What minimal set of molecular characteristics leads to liquid–liquid phase separation in bilayer membranes?
To disambiguate the sterol–lipids in this study from others in the literature, ACGal, or 6-O-acyl-β-D-galactopyranoside, refers to a mixture of sterol–lipids with different acyl chains, one of which is BbGL-1 (22). Similarly, CAG, or cholesteryl-6-O-tetradecanoyl-α-D-glucopyranoside differs from BbGL-1 by having only 14 carbons (rather than 16) in ...
single, joined “sterol–lipid” molecules to replace both a sterol and a phospholipid in membranes undergoing liquid–liquid phase separatio
the smallest number of components that has produced large-scale, liquid–liquid phase separation in bilayers has stubbornly remained at three: a sterol, a phospholipid with ordered chains, and a phospholipid with disordered chains.
However, in most biological contexts, lipid molecules are in liquid phases: They diffuse freely in the membrane, and their carbon chains are not rigid.
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