Heterogeneity in the Plasma Membrane Lipids of Eukaryotic Cells

Edidin, Michael; Sessions, Alice

doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1983.tb31670.x

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

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“…In contrast to the difficulties of manipulating lipid composition of homeothermic, mammalian, cells, lipid composition of cells of ectothermic animals can be changed in as response to the temperature of the environment (Edidin and Sessions, 1984;Hazel, 1995). Thus, a good starting point for evaluating the effects of lipids on membrane organization is to work with cells of ectothermic animals living at different temperatures.…”

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Plasma membrane lipid diffusion and composition of sea urchin egg membranes vary with ocean temperature

Weaver¹,

Shaikh²,

Edidin³

2008

Chemistry and Physics of Lipids

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A diverse and complex array of lipids plays a vital role in structuring and organizing cell membranes. However, the details of lipid requirements for global membrane organization are poorly understood. One obstacle to this understanding is the difficulty of accurately manipulating the lipid composition of commonly studied mammalian cells. In contrast, the lipid composition of cells of ectotherms changes with changes in environmental temperatures. Thus, comparison of lipid probe diffusion in cells from animals living at different temperatures, together with biochemical analysis, can be used toward understanding membrane organization. We used two dialkyindocarbocyanine iodide (DiI) probes, of differing chain length, to probe lipid organization in terms of their lateral diffusion in eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. The lateral diffusion of our probes changed in urchins developing in the year of an "El Niño" weather event, which raised the ocean temperature by several degrees, suggesting alterations in membrane domain composition and structure. Indeed the changes in lateral diffusion were correlated with lower levels of unsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol in animals of the "El Niño" year than in animals of the preceding or following years. We found similar trends comparing DiI diffusion in membranes of eggs from 15 degrees C waters with those from 10 degrees C. Our findings establish a new approach for manipulating and studying membrane organization.

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