Book Description

The structure and organization of biological membranes were studied using a variety of physical and biochemical techniques together with electron microscopy and freeze-etching. These studies are providing knowledge relating the architecture of cellular membranes to their role in modulating cell behavior in response to environmental perturbants and in regulating the transport of molecules into and out of cells. As model systems, human erythrocyte membranes and their ghosts have been probed to determine the distribution and asymmetry of component lipids and proteins. For this purpose, a novel combination of freeze-fracture and electron microscope autoradiographic techniques has been developed and tested and a new method of rotary shadow freeze-etching has been evaluated. The role of lipid-lipid and protein-protein interactions in controlling the mobility of cell surface macromolecules has been studied using freeze-fracture, protein extraction and SDS-polyacrylamide gel techniques.