Project 451009

Cells are surrounded by a cell membrane, a complex barrier made primarily of lipids and proteins. Human cells also have internal structures (organelles) with such barriers. An early concept of a cell membrane was a 'sea of lipids', where lipids are a fatty substance that provides the barrier-like properties of the membrane. Proteins floating in the sea carried out important cell functions like generating energy, relaying messages, and transporting cargo into and out of the cell and between cell organelles. In this early model, lipids were mostly inert (the sea). However, we now recognize this model is much too simple. First, there are so many proteins that there is not much room for floating. Second, the sea is not inert but plays a functional role in both establishing the structure and properties of the membrane and regulating in a variety of ways what the proteins do. This project uses computer models of lipids and proteins to show the lipid 'sea' and proteins at a detailed level where every single atom or molecule is represented, in addition to lipid-proteins interact. We collaborate with research groups doing experiments on the same lipids and proteins to make a more a complex picture of lipid-protein interactions. Ultimately this research will contribute to understanding and perhaps treating many diseases. Membranes and membrane proteins are involved in biomedical problems as diverse as viral infections, multi-drug resistance, neurological conditions, cancer treatment and asthma, to name just a few.