Abstract
Early studies in to lipids that comprised cellular membranes noted an asymmetrical distribution of lipids between different membranes which contrasted with the contemporary concept of the plasma membrane as a homogeneous mixture of lipid in which both lipids and membrane-associated proteins exhibit unfettered mobility. The ability of lipids to form inhomogeneities capable of restricting lateral mobility has since been demonstrated in both model and cell membranes. It has further been shown that lipids possess the ability to preferentially associate and co-exist in domains rich in particular classes of lipid, most notably cholesterol, sphingolipids, and glycolipids. In cells, ‘rafts’ further appear to be enriched in raft-targeted proteins. These observations have led to the hypothesis that phase-separated domains may act as signaling platforms capable of recruiting proteins thus facilitating their interaction for transduction of cellular signals. Experimental evidence largely based upon detergent isolation of raft domains has since been provided implicating laterally organized lipid domains in a litany of both physiological and pathophysiological processes including T-cell activation, B-cell antigen signaling, thromboregulation, Alzheimers disease and atherosclerosis. However, the field is often criticized for interpretations which may lack physiological relevance due to artifact arising from isolation procedures. Thus, investigators are increasingly looking to spectroscopic techniques to obtain information about phase-separated domains. This review seeks to summarize the current knowledge and understanding of raft structure, and provide a first foray in to the fundamentals and application of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques to characterize attributes and dynamics of cellular lipid microdomains.
Keywords: Lipid raft, Phase separation, Cell signaling, Cellular membrane, Spectroscopic techniques, Lipid probe
Current Analytical Chemistry
Title: Membrane Lipid Domains: Techniques for Visualization and Characterization
Volume: 3 Issue: 1
Author(s): Shane Miersch and Bulent Mutus
Affiliation:
Keywords: Lipid raft, Phase separation, Cell signaling, Cellular membrane, Spectroscopic techniques, Lipid probe
Abstract: Early studies in to lipids that comprised cellular membranes noted an asymmetrical distribution of lipids between different membranes which contrasted with the contemporary concept of the plasma membrane as a homogeneous mixture of lipid in which both lipids and membrane-associated proteins exhibit unfettered mobility. The ability of lipids to form inhomogeneities capable of restricting lateral mobility has since been demonstrated in both model and cell membranes. It has further been shown that lipids possess the ability to preferentially associate and co-exist in domains rich in particular classes of lipid, most notably cholesterol, sphingolipids, and glycolipids. In cells, ‘rafts’ further appear to be enriched in raft-targeted proteins. These observations have led to the hypothesis that phase-separated domains may act as signaling platforms capable of recruiting proteins thus facilitating their interaction for transduction of cellular signals. Experimental evidence largely based upon detergent isolation of raft domains has since been provided implicating laterally organized lipid domains in a litany of both physiological and pathophysiological processes including T-cell activation, B-cell antigen signaling, thromboregulation, Alzheimers disease and atherosclerosis. However, the field is often criticized for interpretations which may lack physiological relevance due to artifact arising from isolation procedures. Thus, investigators are increasingly looking to spectroscopic techniques to obtain information about phase-separated domains. This review seeks to summarize the current knowledge and understanding of raft structure, and provide a first foray in to the fundamentals and application of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques to characterize attributes and dynamics of cellular lipid microdomains.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Miersch Shane and Mutus Bulent, Membrane Lipid Domains: Techniques for Visualization and Characterization, Current Analytical Chemistry 2007; 3 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/157341107779314244
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/157341107779314244 |
Print ISSN 1573-4110 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-6727 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advancements in biomedicine, corrosion inhibition/monitoring, and lubrication of carbon dots
Carbon dots, a class of carbon-based nanomaterials, have garnered substantial interest in various scientific and engineering fields due to their unique properties, including excellent optical properties, outstanding biocompatibility, easy preparation, good dispersity, ultrasmall size, low toxicity and environmental friendliness. This special issue of Current Analytical Chemistry aims to showcase cutting-edge ...read more
Advances in Microfluidic and Sensing Technologies of Biofluids.
Detection of biological fluids is an important means to assess human health and diagnose diseases. Currently, research on blood is relatively mature and widely applied in the medical field. With the development and advancement of microfluidic technology and novel detection methods, attention has turned to human physiological fluids such as ...read more
Analytical methods for environmental and food analysis
In recent years, the study of the chemical composition of food and the environment depends on analytical methods in order to acquire information about the chemical composition, processing, quality control and contamination of soil, water, air, plants and foods, aspects very important for food safety and environmental quality control. There ...read more
Applications of artificial intelligence in chemical analysis
Artificial intelligence (AI) has demonstrated its versatility in almost all scientific fields, especially analytical chemistry, which is leading the way in the integration of AI. According to Chemical Abstract Services, one of the major disciplines contributing to AI-related publications and patents is analytical chemistry. That?s because techniques such as deep ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
Related Articles
-
Aluminum Vaccine Adjuvants: Are they Safe?
Current Medicinal Chemistry Pharmacotherapy in Pedatric PTSD: A Developmentally-Focused Review of the Evidence
Current Psychopharmacology Role of GSK-3 in Cardiac Health: Focusing on Cardiac Remodeling and Heart Failure
Current Drug Targets Emerging Technologies, Recent Developments, and Novel Applications for Drug Metabolite Identification
Current Drug Metabolism Mosaic Brain Aneuploidy in Mental Illnesses: An Association of Low-level post-zygotic Aneuploidy with Schizophrenia and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders
Current Genomics Identification of Privileged Scaffolds from a Diversified Chemical Library forβ-Secretase Inhibition
Letters in Drug Design & Discovery Structural Bases for Substrate and Inhibitor Recognition by Matrix Metalloproteinases
Current Medicinal Chemistry Smart Drugs and Synthetic Androgens for Cognitive and Physical Enhancement: Revolving Doors of Cosmetic Neurology
Current Neuropharmacology The Use of Computational Methods in the Discovery and Design of Kinase Inhibitors
Current Pharmaceutical Design Evaluation of the Risk/Benefit Ratio of Old and New Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry The Role of ER Stress-Induced Apoptosis in Neurodegeneration
Current Alzheimer Research Recent Advances in Selective μ-Opioid Ligands as Evaluated in Animal Models
Central Nervous System Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Impact of Ivabradine on Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients with Ischaemic Chronic Heart Failure
Current Vascular Pharmacology Fluoroquinolones: Blessings Or Curses
Current Drug Targets Transcriptome Profiles of Populus euphratica upon Heat Shock stress
Current Genomics Telomerase Inhibition and Cancer: Might Platinum Based Drugs have a Future as Anti-telomerase Pharmacological Approach?
Current Medicinal Chemistry New Targeted Therapies for Thyroid Cancer
Current Genomics Benzimidazole Derivatives as Kinase Inhibitors
Current Medicinal Chemistry Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Psychological Stress and Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design Epidural Labour Analgesia and Labour Outcome
Current Women`s Health Reviews