Lipids build the membranes that surround the cell and separate its internal compartments from each other. This is what gives each compartment in the cell its own identity and makes normal cell function possible. For this system to work, lipids must constantly be transported precisely between different membranes. This is a process that scientists have long had limited understanding of.
First study of its kind
To better understand this, researchers at the University of Geneva and EMBL used two experimental approaches. They studied lipid transport proteins directly in human cells and in artificial membrane systems, and used mass spectrometry to identify which lipids were bound to the proteins. In total, they analyzed 35 proteins and hundreds of lipid-protein combinations, many of which were previously unknown.
“This is the first study of its kind on this scale. It gives us a real map of the traffic inside the cells. About who is transporting what, and where,” says Reuter.
Read the whole story here: https://www.uib.no/aktuelt/181139/forskere-har-laget-det-f%C3%B8rste-kartet-over-lipidtransport-i-celler