The Plasma Membrane and the Cytoskeleton: A Gateway to Cells for Pathogens or New Targets with Therapeutic Potential?

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In the last century, several contributions were made on the organization and structure of the basic components of the cell, such as the plasma membrane. The fluid mosaic model proposed that the lipid bilayer functioned as a two-dimensional solvent, of neutral character and with little influence on the function of membrane proteins . However, we now know that the plasma membrane contains a large variety of lipids that differ in their properties and that the interactions between these lipids originate heterogeneous structures in the plane of the plasma membrane. In this context, cell migration is a process associated with the plasma membrane and the rearrangement of cytoskeletal proteins that is essential for many processes such as embryonic development, healing, immune responses and tissue development; which like the motility are processes that require the reorganization of cytoskeletal and are able by the entry of extracellular calcium allowing cell adhesion . These mechanisms, until some years ago were understood of an individual form, since the knowledge was not available on the way where the proteins that participate in the mechanisms mentioned above are coordinated spatially and temporally to carry out these functions… Read More

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López-Monteon A, Lagunes-Castro MS, Ramos-Ligonio A. The plasma membrane and the cytoskeleton: A gateway to cells for pathogens or new targets with therapeutic potential? Edorium J Cell Biol 2017;3:4–7.

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