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Membrane lipids are a group of compounds (structurally similar to fats and oils) which form the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The three major classes of membrane lipids are phospholipids, glycolipids, and cholesterol. Lipids are amphiphilic: they have one end that is soluble in water ('polar') and an ending that is soluble in fat ...
Lipid droplets, also referred to as lipid bodies, oil bodies or adiposomes, [1] are lipid-rich cellular organelles that regulate the storage and hydrolysis of neutral lipids and are found largely in the adipose tissue. [2] They also serve as a reservoir for cholesterol and acyl-glycerols for membrane formation and maintenance.
Only certain classes of lipids can form bilayers. Two factors primarily govern whether a lipid will form a bilayer or not: solubility and shape. For a self assembled structure such as a bilayer to form, the lipid should have a low solubility in water, which can also be described as a low critical micelle concentration (CMC). [5]
The fatty acid structure is one of the most fundamental categories of biological lipids and is commonly used as a building-block of more structurally complex lipids. The carbon chain, typically between four and 24 carbons long, [ 23 ] may be saturated or unsaturated , and may be attached to functional groups containing oxygen , halogens ...
Structure of a chylomicron (the largest lipoprotein). ApoA , ApoB , ApoC , ApoE are apolipoproteins ; green particles are phospholipids ; T is triglyceride ; C is cholesterol ester . A lipoprotein is a biochemical assembly whose primary function is to transport hydrophobic lipid (also known as fat ) molecules in water, as in blood plasma or ...
Neutral fats, also known as true fats, are simple lipids that are produced by the dehydration synthesis of one or more fatty acids with an alcohol like glycerol. Neutral fats are also known as triacylglycerols, [ 1 ] these lipids are dense as well as hydrophobic due to their long carbon chain and are there main function is to store energy.
Bottom: 9, lipid bilayer of bacteria and eukaryotes; 10, lipid monolayer of some archaea. Glycerophospholipids or phosphoglycerides are glycerol-based phospholipids. They are the main component of biological membranes in eukaryotic cells. They are a type of lipid, of which its composition affects membrane structure and properties. [1]
Lipid raft organization, region (1) is a standard lipid bilayer, while region (2) is a lipid raft. The plasma membranes of cells contain combinations of glycosphingolipids, cholesterol and protein receptors organized in glycolipoprotein lipid microdomains termed lipid rafts. [1] [2] [3] Their existence in cellular membranes remains controversial.