The plasma membrane is the interface between cells and their harsh environment. Uptake of nutrients and all communication among cells and between cells and their environment occurs through this interface. 'Endocytosis' encompasses several diverse mechanisms by which cells internalize macromolecules and particles into transport vesicles derived from the plasma membrane. It controls entry into the cell and has a crucial role in development, the immune response, neurotransmission, intercellular communication, signal transduction, and cellular and organismal homeostasis. As the complexity of molecular interactions governing endocytosis are revealed, it has become increasingly clear that it is tightly coordinated and coupled with overall cell physiology and thus, must be viewed in a broader context than simple vesicular trafficking.

Regulated portals of entry into the cell

Molecular basis of bacterial outer membrane permeability.

The goal of this review is to present a comprehensive survey of the many intriguing facets of creatine (Cr) and creatinine metabolism, encompassing the pathways and regulation of Cr biosynthesis an...

http://www.afboard.com/library/creatinemetabolism.pdf

Creatine and Creatinine Metabolism

Production of large unilamellar vesicles by a rapid extrusion procedure. Characterization of size distribution, trapped volume and ability to maintain a membrane potential

Bacteriocins are bacterially produced antimicrobial peptides with narrow or broad host ranges. Many bacteriocins are produced by food-grade lactic acid bacteria, a phenomenon which offers food scientists the possibility of directing or preventing the development of specific bacterial species in food. This can be particularly useful in preservation or food safety applications, but also has implications for the development of desirable flora in fermented food. In this sense, bacteriocins can be used to confer a rudimentary form of innate immunity to foodstuffs, helping processors extend their control over the food flora long after manufacture.

Bacteriocins: developing innate immunity for food

Effects of adriamycin on lipid polymorphism in cardiolipin-containing model and mitochondrial membranes.

Membrane fusion is an ubiquitous event in cell biology. One can distinguish two types of fusion: (i) outside/outside fusion, for example endocytosis, and (ii) inside/inside fusion, for example exocytosis. In spite of this difference in types of fusion in relation to membrane asymmetry and in spite of the large variety of lipid compositions encountered in biological membranes, a universal mechanism can be postulated for the role of lipids in membrane fusion. In this concept the lipids leave the bilayer configuration temporarily and locally. This notion, and the fact that any biological membrane contains a substantial amount of lipids which prefer the non-bilayer hexagonal II phase in physiological conditions, has led to the hypothesis that such hexagonal II phase lipids play a crucial role in membrane fusion. This proposition is strongly supported by model membrane experiments in which it has been demonstrated that factors such as Ca2+ and temperature, which trigger the transition from bilayer to hexagonal II phase, in fact induce membrane fusion.

B. de Kruijff

Papers

Effects of adriamycin on lipid polymorphism in cardiolipin-containing model and mitochondrial membranes.

Non-bilayer structures in membrane fusion

Adriamycin inhibits the formation of non-bilayer lipid structures in cardiolipin-containing model membranes.

Lipid polymorphism and membrane fusion.

Cytofluorescence detection of adriamycin-mitochondria interactions in isolated, perfused rat heart