Function
Biological membranes consist of a phospholipid bilayer and a variety of proteins that accomplish vital biological functions.
- Structural proteins are attached to microfilaments in the cytoskeleton which ensures stability of the cell.
- Cell adhesion molecules allow cells to identify each other and interact. Such proteins are involved in immune response, for example.
- Membrane enzymes produce a variety of substances essential for cell function.
- Membrane receptor proteins serve as connection between the cell's internal and external environments.
- Transport proteins play an important role in the maintenance of concentrations of ions. These transport proteins come in two forms: carrier proteins and channel proteins.
- Cell membranes are the biological membranes that separate the interior of all cells from the outside environment
Read more about this topic: Membrane Protein
Famous quotes containing the word function:
“The art of living is to function in society without doing violence to one’s own needs or to the needs of others. The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)
“Every boy was supposed to come into the world equipped with a father whose prime function was to be our father and show us how to be men. He can escape us, but we can never escape him. Present or absent, dead or alive, real or imagined, our father is the main man in our masculinity.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)
“Nobody seriously questions the principle that it is the function of mass culture to maintain public morale, and certainly nobody in the mass audience objects to having his morale maintained.”
—Robert Warshow (1917–1955)