A special section on the many active roles of membrane lipids in the structure, function, and ligand recognition of integral membrane proteins such as GPCRs and ion channels is planned for publication in the April 2023 issue of Molecular Pharmacology.

The submission deadline is September 12, 2022.

The roles of cell membranes in the proper localization, structure, and function of integral membrane proteins are well established. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that membrane lipids play more sophisticated roles in protein function. For example, lipids may directly or indirectly act as allosteric modulators of signaling receptors and ion channels to regulate their function. Further, the diversity in the lipid composition and biophysical properties of membranes in different organelles by determining conformational dynamics of receptors can drive spatial bias in signaling and functional outcomes. This special issue will broadly cover original research and review articles on how membrane lipids regulate integral membrane proteins.

Original research manuscripts on the various roles of the membrane lipids on the allosteric modulation, biased signaling, conformational dynamics, and ligand binding kinetics of the integral membrane proteins will be considered. Manuscripts describing innovative chemical, biophysical, in vitro/ex vivo, -omics, and computational approaches to advance the understanding of how the membrane lipids (including their composition and biophysical properties) affect the pharmacology of integral membrane proteins, are highly encouraged.

Review articles addressing any aspects of the structural and functional roles of membrane lipids will also be considered. Proposals for such articles should be sent to the guest editors, Senthil Natesan (senthil.natesan@wsu.edu) and Manoj Puthenveedu (puthenve@umich.edu), for approval before submission.