Polarity decrease at the adhesive junction between two model membranes containing gangliosides

Biophysics of sphingolipids II. Glycosphingolipids: An assortment of multiple structural information transducers at the membrane surface

Glycosphingolipids are ubiquitous components of animal cell membranes. They are constituted by the basic structure of ceramide with its hydroxyl group linked to single carbohydrates or oligosaccharide chains of different complexity. The combination of the properties of their hydrocarbon moiety with those derived from the variety and complexity of their hydrophilic polar head groups confers to these lipids an extraordinary capacity for molecular-to-supramolecular transduction across the lateral/transverse planes in biomembranes and beyond. In our opinion, most of the advances made over the last decade on the biophysical behavior of glycosphingolipids can be organized into three related aspects of increasing structural complexity: (1) intrinsic codes: local molecular interactions of glycosphingolipids translated into structural self-organization. (2) Surface topography: projection of molecular shape and miscibility of glycosphingolipids into formation of coexisting membrane domains. (3) Beyond the membrane interface: glycosphingolipid as modulators of structural topology, bilayer recombination and surface biocatalysis.

Lateral inhomogeneous lipid membranes: theoretical aspects

The physical concepts underlying the lateral distribution of the components forming a lamellar assembly of amphiphiles are discussed in this review. The role of amphiphiles' molecular structure and/or aqueous environment (ionic strength, water soluble substances) on formation and stability of lateral patterns is investigated. A considerable effort is devoted to the analysis of the properties of patterned structure which can be different from those of randomly mixed multi-component lamellae. Examples include adhesion and fusion among laterally inhomogeneous bilayers, enhanced interfacial adsorption of ions and polymers, enhanced transport across the bilayer, modified mechanical properties, local stabilization of non-planar geometries (pores, edges) and related phenomena (electroporation, budding transition and so on). Furthermore, an analysis of chemical reactivity within or at the water interface of a laterally inhomogeneous bilayer is briefly discussed. A link between these concepts and experimental findings taken from the biological literature is attempted throughout the review.