Lexic.us

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Peripheral membrane protein

1. Membrane proteins that are bound to the surface of the membrane and not integrated into the hydrophobic region. Usually soluble and were originally thought to bind to integral proteins by ionic and other weak forces (and could therefore be removed by high ionic strength, for example). However, it is now clear that some peripheral membrane proteins are covalently linked to molecules that are part of the membrane bilayer (see acylated proteins and glypiation) and that there are others that fit the original definition but are perhps more appropriately considered proteins of the cytoskeleton (e.g. Band 4.1 and spectrin) or extracellular matrix (e.g. Fibronectin). This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Peripheral Membrane Protein

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