Abstract
The key membrane of the cell, the plasma membrane, contains a set of specific proteins that affect many aspects of the cell's behavior. Certain peripheral proteins at the interior surface, in association with integral membrane proteins, form the membrane skeleton to provide mechanical stability and morphology of the cell. Various transmembrane proteins provide a passage way across the membrane for certain molecules. Still others bind signaling molecules, or provide anchors for components of the other cells or the extracellular matrix at the outer surface of the plasma membrane. This review article the physiological function of several characteristic membrane proteins and their dysfunction resulting in various genetic disorders in humans and animals.
