ABSTRACT
The role of membranes in diseases has been discussed since decades (Goldberg and Riordan 1986, Escriba et al. 2008, Ashrafuzzaman and Tuszynski 2013). Disruption of lipid metabolic enzymes and pathways has been shown to be involved in diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative, and some forms of diabetes and obesity. Considering the multifunctional role of membranes, compartmentalization of cells and organelles, anchoring cell wall components or cytoskeleton, signaling and regulating transport across the lipid membrane, etc., it is conceivable that membrane abnormalities affect its physiological behavior. However, there is no coherent scheme by which diseases caused by changes in cell membranes can be classied owing to the diversity of perturbation, which can be due to changes occurring in the lipid bilayer, membrane proteins or in the cytoskeleton (PetitZeman 2004, Ashrafuzzaman and Tuszynski 2013). Given the importance of membrane lipid composition to maintain the topology, mobility, or activity of membrane proteins and to ensure normal cell physiology, cells have developed robust mechanisms to maintain membrane lipid homeostasis (Oresic et al. 2008). Hence concepts for medical compounds that interfere with one or several of the above named functions may be developed.
