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Trends in Cell Biology May 2020The lipid raft hypothesis postulates that lipid-lipid interactions can laterally organize biological membranes into domains of distinct structures, compositions, and... (Review)
Review
The lipid raft hypothesis postulates that lipid-lipid interactions can laterally organize biological membranes into domains of distinct structures, compositions, and functions. This proposal has in equal measure exhilarated and frustrated membrane research for decades. While the physicochemical principles underlying lipid-driven domains has been explored and is well understood, the existence and relevance of such domains in cells remains elusive, despite decades of research. Here, we review the conceptual underpinnings of the raft hypothesis and critically discuss the supporting and contradicting evidence in cells, focusing on why controversies about the composition, properties, and even the very existence of lipid rafts remain unresolved. Finally, we highlight several recent breakthroughs that may resolve existing controversies and suggest general approaches for moving beyond questions of the existence of rafts and towards understanding their physiological significance.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Membrane Lipids; Membrane Microdomains; Models, Biological; Nanoparticles
PubMed: 32302547
DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2020.01.009 -
Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology Jun 2017Cellular plasma membranes are laterally heterogeneous, featuring a variety of distinct subcompartments that differ in their biophysical properties and composition. A... (Review)
Review
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.
Topics: Animals; Cell Membrane; Humans; Membrane Lipids; Membrane Microdomains
PubMed: 28356571
DOI: 10.1038/nrm.2017.16 -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2019Alterations on the immune system caused by omega-3 fatty acids have been described for 30 years. This family of polyunsaturated fatty acids exerts major alterations on... (Review)
Review
Alterations on the immune system caused by omega-3 fatty acids have been described for 30 years. This family of polyunsaturated fatty acids exerts major alterations on the activation of cells from both the innate and the adaptive immune system, although the mechanisms for such regulation are diverse. First, as a constitutive part of the cellular membrane, omega-3 fatty acids can regulate cellular membrane properties, such as membrane fluidity or complex assembly in lipid rafts. In recent years, however, a new role for omega-3 fatty acids and their derivatives as signaling molecules has emerged. In this review, we describe the latest findings describing the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on different cells from the immune system and their possible molecular mechanisms.
Topics: Adaptive Immunity; Animals; Cell Membrane; Fatty Acids, Omega-3; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Membrane Fluidity; Membrane Microdomains
PubMed: 31614433
DOI: 10.3390/ijms20205028 -
Chemical Reviews Dec 2018Lipid membranes can spontaneously organize their components into domains of different sizes and properties. The organization of membrane lipids into nanodomains might... (Review)
Review
Lipid membranes can spontaneously organize their components into domains of different sizes and properties. The organization of membrane lipids into nanodomains might potentially play a role in vital functions of cells and organisms. Model membranes represent attractive systems to study lipid nanodomains, which cannot be directly addressed in living cells with the currently available methods. This review summarizes the knowledge on lipid nanodomains in model membranes and exposes how their specific character contrasts with large-scale phase separation. The overview on lipid nanodomains in membranes composed of diverse lipids (e.g., zwitterionic and anionic glycerophospholipids, ceramides, glycosphingolipids) and cholesterol aims to evidence the impact of chemical, electrostatic, and geometric properties of lipids on nanodomain formation. Furthermore, the effects of curvature, asymmetry, and ions on membrane nanodomains are shown to be highly relevant aspects that may also modulate lipid nanodomains in cellular membranes. Potential mechanisms responsible for the formation and dynamics of nanodomains are discussed with support from available theories and computational studies. A brief description of current fluorescence techniques and analytical tools that enabled progress in lipid nanodomain studies is also included. Further directions are proposed to successfully extend this research to cells.
Topics: Fluorescence; Membrane Lipids; Membrane Microdomains; Nanostructures
PubMed: 30362705
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00322 -
Cancer Metastasis Reviews Jun 2020
Topics: Caveolin 1; Cellular Senescence; Humans; Lipid Metabolism; Membrane Microdomains; Neoplasms
PubMed: 32417991
DOI: 10.1007/s10555-020-09894-7 -
Cancer Metastasis Reviews Jun 2020Flotillins 1 and 2 are two ubiquitous, highly conserved homologous proteins that assemble to form heterotetramers at the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane in... (Review)
Review
Flotillins 1 and 2 are two ubiquitous, highly conserved homologous proteins that assemble to form heterotetramers at the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane in cholesterol- and sphingolipid-enriched domains. Flotillin heterotetramers can assemble into large oligomers to form molecular scaffolds that regulate the clustering of at the plasma membrane and activity of several receptors. Moreover, flotillins are upregulated in many invasive carcinomas and also in sarcoma, and this is associated with poor prognosis and metastasis formation. When upregulated, flotillins promote plasma membrane invagination and induce an endocytic pathway that allows the targeting of cargo proteins in the late endosomal compartment in which flotillins accumulate. These late endosomes are not degradative, and participate in the recycling and secretion of protein cargos. The cargos of this Upregulated Flotillin-Induced Trafficking (UFIT) pathway include molecules involved in signaling, adhesion, and extracellular matrix remodeling, thus favoring the acquisition of an invasive cellular behavior leading to metastasis formation. Thus, flotillin presence from the plasma membrane to the late endosomal compartment influences the activity, and even modifies the trafficking and fate of key protein cargos, favoring the development of diseases, for instance tumors. This review summarizes the current knowledge on flotillins and their role in cancer development focusing on their function in cellular membrane remodeling and vesicular trafficking regulation.
