Biochemical and Biophysical Analysis of Membranes and Lipids

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editors

Hanaa Hariri

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

Hanaa Hariri finished her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Beirut, Lebanon. She moved to the United States to pursue a PhD degree in Molecular Biophysics at Florida State University where she studied the mechanisms of protein-mediated membrane deformation in exocytosis using in vitro reconstitution and cryogenic electron tomography. She then moved to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas to complete her postdoctoral training in the Department of Cell Biology where she studies inter-organelle communication and the spatial compartmentalization of lipid metabolism at membrane contact sites. In January 2021, Hanaa will start her research lab at Wayne State University studying cellular aspects of metabolic organization and molecular integration of metabolic networks.

Mike Renne

University of Oxford

Dr. Mike Renne obtained a BSc and an MSc in Chemistry at Utrecht University (The Netherlands), and received his PhD in 2019 at Utrecht University. His doctoral work was conducted in the lab of Dr. Toon de Kroon, at the Membrane Biochemistry & Biophysics research group, where he studied the role of lipid biosynthesis and transport in the regulation of the lipid acyl chain composition in yeast. Currently, Mike is a postdoctoral research assistant in the lab of Prof. Dr. Pedro Carvalho, at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford (United Kingdom).

Collection Overview

Biological membranes consist of a complex mixture of lipid molecules, and membrane lipids play a key role in determining physical properties of the membrane, required for proper function. In addition, membrane lipids can be converted to neutral lipids as a means of energy storage. The lipid composition differs between organelle membranes and is tightly regulated, indicating a key role for lipids in membrane functioning. Supporting this notion, aberrant membrane lipid composition causes cellular stress, and is associated with the pathology of several diseases.

This methods collection focuses on the biochemical and biophysical analysis of membranes and lipids. Lipid analytical methods to be considered include classical methods, such as thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis of lipid class composition, and gas chromatrography (GC) analysis of acyl chain composition, as well as mass spectrometry based lipidomics approaches. Examples of methods for the analysis of membrane properties include: analysis of thermotropic properties by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), membrane polarity determination using fluorescent probes, and membrane leakage assays. Finally, other relevant membrane and lipid related methods, such as assays of lipid binding and/or lipid transport, (pulse) labeling approaches, artificial membrane studies, lipid metabolic assays, and subcellular fractionation approaches will also be included.