Question

After reading the Article: Order of lipid phases in model and plasma membranes: discuss the clinical implications of this branch of membrane biology. Did the article mention specific diseases related to this field? Search for other articles in this field and mention your findings in your response.

article can be found if you Google : Order of lipid phases in model and plasma membranes.

Answer 1

ANSWER :-

The study was based upon the composition of the lipid bilayer of the cell and how the structure, composition and membrane constituents are affected by means of formation of two phases within the membrane namely a ordered part and a disordered part. These are being carried out by means of creating either Giant Plasma Membrane vesicles or Plasma Membrane spheres resulting in formation and separation of the two phases.

Although, it should be taken into consideration that there are certain membrane constituents such as sphingolipid and cholesterol which forms a part of an essential and minor structure of the cell membrane called as the lipid rafts which plays vital role in many processes such as signal transduction, etc.

In case of the ordered phase, the majority of the content is of the glycosphingolipids and cholesterol in association with each other which in turn determines the complex nature of the membrane part. More the association, more will be the extent of packing of lipid constituent of the membrane component. This in turn is associated with changes in the signalling pathway along with changes in certain organelle functions of the cells such as the lysosomes.

The main implication of the experiment was to study the degree of membrane packaging into the different phases as have been stated above (namely the ordered and the disordered) and in this part, the transmembrane complex was also being taken into consideration in terms of identifying whether it is being associated with the liquid ordered phase or not and how changes in the composition of the individual components enhance or degrade the membrane packaging phenomena.

The disorders that can be taken into consideration include the Lysosome storage disorders in which certain cases are being characterized by major changes in the composition of certain components of the liquid ordered phase including the Sphingolipids and the cholesterol molecules indicating an insight in the balance between the composition of the two components in maintaining the complexity and functional aspects of the membrane.