Biological membranes are not structurally passive solvents of amphipathic proteins and lipids. Rather, it appears their constituents have evolved intrinsic characteristics that make homogeneous distribution of components unlikely. As a case in point, the concept of lipid rafts has received considerable attention from biologists and biophysicists since the formalization of the hypothesis more than 10 years ago. Today, it is clear that sphingolipid and cholesterol can self-associate into micron-scaled phases in model membranes and that these lipids are involved in the formation of highly dynamic nanoscale heterogeneity in the plasma membrane of living cells. However, it remains unclear whether these entities are manifestations of the same principle. A powerful means by which the molecular organization of rafts can be assessed is through analysis of their functionalized condition. Raft heterogeneity can be activated to coalesce and laterally reorganize/stabilize bioactivity in cell membranes. Evaluation of this property suggests that functional raft heterogeneity arises through principles of lipid-driven phase segregation coupled to additional chemical specificities, probably involving proteins.
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October 2009
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Conference Article|
September 21 2009
Lipid rafts as functional heterogeneity in cell membranes
Daniel Lingwood;
Daniel Lingwood
1Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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Hermann-Josef Kaiser;
Hermann-Josef Kaiser
1Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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Ilya Levental;
Ilya Levental
1Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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Kai Simons
Kai Simons
1
1Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (email simons@mpi-cbg.de).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
April 27 2009
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Biochemical Society
2009
Biochem Soc Trans (2009) 37 (5): 955–960.
Article history
Received:
April 27 2009
Citation
Daniel Lingwood, Hermann-Josef Kaiser, Ilya Levental, Kai Simons; Lipid rafts as functional heterogeneity in cell membranes. Biochem Soc Trans 1 October 2009; 37 (5): 955–960. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0370955
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