Rafts--the current picture.
Although evidences that cell membrane contains microdomains are accumulating, the exact properties, diversity and levels of organization of small lipid patches built mainly of cholesterol and sphingomyelin, termed rafts, remain to be elucidated. Our understanding of the cell membrane is increasing with each new raft feature discovered. Nowadays rafts are suggested to act as sites of cell signaling events, to be a part of protein sorting machinery but also they are used by several pathogens as gates into the cells. It is still unclear how rafts are connected to the membrane skeleton and cytoskeleton and with how many different types of rafts are we actually dealing with. This review summarizes some of the most recent discoveries trying to make a view of the complex raft properties.
Grzybek
Michał
M
Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Wrocław, Poland.
Kozubek
Agnieszka
A
Dubielecka
Patrycja
P
Sikorski
Aleksander F
AF
D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
D008563:Membrane Lipids