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StarD7 protein forms stable Gibbs and Langmuir monolayers at the air-buffer interface showing marked surface activity. The latter is enhanced by penetration into phospholipid films at an initial surface pressure above the protein's own equilibrium adsorption surface pressure to a lipid-free interface. The protein-phospholipid stabilizing interactions at the interface depend on the lipid, with preference for phosphatidylserine, cholesterol, and phosphatidylglycerol, and the increases of lateral surface pressure generated are comparable to those of other membrane-active proteins. The surface activity of StarD7 is strong enough to thermodynamically drive and retain StarD7 at the lipid membrane interface where it may undergo lipid-dependent reorganization as indicated by changes of surface pressure and electrostatics.

c-Fos, a transcription factor, associates to endoplasmic reticulum and modulates phospholipid biosynthesis. Its surface thermodynamic properties allow it to differentially interact with phospholipid monolayers with a selective dependence on the lipid polar head group and the lateral surface pressure. We explored the c-Fos ability to modulate phospholipid degradation by phospholipases (ppPLA2, Bacillus cereus PLC, and sphingomyelinase) using the monolayer technique. Experiments conducted under constant packing conditions show that c-Fos modulates phospholipase activity in a finely tuned way, depending on the membrane intermolecular packing. Surface lateral pressures above 12-16 mN/m induce c-Fos to activate phospholipase A2 and sphingomyelinase, and abolish phospholipase C activity. The effects of c-Fos on other steps of the catalytic process, lag-time and extent, are synergic with those on activity. We show for the first time that c-Fos participates in modulating phospholipid degradation and that it can affect the formation of lipid second messenger products by PLA2, PLC, and sphingomyelinase.