The cell membrane, also called the plasma membrane or plasmalemma, is a semipermeable lipid bilayer common to all living cells. It contains a variety of biological molecules, primarily proteins and lipids, which are involved in a vast array of cellular processes. It also serves as the attachment point for both the intracellular cytoskeleton and, if present, the cell wall.
The cell membrane surrounds the cytoplasm of a cell and physically separates the intracellular components from the extracellular environment, thereby serving a mechanical function similar to that of skin. This barrier is able to regulate what enters and exits the cell as it is selectively permeable - cells require a variety of substances to survive and the cell membrane serves as "gatekeeper" to what, and how much, enters and exits. The movement of substances across the membrane can be either passive, occurring without the input of cellular energy, or active, requiring the cell to expend energy moving it across the membrane.
5'-AMPase
plasma membrane marker,
and its activity is concentrated in the smooth muscle plasma
membranes.
PMID: 3040906
5'-Nucleotidase
classical plasma membrane marker.
PMID: 2826161
a stable, quantitative plasma membrane marker
in HeLa S3 cells.
PMID: 45780
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE)
presynaptic plasma membrane marker.
PMID: 2398359
plasma membrane marker enzyme. PMID: 8507304
Adenosine Triphosphatase (ATPase)
Magnesium-dependent
adenosine triphosphatase as a marker enzyme for the plasma
membrane of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
PMID: 14892
yeast plasma membrane marker.
PMID: 6129837
Alkaline Phosphatase
Alkaline Phosphodiesterase I
classical plasma membrane marker.
PMID: 2826161
Cadherin (pan)
a core N-cadherin-catenin complex assembles
in the endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi compartment and is
transported to the plasma membrane where linkage to the actin
cytoskeleton can be established.
PMID: 12604612
CD27
a transmembrane glycoprotein found
exclusively on human T and B lymphocytes. It belongs to a
recently identified receptor family, whose members are involved
in cell differentiation and survival.
PMID: 1311261
belongs to a newly defined family of
transmembrane R, including the nerve growth factor R, two
distinct TNF R and CD40. Upon Ag-specific T cell stimulation,
membrane expression of CD27 is regulated at the RNA level
through the joint action of distinct TCR/CD3-associated
signaling pathways.
PMID: 1707907
CD40
a membrane glycoprotein expressed on normal
and neoplastic B lymphocytes.
PMID: 9056740
CD40 receptors on human monocyte-derived DCs
associate with sphingolipid- and cholesterol-rich plasma
membrane microdomains, termed membrane rafts.
PMID: 10880443
CD95-ligand (CD95-L) (Fas-L)
expressed on the plasma
membrane of human activated, but not resting, Langerhans' cells.
PMID: 14705811
Keratinocytes constitutively express the CD95
ligand molecule on the plasma membrane: an in situ
immunoelectron microscopy study on ultracryosections of normal
human skin.
PMID: 12100178
Concanavalin A
Concanavalin A could be used unambiguously as
an exogenous plasma membrane marker of intact protoplasts.
PMID: 6129837
Cytochrome B
can be measured by its light-induced
absorbance change and may serve as a marker for the plant plasma
membrane.
PMID: 16662693
Ezrin
belongs to a family of
plasma membrane-cytoskeleton linking, actin binding proteins (Ezrin-radixin-Moesin
family) involved in signal transduction, growth control,
cell-cell adhesion, and microvilli formation.
PMID: 9853258
FADD
the 62 kDa FadD enzyme is a substrate for the
outer membrane protease OmpT in vitro, producing a 43 kDa
C-terminal fragment and a 19 kDa N-terminal fragment.
PMID: 11736662
FM1-43
a membrane-impermeable lipid marker.
PMID: 15710604
Gamma-Glutamyltransferase
has been found to be entirely plasma membrane
in location but has a different distribution pattern when
compared with other plasma membrane markers.
PMID: 7371635
Grb2
Grb2 and BLNK cooperate to localize Vav into
membrane rafts, thereby contributing to optimal activation of
Vav in B cells.
PMID: 12818159
HA 4 and CE 9
the integral plasma membrane protein
antigens, localized to the bile canalicular and
sinusoidal/lateral domains, respectively, of the hepatocyte
plasma membrane in rat liver tissue.
PMID: 2984213
HLA class I antigen
a plasma membrane
marker.
PMID: 2181625
LPM
liver plasma membrane marker.
PMID: 3623011
Leucine Aminopeptidase (LAP)/Leucine
2-Naphthylamidase
a specific marker for the bile canalicular
(BC) domain of the rat hepatocyte plasma membrane (PM).
PMID: 6201493,
PMID: 6371022
a domain-specific marker for the hepatocyte
plasma membrane.
PMID: 6304108
PC-1
Plasma cell membrane
glycoprotein 1.
PMID: 15209435
periodic NADH oxidase
an enzyme marker for right side-out plasma
membrane vesicles not requiring detergent disruptions of
vesicles for measurement of activity.
PMID: 10942307
localized at the apical and basal plasma
membrane of syncytiotrophoblasts and at the surface of
cytotrophoblasts in term chorionic villi using immunoelectron
microscopy
Pma1
a plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase whose activity
at the cell surface is essential for cell viability.
PMID: 11481477
a very abundant polytopic membrane protein,
and its localization and activity at the plasma membrane are
essential for cell viability and growth.
PMID: 16928681
a plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase, is an
essential and long-lived integral membrane protein.
PMID: 12244215
PMCA (plasma membrane Ca2+ transport ATPase)
Immunohistochemistry showed that PMCA immunoreactions were restricted to the osteoidal domain of the plasma membrane. PMID: 15542032
RLPM
rabbit liver plasma membrane marker.
PMID: 3623011
TNF-R1
TNF-R1 is found on the cell surface but
principally localizes to the trans-Golgi network, TRADD is
concentrated in the cis- or medial-Golgi region, but separates
from the Golgi during cell fractionation.
PMID: 9916731
Other Plasma Membrane Markers
cytoplasmic and plasma membrane marker enzymes: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). PMID: 8507304
K(+)-stimulated Mg(2+)-dependent ATPase and
glucan synthetase II are two tentative markers for the plant
plasma membrane.
PMID: 16662693
Silicotungstic acid, an indicative stain for the plasma membrane, stained the vesicles recovered from the upper phase, but failed to stain the membranes partitioning in the lower phase or at the interface. PMID: 16662693
(poly) Phosphoinositide phosphorylation is a
marker for plasma membrane in Friend erythroleukaemic cells.
PMID: 6959824
Trypan Blue as a marker of plasma membrane
permeability in alloxan-treated mouse islet cells.
PMID: 226577
Isolation and characterization of the plasma
membrane of L-1210 cells. Iodination as a marker for the plasma
membrane.
PMID: 168926
Colloidal lanthanum as a marker for impaired
plasma membrane permeability in ischemic dog myocardium.
PMID: 1146960
Properties of a synthetic plasma membrane
marker: fluorescent-mercury-dextran.
PMID: 4272697
A fluorescent chemical marker for the liver
cell plasma membrane.
PMID: 6048244
Cytochemical localization of plasma membrane
enzyme markers during interiorization of tachyzoites of
Toxoplasma gondii by macrophages.
PMID: 2542539
Canine neutrophil plasma membrane markers.
PMID: 2983765