Tether (cell biology)
Encyclopedia
Biological cell
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....

s which form bonds
Cell adhesion
Cellular adhesion is the binding of a cell to a surface, extracellular matrix or another cell using cell adhesion molecules such as selectins, integrins, and cadherins. Correct cellular adhesion is essential in maintaining multicellular structure...

 with a substrate and are at the same time subject to a flow can form long thin membrane cylinders called tethers, which connect the adherent area to the main body of the cell. Under physiological conditions, neutrophil tethers can extend to several micrometers.

In biochemistry, a tether is a molecule that carries 1 or 2 carbon intermediates from one active site to another. They are commonly used in lipid synthesis, gluconeogenesis, conversion of pyruvate into Acetyl CoA via PDH complex. Common tethers are lipoate -lysine residue complex associated with dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, which is used for carrying hydroxyethyl from hydroxyethyl TPP. This compound forms Acetyl- CoA, a convergent molecule in metabolic pathways.

Another tether is biotin- lysine residue complex associated with pyruvate carboxylase, an enzyme which plays an importqnt role in gluconeogenesis. It is involved in the production of oxaloacetate from pyruvate.

One of the biological ethers used in the synthesis of fats is a β- mercaptoethylamine-pantothenate complex associated with an acyl carrier protein.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK