title: Fluorescent probes for lipid rafts: from model membranes to living cells.
abstract: Membrane microdomains (rafts) remain one of the controversial issues in biophysics. Fluorescent molecular probes, which make these lipid nanostructures visible through optical techniques, are one of the tools currently used to study lipid rafts. The most common are lipophilic fluorescent probes that partition specifically into liquid ordered or liquid disordered phase. Their partition depends on the lipid composition of a given phase, which complicates their use in cellular membranes. A second class of probes is based on environment-sensitive dyes, which partition into both phases, but stain them by different fluorescence color, intensity, or lifetime. These probes can directly address the properties of each separate phase, but their cellular applications are still limited. The present review focuses on summarizing the current state in the field of developing and applying fluorescent molecular probes to study lipid rafts. We highlight an urgent need to develop new probes, specifically adapted for cell plasma membranes and compatible with modern fluorescence microscopy techniques to push the understanding of membrane microdomains forward.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biophotonique et Pharmacologie, UMR 7213 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74, Route du Rhin, 67401 ILLKIRCH, France. Electronic address: andrey.klymchenko@unistra.fr.
authors.forename: Andrey S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Klymchenko
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biophotonique et Pharmacologie, UMR 7213 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74, Route du Rhin, 67401 ILLKIRCH, France.
authors.forename: Rémy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kreder
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes