Membrane Conformation and the Modulation of Cell Function

Several biological processes rely on fine-tuned interactions between the membrane and its microenvironment. Biological membranes are predominantly arranged as lipid bilayers. Bilayers are flat structures on the length scale of molecules. However, at a larger length scale many membranes acquire shapes that deviate from the planar one. Membrane shape can modulate biological activity on a larger length scale. However, an emerging concept is that membrane conformation and conformational changes, which occur at large length scales, can trigger biological responses at the molecular level. This represents a modern concept of membrane biology, which is likely to have broad applicability.