Lipid Rafts & Co.: an integrated model of membrane organization in T cell activation.
The model of membrane compartmentalization by self-organizing functional lipid microdomains, named lipid rafts, has been a fruitful concept resulting in great progress in understanding T cell signal transduction. However, due to recent results it has become clear that lipid rafts describe only one out of several membrane organizing principles crucial for T cell activation besides fences and pickets and protein-protein interactions that take part in the formation of the immunological synapse as a highly organized structure at the T cell contact site to the antigen-presenting cell. This review describes the concepts of lipid rafts and other membrane organizing principles to evolve a novel integrated model on the functional role of microdomains in immunological synapse formation and T cell activation. Further research has to elucidate the relative contribution and interrelation of different modes of membrane organization in productive T cell activation.
Department of Internal Medicine III, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Maximilan
M
Zeyda
Thomas M
TM
Stulnig
D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000276:immunology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D018448:Models, Immunological; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D008565:Membrane Proteins