News tagged with membrane proteins

Study of the machinery of cells reveals clues to neurological disorder

(Medical Xpress)—Investigation by researchers from the University of Exeter and ETH Zurich has shed new light on a protein which is linked to a common neurological disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Neuroscience created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research to end asbestos-related cancer

Scientists from Flinders University are trying to develop a new treatment for a highly aggressive, asbestos-related lung cancer that is set to become more prevalent in the future.

Cancer created May 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Study uses Botox to find new wrinkle in brain communication

National Institutes of Health researchers used the popular anti-wrinkle agent Botox to discover a new and important role for a group of molecules that nerve cells use to quickly send messages. This novel ...

Medical research created May 02, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Making a window for drug delivery in the blood-brain barrier

(Medical Xpress)—The blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents most large or hydrophilic (polar) molecules from getting into the brain. For many neurological diseases, like Parkinson's, the presence of the BBB ...

Medical research created Apr 30, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Food dye could provide 'blueprint' for treatment of Panx1-related diseases

The food dye Brilliant Blue FCF (BB FCF) could be a useful tool in the development of treatments for a variety of conditions involving the membrane channel protein Pannexin 1(Panx1), according to a study in The Journal of General Physi ...

Medical research created Apr 29, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Fusion and cell death in the development of skeletal muscle

(Medical Xpress)—Membrane fusion is a highly regulated event, both inside cells, and between them. From the moment a sperm first fuses with an egg, subsequent developmental events depend upon its proper ...

Medical research created Apr 26, 2013 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Study reveals natural process that blocks viruses

The human body has the ability to ward off viruses by activating a naturally occurring protein at the cellular level, setting off a chain reaction that disrupts the levels of cholesterol required in cell membranes to enable ...

Medical research created Apr 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Recipe for large numbers of stem cells requires only one ingredient

Stem cells and tissue-specific cells can be grown in abundance from mature mammalian cells simply by blocking a certain membrane protein, according to scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the ...

Medical research created Apr 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Resistance is futile: Researchers identify gene that mediates cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer

Platinum compounds, such as cisplatin and carboplatin, induce DNA cross-linking, prohibiting DNA synthesis and repair in rapidly dividing cells. They are first line therapeutics in the treatment of many solid tumors, but ...

Cancer created Apr 15, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cholesterol rafts deliver drugs inside cancer cells

DNA, siRNA and miRNA can reprogram cancer cells – that is, if these nucleic acids could cross through the cell membrane. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in the journal Therapeutic Delivery shows ...

Cancer created Apr 02, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Certain breast cancers have a trait that could be attacked by new therapies

More than 100 women per day die from breast cancer in the United States. The odds of developing breast cancer increase for women taking hormone replacement therapy to avoid the effects of menopause. New research by University ...

Cancer created Mar 27, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New research looks at novel ways to combat drug resistance

University of Southampton biological scientists are leading a major research project aimed at making drugs more effective.

Medical research created Mar 27, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Protein in fat cells that stimulates inflammatory signaling helps put gears in motion for onset of diet-induced obesity

Poor diet and lifestyle choices set the stage for obesity and diabetes, but the immune system plays a relatively underappreciated role in accelerating this process. Metabolic changes in fat cells stimulate ...

Medical research created Mar 15, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

From shape-shifting to therapy

(Medical Xpress)—The latest research into the intricate processes that let substances into and out of cells will help to lay the foundations for the next generation of therapies for major diseases.

Medical research created Mar 12, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Why a hereditary anemia is caused by genetic mutation in mechanically sensitive ion channel

A genetic mutation that alters the kinetics of an ion channel in red blood cells has been identified as the cause behind a hereditary anemia, according to a paper published this month in the Proceedings of the National Ac ...

Medical research created Mar 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Membrane protein

A membrane protein is a protein molecule that is attached to, or associated with the membrane of a cell or an organelle. More than half of all proteins interact with membranes.

Biological membranes consist of a phospholipid bilayer and a variety of proteins that accomplish vital biological functions. Structural proteins are attached to microfilaments in the cytoskeleton which ensures stability of the cell. Cell recognition proteins allow cells to identify each other and interact. Such proteins are involved in immune response, for example. Membrane enzymes produce a variety of substances essential for cell function. Membrane receptor proteins serve as connection between the cell's internal and external environments. Finally, transport proteins play an important role in the maintenance of concentrations of ions. These transport proteins come in two forms: carrier proteins and channel proteins. Carrier proteins are involved in using the energy released from ATP being broken down to facilitate active transport and ion exchange. These processes ensure that useful substances are able to enter the cell and that toxic substances are pumped out of the cell.

For more information about Membrane protein, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: protein , cell membrane