essential for controlling cellular homeostasis, acclimating to stress, regulating plant immunity. Studies using sphingolipid treatments, measuring sphingolipids in infected plants, functionally studying biosynthetic mutants demonstrated particip...

In the present study, two cell-based systems for assessing Yang and Yin activities were first time used to investigate effect of ursolic acid (UA) oleanolic (OA). The results indicated that while UA was only active in assay, OA produced activity assay. Yang/Yin UA/OA may be attributed their distinct molecular structures, which confer differential ability interact with mitochondrial membrane or ...

In this paper a rapid and highly efficient method for controlled incorporation of fluorescent lipids into living mammalian cells is introduced. Here, the fluorescent molecules have two consecutive functions: First, they trigger rapid membrane fusion between cellular plasma membranes and the lipid bilayers of their carrier particles, so called fusogenic liposomes, and second, after insertion int...

Although cell membranes are packed with proteins mingling with lipids, remarkably little is known about how proteins interact with lipids to carry out their function. Novel analytical tools are revealing the astounding diversity of lipids in membranes. The issue is now to understand the cellular functions of this complexity. In this Perspective, we focus on the interface of integral transmembra...

Although massive membrane rearrangements occur during cell division, little is known about specific roles that lipids might play in this process. We report that the lipidome changes with the cell cycle. LC-MS-based lipid profiling shows that 11 lipids with specific chemical structures accumulate in dividing cells. Using AFM, we demonstrate differences in the mechanical properties of live dividi...

Deformations of cell membranes, such as fusion, adhesion, budding, and pore formation, play important roles in the maintenance of living cell systems. In cell systems, the membrane deformations are managed by complex interplays between membrane proteins and lipids. It is hypothesized that one role of the membrane proteins is to introduce a local spontaneous curvature by interacting with the mem...

The fluorescent NBD group has come a long way in terms of biological applications since its discovery a few decades back. Although the field of fluorescently labeled lipids has grown over the years with the introduction of new fluorescent labels, NBD-labeled lipids continue to be a popular choice in membrane and cell biological studies due to desirable fluorescence characteristics of the NBD gr...

Exposure of rabbit reticulocytes to agents which damage the cell membrane by a variety of different mechanisms stimulates the incorporation of radioactive acetate and glycerol into membrane lipids. An increase in the rate of lipid synthesis occurs within minutes at 37’C at concentrations of the agents which do not cause spontaneous cell lysis. Different agents do not increase synthesis of diffe...

application of nanotechnology in medicinal and biological fields has attracted a great interest in the recent yeras. in this paper the cell membrane leakage induced by iron nanoparticles (fe-np) against pc12 cell line which is known as a model of nervous system cell line was investigated by the lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) test. therefore, pc12 cells were incubated with different concentration o...