Download Why is studying the cell membrane so important?

Why is studying the cell membrane so important?
Cell Membrane Diseases
Cell membrane diseases are life-threatening disorders that are genetic in nature, and they usually work against proteins in our body that
are key to ion channels and various receptors within the membrane. These diseases work by either disrupting the normal functions of the cells
or by simply affecting the cell membrane. Many of these disorders contain other components as well.
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Hyaline Membrane Disease: Commonly associated with preterm infants, Hyaline membrane disease affects the lungs at the time of birth
causing respiratory distress. As a result, the lungs require abnormal levels of oxygen & carbon dioxide exchange after birth.
Alzheimer's Disease: The oxidative stress caused by Alzheimer's disease in the brain results in phospholipid altercations. Phospholipids are a
key component of our cell membranes. These altercations compromise the cell membrane, therefore disrupting the function of the brain
cells.
Cystic Fibrosis: is a disease that brings about an excessive production of fluid in the lungs due to a defective calcium-ion channel. This
channel contains a protein that is important to the cell membrane of our lungs. The channel controls the level of fluids and mucus in our
lungs. When this channel mutates into cystic fibrosis, it causes the mucus to build up in the lungs, thus making it hard to breath.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: This disease affects dystrophin in the muscle cell. Dystrophin allows the muscle cell wall to connect with the
intracellular section. In the absence of dystrophin, the CM would be incapable of repairing itself, destroying it & bringing about MD.
How Muscle Cells Seal Their Membranes
ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2012) — Every cell is enclosed by a thin double layer of lipids that separates the distinct internal environment of
the cell from the extracellular space. Damage to this lipid bilayer, also referred to as plasma membrane, disturbs the cellular functions and may
lead to the death of the cell. For example, exercise like downhill walking tears many little holes into the plasma membranes of the muscle cells in
our legs. To prevent irreparable damage, muscle cells have efficient systems to these holes again. With a laser, the researchers burned tiny holes
into the plasma membrane of muscle cells and followed the repair of the holes under the microscope. They showed that membrane vesicles
together with two proteins Dysferlin and Annexin A6 rapidly form a repair patch. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and
Heidelberg University have succeeded for the first time in observing membrane repair in real-time in a living organism. Researchers suggest that
the cell assembles a multilayered repair patch from the inside that seals off the cell's interior from the extracellular environment. It was also
found that there is a specialized membrane area that supplies rapidly the membrane that is needed for sealing the plasma membrane hole. The
results may contribute to the development of therapies for human myopathies (muscular diseases) and open up new possibilities in
biotechnology.
Chemists Synthesize Artificial Cell Membrane
ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2012) — Chemists have taken an important step in making artificial life forms from scratch. Using a novel
chemical reaction, they have created self-assembling cell membranes, the structural envelopes that contain and support the reactions required
for life. "One of our long term, very ambitious goals is to try to make an artificial cell, a synthetic living unit from the bottom up -- to make a living
organism from non-living molecules that have never been through or touched a living organism," Devaraj, an assistant professor at UCSB said.
"Presumably this occurred at some point in the past. Otherwise life wouldn't exist." By assembling an essential component of earthly life with
no biological precursors, they hope to illuminate life's origins. Nature uses complex enzymes that are themselves embedded in membranes to
accomplish this, making it hard to understand how the very first membranes came to be. They created the synthetic membranes from a watery
emulsion of an oil and a detergent. Alone it's stable. Add copper ions and sturdy vesicles and tubules begin to bud off the oil droplets. After 24
hours, the oil droplets are gone, "consumed" by the self-assembling membranes.
Mechanism of Sculpting the Plasma Membrane of Intestinal Cells Identified
ScienceDaily (Aug. 2, 2011) — The research group of Professor Pekka Lappalainen at the Institute of Biotechnology, University of
Helsinki, has identified a previously unknown mechanism which modifies the structure of plasma membranes in intestinal epithelial cells.
Typically, modifier proteins serving the cell typically twist the cell membrane into pipe-like, concave or convex structures. The parts protruding
and drawn in like this are vital for cell movement, shape transformation and nutrient intake. Unlike other proteins with a similar function, the
new protein -- named 'Pinkbar' -- creates planar (flat) membrane sheets. Further research investigates the potential connection of this protein
with various intestinal disorders. A dynamic plasma membrane surrounds all eukaryotic cells. Membrane plasticity is essential for a number of
cellular processes; changes in the structure of the plasma membrane enable cell migration, cell division, intake of nutrients and many
neurobiological and immunological events. Earlier research has shown that certain membrane-binding proteins can 'sculpt' the membrane to
generate tubular structures with positive or negative curvature, and consequently induce the formation of protrusions or invaginations on the
surface of the cell. These membrane-sculpting proteins are involved in various vital cellular processes and can control the shape of the plasma
membrane with surprising precision. Many of the membrane proteins have also been linked to severe diseases such as cancer and neurological
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syndromes. In humans, Pinkbar is only found in intestinal epithelial cells where it may be involved in the regulation of intestinal permeability. In
the future, it will be important to identify the exact physiological function of Pinkbar in intestinal epithelial cells and to study the possible links of
this protein to various intestinal disorders