Electrostatic coupling between membrane proteins.
Charges on membrane proteins are argued to produce very large electric fields within the membrane which may be felt by neighbouring membrane proteins. The activity of many membrane proteins may be sensitive to the electric field in the membrane; thus one membrane protein may affect the activity of another via the local electric field without any contact between the two. More specific electrostatic interactions are possible with binding between the two proteins. The possible roles of such interactions in bioenergetics, neurophysiology and signal transduction are discussed.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, England.
G C
GC
Brown
D004560:Electricity; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D011485:Protein Binding; D015398:Signal Transduction
D008565:Membrane Proteins