Lipid-protein interplay and lateral organization in biomembranes

• Lateral organization of membrane components may regulate cellular processes.
• Lipid self-organization may govern the lateral distribution of proteins in biomembranes.
• Transmembrane proteins may influence the lateral organization of lipids.
• There still is much to learn about what governs the lateral structuring in cell membranes.

The distribution of lipids and membrane proteins within and between cellular membranes is carefully regulated. This sorting of lipids and proteins results in compositional differences between membrane compartments, bilayer leaflets, and lateral domains in the bilayer plane. The lateral organization of lipids and proteins has proven challenging to investigate, and the driving mechanisms remains unclear. Lipid self-organization has an essential role in the formation of lateral membrane structure, but the role of transmembrane proteins is not well known. This review focuses on how lateral lipid structure can affect the lateral distribution of proteins and how proteins could influence the organization of lipids in biomembranes.

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