title: Host-cell lipid rafts: a safe door for micro-organisms?
abstract: The lipid raft hypothesis proposed that these microdomains are small (10-200 nM), highly dynamic and enriched in cholesterol, glycosphingolipids and signalling phospholipids, which compartmentalize cellular processes. These membrane regions play crucial roles in signal transduction, phagocytosis and secretion, as well as pathogen adhesion/interaction. Throughout evolution, many pathogens have developed mechanisms to escape from the host immune system, some of which are based on the host membrane microdomain machinery. Thus lipid rafts might be exploited by pathogens as signalling and entry platforms. In this review, we summarize the role of lipid rafts as players in the overall invasion process used by different pathogens to escape from the host immune system.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunofisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, CCS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávia Sarmento
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: Gladys
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corrêa
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Einicker-Lamas
authors.forename: Robson
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coutinho-Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004358:Drug Therapy; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000821:virology