Concluding (closing?) remarks

Abstract

This paper summarizes a series of ideas and/or concepts, most of which were the object of the Faraday Discussion on ‘Structural and functional asymmetry of plasma membranes’. A historical review is provided of the early symmetrical and asymmetrical models for membrane structure. Membrane asymmetry in the framework of evolution is suggested as a possible field of study. Functional membrane asymmetry in experimental models is briefly discussed, and the hypothesis that functional asymmetry preceded structural asymmetry in evolution is proposed. Lipid asymmetry and lipid scrambling in bilayers are presented as two complementary aspects of the same process. The use of sphingomyelinases in experimental studies of asymmetry is criticized, due to the lipid scrambling properties of the sphingomyelinase end-product ceramide. The paper ends with a note on the (apparently?) cyclical nature of scientific research.

Graphical abstract: Concluding (closing?) remarks

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 May 2025
Accepted
25 Jun 2025
First published
26 Jun 2025

Faraday Discuss., 2025, Advance Article

Concluding (closing?) remarks

F. M. Goñi, Faraday Discuss., 2025, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D5FD00091B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements