title: Thinking about the possible role of lipids.
abstract: We contemplate the possibility that lipids play a subtler functional role in membranes than that of providing a permeability barrier and a 2-dimensional solvent for proteins. An analysis of the structural properties of lipids, as established by X-ray scattering studies of model systems, suggests a variety of molecular processes involving the structure of the lipid matrix in the functions of membranes. By way of illustration, a hypothetical structural transition is considered, involving nerve membrane lipids and underlying the action potential. The design of an experiment, aimed at testing this hypothesis, is described.
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000502:physiology*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008954:Models, Biological; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D008567:Membranes, Artificial