title: Studying the nucleated mammalian cell membrane by single molecule approaches.
abstract: The cell membrane plays a key role in compartmentalization, nutrient transportation and signal transduction, while the pattern of protein distribution at both cytoplasmic and ectoplasmic sides of the cell membrane remains elusive. Using a combination of single-molecule techniques, including atomic force microscopy (AFM), single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) and stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), to study the structure of nucleated cell membranes, we found that (1) proteins at the ectoplasmic side of the cell membrane form a dense protein layer (4 nm) on top of a lipid bilayer; (2) proteins aggregate to form islands evenly dispersed at the cytoplasmic side of the cell membrane with a height of about 10-12 nm; (3) cholesterol-enriched domains exist within the cell membrane; (4) carbohydrates stay in microdomains at the ectoplasmic side; and (5) exposed amino groups are asymmetrically distributed on both sides. Based on these observations, we proposed a Protein Layer-Lipid-Protein Island (PLLPI) model, to provide a better understanding of cell membrane structure, membrane trafficking and viral fusion mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yongmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: Mingjun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiazhen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: Shuheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: Junguang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministries of Education and Health, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shibo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hongda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D004285:Dogs; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers