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Cited by 774

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Plasma membranes are asymmetric in lipid unsaturation, packing and protein shape

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Lorent, J. H., Levental, K. R., Ganesan, L., Rivera-Longsworth, G., Sezgin, E., Doktorova, M., Lyman, E., Levental, I.·2020·Nature Chemical Biology

Abstract

A fundamental feature of cellular plasma membranes (PMs) is an asymmetric lipid distribution between the bilayer leaflets. However, neither the detailed, comprehensive compositions of individual PM leaflets nor how these contribute to structural membrane asymmetries have been defined. We report the distinct lipidomes and biophysical properties of both monolayers in living mammalian PMs. Phospholipid unsaturation is dramatically asymmetric, with the cytoplasmic leaflet being approximately twofold more unsaturated than the exoplasmic leaflet. Atomistic simulations and spectroscopy of leaflet-selective fluorescent probes reveal that the outer PM leaflet is more packed and less diffusive than the inner leaflet, with this biophysical asymmetry maintained in the endocytic system. The structural asymmetry of the PM is reflected in the asymmetric structures of protein transmembrane domains. These structural asymmetries are conserved throughout Eukaryota, suggesting fundamental cellular design principles. Lipidomics across the bilayer membrane plus biophysical and fluorescence approaches find asymmetry in phospholipid unsaturation and localization of protein transmembrane domains based on their ability to pack within the different membrane leaflets.

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Metadata

Authors
Lorent, J. H., Levental, K. R., Ganesan, L., Rivera-Longsworth, G., Sezgin, E., Doktorova, M., Lyman, E., & Levental, I.
Venue
Nature Chemical Biology
Published
2020-05-04
Volume
16
Issue
6
Pages
644-652
ISSN
  • 1552-4450 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-4469
OpenAlex
W3023677370
Cited by
774
References
74
FWCI
25.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Plasma membranes are asymmetric in lipid unsaturation, packing and protein shape. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s41589-020-0529-6
The paper
Lorent, J. H., Levental, K. R., Ganesan, L., Rivera-Longsworth, G., Sezgin, E., Doktorova, M., Lyman, E., & Levental, I. (2020). Plasma membranes are asymmetric in lipid unsaturation, packing and protein shape. Nature Chemical Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-020-0529-6

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