Can movement of proteins in plasma membrane affect control of gene expression?
The cell membrane plays a large role in gene expression. When ligands bind to membrane receptors it initiates an internal signaling pathway that lead to gene expression. For example when the Fas ligand (FasL) binds to the Fas receptor (FasR) it initiates a series of internal signals that lead to apoptosis. This is just one example of the many internal signals that occur to to ligands binding to receptors on the cell membrane. The movement of proteins in the plasma membrane would affect the control of gene expression, but cells have ways of confining particular plasma membrane proteins to localized areas within the bilayer, creating functionally specialized regions. These specialized regions are known as membrane domains on the cell or organelle surface. Proteins can be linked to fixed structures in the extracellular matrix. Receptor proteins, integrins, bind to fibronectin in the extracellular matrix and actin filaments in the intracellular matrix. Integrins play a role in cell signali
