Phosphatidylethanolamine Is a Key Regulator of Membrane Fluidity in Eukaryotic Cells.

Adequate membrane fluidity is required for a variety of key cellular processes and in particular for proper function of membrane proteins. In most eukaryotic cells, membrane fluidity is known to be regulated by fatty acid desaturation and cholesterol, although some cells, such as insect cells, are almost devoid of sterol synthesis. We show here that insect and mammalian cells present similar microviscosity at their respective physiological temperature.

Allosteric regulation of G protein-coupled receptor activity by phospholipids.

Lipids are emerging as key regulators of membrane protein structure and activity. These effects can be attributed either to the modification of bilayer properties (thickness, curvature and surface tension) or to the binding of specific lipids to the protein surface. For G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the effects of phospholipids on receptor structure and activity remain poorly understood.

Nitrogen catabolite repressible GAP1 promoter, a new tool for efficient recombinant protein production in S. cerevisiae.

Background: Decades of work requiring heterologous expression of eukaryotic proteins have shown that no expression system can be considered as the panacea and the appropriate expression strategy is often protein-dependent. In a large number of cases, yeasts have proven to be reliable organisms for heterologous protein expression by combining eukaryotic cellular organization with the ease of use of simpler microorganisms.

Results: During this work, a novel promoter system based on the nitrogen catabolite regulation has been developed to produce the general amino acid permease (Gap1) in its natural host, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.