Function (biology)

Cytoplasm

Cell biology

Membrane protein

Biology

Integral membrane protein

Glycerophospholipid

Dynamics (music)

Lipid bilayer

Biochemistry

Acoustics

Flippase

Computational biology

Organelle

Physics

Membrane

Phosphatidylserine

Subcellular localization

Phospholipid

Lipid metabolism

Chemistry

Phospholipid scramblase

Membrane contact site

Biophysics

Membrane biology

Membrane lipids

Journal of Biological Chemistry

Membrane biology seeks to understand how lipids and proteins within bilayers assemble into large structures such as organelles and the plasma membranes. Historically, lipids were thought to merely provide structural support for bilayer formation and membrane protein function. Research has now revealed that phospholipid metabolism regulates nearly all cellular processes. Sophisticated techniques helped identify >10,000 lipid species suggesting that lipids support many biological processes. Here, we highlight the synthesis of the most abundant glycerophospholipid classes and their distribution in organelles. We review vesicular and nonvesicular transport pathways shuttling lipids between organelles and discuss lipid regulators of membrane trafficking and second messengers in eukaryotic cells.

Phospholipid subcellular localization and dynamics