Lipid rafts and membrane traffic.
Membrane rafts are regions of increased lipid acyl chain order that differ in their lipid and protein composition from the surrounding membrane. By providing an additional level of compartmentalization they have been proposed to serve many functions in cellular signal transduction and trafficking. We will review their potential involvement in different forms of membrane traffic, explicitly excluding signalling, and discuss select aspects of the raft hypothesis in its current form.
Hanzal-Bayer
Michael F
MF
Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia. m.hanzal-bayer@imb.uq.edu.au
Hancock
John F
JF
D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000502:physiology*