Molecular Specialization and Symmetry in Membrane Function

Biological membranes have been under intensive investigation for several decades. Despite very great experimental challenges, membranes are at last beginning to reveal their secrets. In this book, leading investigators of membrane structure and function report on progress in three related fields: specialization of membrane regions, asymmetry in transport properties, and differentiation of cell faces in epithelia. "Specialization at the Molecular Level" is the subject of the first section; in it, the authors consider such problems as the biogenesis of membranes, the geometry of protein-lipid relationships, and the physical properties of membrane receptor-sites. In the second section, "Asymmetry in Transport," such topics as the sodium-potassium pump, proton translocation, and anion transport are covered. The last section is entitled "Polar Faces in Epithelia" and deals with the complex properties of ion transport across the complex membrane environment maintained by surfaces such as the renal tubular epithelia. Foreword Preface Contents PART ONE. Specialization at the Molecular Level 1. Membrane Biogenesis 2. Lipid–Protein Associations 3. Molecular Architecture of Oligomeric Membrane Proteins 4. Transmembrane Compositional Asymmetry of Lipids in Bilayers and Biomembranes 5. Ligand-Binding Properties of Membrane-Bound Cholinergic Receptors of Torpedo Mormorata 6. The Functional Roles of Band 3 Protein of the Red Blood Cell 7. Energetics and Molecular Biology of Membrane Transport PART TWO. Asymmetry in Transport 8. Asymmetry and the Mechanism of the Red Cell Na-K Pump, Determined by Ouabain Binding 9. Simultaneous or Consecutive Occupancy by Sodium and Potassium Ions of Their Membrane Pump 10. Proton Translocation in Submitochondrial Particles and Reconstituted Segments of the Respiratory Chain 11. Studies on the Molecular Mechanism of Anion Transport across the Red Blood Cell Membrane PART THREE. Polar Faces in Epithelia 12. The Double-Membrane Model for Transepithelial Ion Transport: Are Homocellular and Transcellular Ion Transport Related? 13. Differentiation of Cell Faces in Epithelia 14. Solute-Coupled Water Transport in the Kidney 15. Modes of Sodium Transport in the Kidney Index