Organization of ganglioside GM1 in phosphatidylcholine bilayers.
Molecules of the ganglioside GM1 are randomly distributed in liquid-crystalline 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayers. This conclusion is based on a freeze-etch electron microscopic study using ferritin-conjugated cholera toxin and cholera toxin alone as ganglioside labels. The average number of GM1 molecules under a label is calculated by a novel method from the dependence of the fraction of bilayer area covered by the label on the mole fraction of GM1 in the bilayer.
D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002417:Cattle; D002772:Cholera Toxin / Q000378:metabolism; D005293:Ferritins / Q000378:metabolism; D005615:Freezing; D005677:G(M1) Ganglioside / Q000032:analysis*; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000032:analysis*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000032:analysis*; D008433:Mathematics; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines
D005732:Gangliosides; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D005677:G(M1) Ganglioside; D005293:Ferritins; D002772:Cholera Toxin