title: Thermal effects and sensitivity of biological membranes.
abstract: Temperature is one of the key parameters that controlled the origin and evolution of life on earth and it continues to be a principal regulator of the functions of organisms. Some aspects of the response of simple and complex organisms to temperature variations are encoded in the physical properties of the cell components, with the all-important plasma membrane playing a principal role. Other responses to temperature are more specific and through evolution, specialized receptors with particular temperature sensitivities have appeared to mediate this signaling. While some of these receptors are ancient and can be found in very primitive organisms, it seems that the mechanisms used by prokaryotes and eukaryotes are very different, indicating that temperature sensitivity has evolved in more than one occasion during evolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico. Electronic address: islas@liceaga.facmed.unam.mx.
authors.forename: León D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Islas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D004560:Electricity; D007259:Infrared Rays; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D008560:Membrane Fluidity / Q000528:radiation effects; D013697:Thermosensing
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels
keywords: Electrophysiology; Infrared; Membrane biophysics; TRP channels; Temperature; Thermal biology; Thermodynamics