A complete and permanent hydrophilic modification of polyethersulfone (PES) membranes is achieved by argon plasma treatment followed by polyacrylic acid (PAA) grafting in vapor phase. Both Ar plasma treatment alone and post-PAA grafting rendered a complete hydrophilicity to the PES membranes. The hydrophilicity of the membranes treated with only the Ar plasmas is not, however, permanent. In con...

Biological membranes are compartmentalized for functional diversity by a variety of specific protein-protein, protein-lipid, and lipid-lipid interactions. A subset of these are the preferential interactions between sterols, sphingolipids, and saturated aliphatic lipid tails responsible for liquid-liquid domain coexistence in eukaryotic membranes, which give rise to dynamic, nanoscopic assemblie...

1. Homogenates of neural lobes of bovine pituitary glands were fractionated by differential ultracentrifugation. 2. Neurosecretory vesicles were isolated by sucrose-gradient ultracentrifugation and membranes were obtained after hypo-osmotic lysis of the particles. 3. A method is described for the isolation of a preparation of purified neuronal plasma membranes by using a fraction enriched in ne...

The biosynthesis pathway of carotenoids in cyanobacteria is partly described. However, the subcellular localization of individual steps is so far unknown. Carotenoid analysis of different membrane subfractions in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 shows that "light" plasma membranes have a high carotenoid/protein ratio, when compared to "heavier" plasma membranes or thylakoids. The localization of CrtQ ...

1. The distribution of the alpha- and beta-subunits of nucleotide-binding G-proteins among rat liver sinusoidal, lateral and canalicular plasma membranes, endosomes, Golgi membranes and lysosomes was investigated. 2. Pertussis-toxin-catalysed ADP-ribosylation identified a 41 kDa inhibitory alpha-subunit in all liver plasma-membrane functional domains as well as in endosomes. An antibody to a sy...

Plasma membranes in eukaryotic cells display asymmetric lipid distributions with aminophospholipids concentrated in the inner leaflet and sphingolipids in the outer leaflet. This unequal distribution of lipids between leaflets is, amongst several proposed functions, hypothesized to be a prerequisite for endocytosis. P4 ATPases, belonging to the P-type ATPase superfamily of pumps, are involved i...

The chemical composition of plasma membrane fractions isolated from orchard grass seedlings (Dactylis glomerata L.) was analyzed and compared with endomembranes. The plasma membrane is characterized by an enrichment of sterols and a lower degree of unsaturation of phospholipids. Steryl glycosides were found to be one of the lipid components of the plasma membrane, but steryl esters and galactol...

premature rupture of membranes (prom) is one of the most common complications of pregnancy that has a major impact on neonatal outcomes. with respect to racial, nutritional and cultural differences between developed and developing countries, this study was conducted to detect the prevalence of neonatal complications following prom and the role of the duration of rupture of membranes in producin...

Biologically active preparations of ‘*%thyrotropin, [3H]thyrotropin, and the [3H]exophthalmogenic factor derived from thyrotropin by partial pepsin digestion have been used to study the binding properties of the thyrotropin receptor on guinea pig retro-orbital tissue plasma membranes. In regard to the optimal conditions of binding, pH, buffer, salt concentrations, and temperature, these propert...

Two recently cloned water channels, CHIP28 and WCH-CD, are homologous to MIP26, an integral membrane channel-forming protein found in lens fiber plasma membranes. CHIP28 is found in basolateral and apical plasma membranes of kidney proximal tubules and thin descending limbs of Henle, whereas WCH-CD is apically located in collecting duct principal cells. So far, the putative water channel that m...