Topics: Animals; Carcinogenesis; Cell Membrane; Humans; Membrane Microdomains; Membrane Proteins; Neoplasms
PubMed: 32297092
DOI: 10.1007/s10555-020-09873-y -
Biochemistry Dec 2020The time-averaged lateral organization of the lipids and proteins that make up mammalian cell membranes continues to be the subject of intense interest and debate. Since... (Review)
Review
The time-averaged lateral organization of the lipids and proteins that make up mammalian cell membranes continues to be the subject of intense interest and debate. Since the introduction of the fluid mosaic model almost 50 years ago, the "lipid raft hypothesis" has emerged as a popular concept that has captured the imagination of a large segment of the biomembrane community. In particular, the notion that lipid rafts play a pivotal role in cellular processes such as signal transduction and membrane protein trafficking is now favored by many investigators. Despite the attractiveness of lipid rafts, their composition, size, lifetime, biological function, and even the very existence remain controversial. The central tenet that underlies this hypothesis is that cholesterol and high-melting lipids have favorable interactions (i.e., they pull together), which lead to transient domains. Recent nearest-neighbor recognition (NNR) studies have expanded the lipid raft hypothesis to include the influence that low-melting lipids have on the organization of lipid membranes. Specifically, it has been found that mimics of cholesterol and high-melting lipids are repelled (i.e., pushed away) by low-melting lipids in fluid bilayers. The picture that has emerged from our NNR studies is that lipid mixing is governed by a balance of these "push and pull" forces, which maximizes the number of hydrocarbon contacts and attractive van der Waals interactions within the membrane. The power of the NNR methodology is that it allows one to probe these push/pull interaction energies that are measured in tens of calories per mole.
Topics: Animals; Cholesterol; Computer Simulation; Humans; Lipid Bilayers; Membrane Lipids; Membrane Microdomains; Models, Biological; Models, Molecular; Molecular Mimicry; Monte Carlo Method; Phase Transition; Thermodynamics
PubMed: 33226208
DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00851 -
Bone Research Nov 2023The cell membrane structure is closely related to the occurrence and progression of many metabolic bone diseases observed in the clinic and is an important target to the... (Review)
Review
The cell membrane structure is closely related to the occurrence and progression of many metabolic bone diseases observed in the clinic and is an important target to the development of therapeutic strategies for these diseases. Strong experimental evidence supports the existence of membrane microdomains in osteoclasts (OCs). However, the potential membrane microdomains and the crucial mechanisms underlying their roles in OCs have not been fully characterized. Membrane microdomain components, such as scaffolding proteins and the actin cytoskeleton, as well as the roles of individual membrane proteins, need to be elucidated. In this review, we discuss the compositions and critical functions of membrane microdomains that determine the biological behavior of OCs through the three main stages of the OC life cycle.
Topics: Osteoclasts; Membrane Proteins; Membrane Microdomains; Cell Membrane Structures
PubMed: 37989999
DOI: 10.1038/s41413-023-00294-5 -
International Journal of Molecular... Sep 2021Glycosphingolipids (GSLs), together with cholesterol, sphingomyelin (SM), and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored and membrane-associated signal transduction... (Review)
Review
Glycosphingolipids (GSLs), together with cholesterol, sphingomyelin (SM), and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored and membrane-associated signal transduction molecules, form GSL-enriched microdomains. These specialized microdomains interact in a manner with various immune receptors, affecting immune receptor-mediated signaling. This, in turn, results in the regulation of a broad range of immunological functions, including phagocytosis, cytokine production, antigen presentation and apoptosis. In addition, GSLs alone can regulate immunological functions by acting as ligands for immune receptors, and exogenous GSLs can alter the organization of microdomains and microdomain-associated signaling. Many pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and fungi, enter host cells by binding to GSL-enriched microdomains. Intracellular pathogens survive inside phagocytes by manipulating intracellular microdomain-driven signaling and/or sphingolipid metabolism pathways. This review describes the mechanisms by which GSL-enriched microdomains regulate immune signaling.
Topics: Animals; Antigen Presentation; Apoptosis; Glycosphingolipids; Humans; Membrane Microdomains; Phagocytes; Phagocytosis; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 34502474
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179565 -
Trends in Plant Science Jun 2015Endocytosis provides a major route of entry for membrane proteins, lipids, and extracellular molecules into the cell. Recent evidence indicates that multiple cellular... (Review)
Review
Endocytosis provides a major route of entry for membrane proteins, lipids, and extracellular molecules into the cell. Recent evidence indicates that multiple cellular processes require endocytosis, including nutrient uptake, signaling transduction, and plant-microbe interactions. Also, advanced microscopy, combined with biochemical and genetic approaches, has provided more insights into the molecular machinery and functions of endocytosis in plants. Here we review mechanisms of the clathrin-dependent and membrane microdomain-associated endocytic routes in plant cells. In addition, degradation of endocytosed proteins and endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT)-mediated vesicle formation at the endosome are discussed. Finally, we summarize the essential roles of various regulators during plant endocytosis.
Topics: Clathrin; Endocytosis; Membrane Microdomains; Plant Cells; Plant Proteins; Plants
PubMed: 25914086
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.03.014