∞ generated and posted on 2016.08.24 ∞
Amino acid-based polymeric substance that is found embedded in or penetrating into the hydrophobic interior of lipid bilayers.
To become an integral membrane protein, the cell must intentionally insert it there. Thus, only certain proteins within a cell are integral membrane proteins, though all membrane transport proteins are integral membrane proteins.
Study of integral membrane proteins, particularly their three-dimensional structure, can be relatively difficult as a consequence of relatively low stabilities when extracted, using detergents, from membranes.