title: Lipids in cell biology: how can we understand them better?
abstract: Lipids are a major class of biological molecules and play many key roles in different processes. The diversity of lipids is on the same order of magnitude as that of proteins: cells express tens of thousands of different lipids and hundreds of proteins to regulate their metabolism and transport. Despite their clear importance and essential functions, lipids have not been as well studied as proteins. We discuss here some of the reasons why it has been challenging to study lipids and outline technological developments that are allowing us to begin lifting lipids out of their "Cinderella" status. We focus on recent advances in lipid identification, visualization, and investigation of their biophysics and perturbations and suggest that the field has sufficiently advanced to encourage broader investigation into these intriguing molecules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Muro
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260.
authors.forename: G Ekin
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Atilla-Gokcumen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom ulrike.eggert@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ulrike S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Eggert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002477:Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D008968:Molecular Conformation
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids