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Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences: CMLS logoLink to Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences: CMLS
. 2006 Nov 13;63(24):2908–2921. doi: 10.1007/s00018-006-6167-7

Lipid flippases and their biological functions

T Pomorski 1,, A K Menon 2
PMCID: PMC11136118  PMID: 17103115

Abstract.

The typically distinct phospholipid composition of the two leaflets of a membrane bilayer is generated and maintained by bi-directional transport (flip-flop) of lipids between the leaflets. Specific membrane proteins, termed lipid flippases, play an essential role in this transport process. Energy-independent flippases allow common phospholipids to equilibrate rapidly between the two monolayers and also play a role in the biosynthesis of a variety of glycoconjugates such as glycosphingolipids, N-glycoproteins, and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins. ATP-dependent flippases, including members of a conserved subfamily of P-type ATPases and ATP-binding cassette transporters, mediate the net transfer of specific phospholipids to one leaflet of a membrane and are involved in the creation and maintenance of transbilayer lipid asymmetry of membranes such as the plasma membrane of eukaryotes. Energy-dependent flippases also play a role in the biosynthesis of glycoconjugates such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide. This review summarizes recent progress on the identification and characterization of the various flippases and the demonstration of their biological functions.

Keywords. Membrane assembly, membrane asymmetry, lipid flip-flop, N-glycosylation, ABC transporter, P-type ATPase, scramblase, vesicle budding

Footnotes

Received 12 April 2006; received after revision 22 June 2006; accepted 30 August 2006


Articles from Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences: CMLS are provided here courtesy of Springer

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