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An integral, or intrinsic, membrane protein (IMP) [1] is a type of membrane protein that is permanently attached to the biological membrane. All transmembrane proteins can be classified as IMPs, but not all IMPs are transmembrane proteins. [2] IMPs comprise a significant fraction of the proteins encoded in an organism's genome. [3]
The regulatory protein subunits of many ion channels and transmembrane receptors, for example, may be defined as peripheral membrane proteins. In contrast to integral membrane proteins, peripheral membrane proteins tend to collect in the water-soluble component, or fraction, of all the proteins extracted during a protein purification procedure.
Peripheral membrane proteins are temporarily attached either to the lipid bilayer or to integral proteins by a combination of hydrophobic, electrostatic, and other non-covalent interactions. Peripheral proteins dissociate following treatment with a polar reagent, such as a solution with an elevated pH or high salt concentrations. [citation needed]
Schematic representation of transmembrane proteins: 1) a single-pass membrane protein 2) a multipass membrane protein (α-helix) 3) a multipass membrane protein β-sheet. The membrane is represented in light yellow. A transmembrane protein is a type of integral membrane protein that spans the entirety of the cell membrane.
These transmembrane proteins possess a large number of alpha helices immersed in the lipid matrix. In bacteria these proteins are present in the beta lamina form. [4] This structure probably involves a conduit through hydrophilic protein environments that cause a disruption in the highly hydrophobic medium formed by the lipids. [1]
Intramembrane proteases are integral membrane proteins that are polytopic transmembrane proteins with multiple transmembrane helices. [5] [17] Their active sites are located within the transmembrane helices and form an aqueous environment within the hydrophobic lipid bilayer.
The MIP family is large and diverse, possessing thousands of members that form transmembrane channels. These channel proteins function in transporting water, small carbohydrates (e.g., glycerol), urea, NH 3, CO 2, H 2 O 2 and ions by energy-independent mechanisms.
A membrane transport protein is a membrane protein involved in the movement of ions, small molecules, and macromolecules, such as another protein, across a biological membrane. Transport proteins are integral transmembrane proteins ; that is they exist permanently within and span the membrane across which they transport substances.