ON THE ROLE OF LIPIDS IN CELL REGULATORY ECONOMY

Prenylated proteins, which contain a lipid tail, may function to enhan ce the self-assembly of complementary molecular structures by providin g a monomolecular film between the two combining regions so that elect rostatic forces of attraction are greatly increased over that which wo uld be established with water molecules in the intervening spaces. Suc h interactions may be important in DNA regulation, RNA processing, and a variety of protein-protein interactions.