What is the difference between apical and basolateral membrane?
The apical membrane faces the lumen and is rich in PAR and Crumbs protein complexes. The basolateral membrane contains the Scribble complex and faces the extracellular matrix.
What are apical and basolateral domains?
To accomplish this, epithelial cells generate molecularly distinct domains along their plasma membranes: an apical domain that is exposed to the outside, a basolateral domain that contacts the interior, and, in between, an adhesion complex that holds the cell sheet together.
What does the basolateral membrane?
The term basolateral refers to the membrane on the base and sides of the cell. The basolateral membrane forms a barrier between the cell and the blood and/or other cells. The basolateral membrane’s main function is to transport nutrients from the cell to the blood plasma through specialised protein transporters.
Where is the basolateral membrane?
Overview. The basolateral membrane of a polarized cell is the part of the plasma membrane that forms its basal and lateral surfaces, distinct from the apical (or lumenal) surface. This is particularly evident in epithelial cells, but also describes other polarized cells, such as neurons.
What is the difference between apical and basal surface?
The bottom edge of the epithelial tissue next to the basement membrane is the basal surface. In contrast, the edge of the epithelial tissue facing the lumen or the external environment is called the apical surface.
What is basolateral domain?
Basolateral membranes In the context of renal tubule physiology, the term basolateral membrane or serosal membrane refers to the cell membrane which is oriented away from the lumen of the tubule, whereas the term luminal membrane or apical membrane refers to the cell membrane which is oriented towards the lumen.
Is basolateral the same as basal?
“Basolateral membrane” is a compound phrase referring to the terms basal (base) membrane and lateral (side) membrane, which, especially in epithelial cells, are essentially functionally identical in composition and activity.
Which side is basolateral membrane?
The basolateral cell membrane is the fraction of the plasma membrane at the basolateral side of the cell, which faces adjacent cells and the underlying connective tissue.
What does basolateral side mean?
Medical Definition of basolateral : situated below and toward the side : located in or on the base and one or more sides Epithelia permit selective and regulated flux from apical to basolateral surfaces …—