Lipid raft

Lipid raft organization, region (1) is a standard lipid bilayer, while region (2) is a lipid raft.

The plasma membranes of cells contain combinations of glycosphingolipids, cholesterol and protein receptors organised in glycolipoprotein lipid microdomains termed lipid rafts.[1][2][3] Their existence in cellular membranes remains controversial. Indeed, Kervin and Overduin imply that lipid rafts are misconstrued protein islands, which they propose form through a proteolipid code.[4] Nonetheless, it has been proposed that they are specialized membrane microdomains which compartmentalize cellular processes by serving as organising centers for the assembly of signaling molecules, allowing a closer interaction of protein receptors and their effectors to promote kinetically favorable interactions necessary for the signal transduction.[5] Lipid rafts influence membrane fluidity and membrane protein trafficking, thereby regulating neurotransmission and receptor trafficking.[3][6] Lipid rafts are more ordered and tightly packed than the surrounding bilayer, but float freely within the membrane bilayer.[7] Although more common in the cell membrane, lipid rafts have also been reported in other parts of the cell, such as the Golgi apparatus and lysosomes.

  1. ^ Thomas, Sunil; Preda-Pais, Anca; Casares, Sofia; Brumeanu, Teodor-D (2004). "Analysis of lipid rafts in T cells". Molecular Immunology. 41 (4): 399–409. doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2004.03.022. PMID 15163537.
  2. ^ Thomas, Sunil; Kumar S., Rajeev; Brumeanu, Teodor−D. (2004). "Role of lipid rafts in T cells". Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis. 52 (4): 215–24. PMID 15467486.
  3. ^ a b Korade, Zeljka; Kenworthy, Anne K. (2008). "Lipid rafts, cholesterol, and the brain". Neuropharmacology. 55 (8): 1265–73. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2008.02.019. PMC 2638588. PMID 18402986.
  4. ^ Kervin, TA; Overduin, M (27 February 2024). "Membranes are functionalized by a proteolipid code". BMC Biology. 22 (1): 46. doi:10.1186/s12915-024-01849-6. PMC 10898092. PMID 38414038.
  5. ^ Alves, Anna Carolina Schneider; Dias, Reinaldo Antonio; Kagami, Luciano Porto; Neves, Gustavo Machado das; Torres, Fernando Cidade; Eifler-Lima, Vera Lucia; Carvalho, Ivone; Kawano*, Carolina de Miranda Silva and Daniel Fabio (2018-05-31). "Beyond the". Current Medicinal Chemistry. 25 (18): 2082–2104. doi:10.2174/0929867325666180111100601. PMID 29332565.
  6. ^ Pike, L. J. (2008). "The challenge of lipid rafts". The Journal of Lipid Research. 50 (Suppl): S323–8. doi:10.1194/jlr.R800040-JLR200. PMC 2674732. PMID 18955730.
  7. ^ Simons, Kai; Ehehalt, Robert (2002). "Cholesterol, lipid rafts, and disease". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 110 (5): 597–603. doi:10.1172/JCI16390. PMC 151114. PMID 12208858.