Journal Article

The mystery of membrane organization: composition, regulation and roles of lipid rafts

Mayor, Satyajit, Sezgin, Erdinc, Levental, Ilya, Eggeling, Christian

2017

Overview

Key Points Cellular membranes are laterally heterogeneous and consist of transient and dynamic domains with varying properties, which prominently include ordered lipid-driven domains that are referred to as lipid (or membrane) rafts. Membrane domains can be induced and regulated by a variety of interactions, which include specific lipid–lipid and lipid–protein interactions, bulk membrane properties, and interactions between membrane components and the underlying cytoskeleton. Advanced microscopy and biochemistry techniques facilitate the study of membrane domains; however, these domains still elude direct in vivo visualization. The multiplicity of possible organizational states and their context-dependent nature most likely account for experimental inconsistencies. Membrane rafts potentially have crucial physiological roles across cell types that range from immune cells to cancer cells. Membrane domains are conserved throughout the domains of life, which supports their functional importance in biological systems. Lipid rafts are relatively ordered membrane domains that are enriched in cholesterol and saturated lipids, and selectively recruit other lipids and proteins. They are dynamic and heterogeneous in composition and are thus challenging to visualize in vivo . New technologies are providing novel insights into the formation, organization and functions of these membrane domains. Cellular plasma membranes are laterally heterogeneous, featuring a variety of distinct subcompartments that differ in their biophysical properties and composition. A large number of studies have focused on understanding the basis for this heterogeneity and its physiological relevance. The membrane raft hypothesis formalized a physicochemical principle for a subtype of such lateral membrane heterogeneity, in which the preferential associations between cholesterol and saturated lipids drive the formation of relatively packed (or ordered) membrane domains that selectively recruit certain lipids and proteins. Recent studies have yielded new insights into this mechanism and its relevance in vivo , owing primarily to the development of improved biochemical and biophysical technologies.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 631/45/287/1192 / 631/45/612/1237 / 631/57/2270 / 631/57/2271 / 631/92/314 / Animals / Biochemistry / Biology / Cancer Research / Cell Biology / Cell Membrane - chemistry / Cell Membrane - metabolism / Cell membranes / Cell research / Cholesterol / Developmental Biology / Heterogeneity / Humans / Life Sciences / Lipid metabolism / Lipids / Membrane Lipids - chemistry / Membrane Lipids - metabolism / Membrane Microdomains - chemistry / Membrane Microdomains - metabolism / Membranes / Properties / Proteins / review-article / Stem Cells