title: Actively maintained lipid nanodomains in biomembranes.
abstract: Lipid rafts, defined as domains rich in cholesterol and sphingolipids, are involved in many important plasma membrane functions. Recent studies suggest that the way cells handle membrane cholesterol is fundamental in the formation of such lateral heterogeneities. We propose to model the plasma membrane as a nonequilibrium phase-separating system where cholesterol is dynamically incorporated and released. The model shows how cellular regulation of membrane cholesterol may determine the nanoscale lipid organization when the lipid mixture is close to a phase separation boundary, providing a plausible mechanism for raft formation in vivo.
authors: Departament de Química-Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda Diagonal 647, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Jordi
authors: J
authors: Gómez
authors: Francesc
authors: F
authors: Sagués
authors: Ramon
authors: R
authors: Reigada
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008560:Membrane Fluidity / Q000502:physiology*; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers