Abstract
This chapter reviews fluid-lipid bilayer hypothesis that has become the model on which the understanding of lipid structure and the way proteins interact with lipids is based. The chapter discusses the understanding of lateral lipid domains in membranes and their effect on protein functions. Bulk membrane lipid composition is the primary determinant of bulk membrane structure, which in turn regulates the activities of membrane lipid-dependent enzymes. Two classes of lipid domains in membranes now recognized are—macroscopic lateral lipid domains and microscopic lateral lipid domains. The function of lipid domains in membranes is not known. It is believed that lateral microdomains can buffer the integral membrane proteins embedded therein from structural changes occurring elsewhere in the membrane. Moreover, insertion of a membrane protein and refolding in the lipid bilayer requires lipid microdomains to be fluid.
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