Lipid-Protein Electrostatic Interactions in the Regulation of Membrane-Protein Activities

N. WILKE. .; M.B. DECCA; G.G. MONTICH; DR MAHMOUD ROUABHIA

Conductive Polymers: Electrical Interactions in Cell Biology and Medicine

CRC press Taylor & Francis Group

Lugar: London; Año: 2016; p. 200 - 218

Electrostatic interactions are inherently related to cell membrane processes. Strong electric fields are generated by gradients of ions between compartments separated by cell membranes, fixed net charges in the membranes and oriented dipoles. If we consider a protein molecule as a collection of dipoles, partial and net charges, it is easy to imagine that within the membrane milieu, the interactions with electric fields constitute an excellent tool to modulate their activity, conformation and functionality (Tsong, 1990; Astumian, 1994; Teissie, 2007; Marsh, 2008). As examples of the relevance of electrostatics in lipid membranes, we can consider that two fundamental processes that support the life on Earth, photosynthesis and respiration, rely in the generation of electrochemical gradients between aqueous compartments separated by a biological membrane. The development of a nervous system in complex organisms was also completely dependent on mechanisms that include electrochemical gradients and electrostatic control of protein activities to translate information.