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Article: PHOSPHOLIPIDS IN CELL MEMBRANE HELP REGULATE ION CHANNELS
- Article from:
- US Fed News Service, Including US State News
- Article date:
- February 16, 2007
CopyrightCopyright © HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Rockefeller University issued the following press release:
Though the cell membrane is a protective barrier, it also plays a role in letting some foreign material in via ion channels that dot the cell's surface. Now new research from the Nobel Prize-winning laboratory that first solved the atomic structure of several such channels shows that their function is controlled in part by a complex interaction between a channel's voltage sensor and the cell membrane immediately adjacent to it.
The cell membrane is a specialized environment, home to a variety of proteins that enable the cell to interact with its environment. One specific family of proteins, voltage-gated channels, are especially ...