title: Super-Resolution Microscopy: Shedding Light on the Cellular Plasma Membrane.
abstract: Lipids and the membranes they form are fundamental building blocks of cellular life, and their geometry and chemical properties distinguish membranes from other cellular environments. Collective processes occurring within membranes strongly impact cellular behavior and biochemistry, and understanding these processes presents unique challenges due to the often complex and myriad interactions between membrane components. Super-resolution microscopy offers a significant gain in resolution over traditional optical microscopy, enabling the localization of individual molecules even in densely labeled samples and in cellular and tissue environments. These microscopy techniques have been used to examine the organization and dynamics of plasma membrane components, providing insight into the fundamental interactions that determine membrane functions. Here, we broadly introduce the structure and organization of the mammalian plasma membrane and review recent applications of super-resolution microscopy to the study of membranes. We then highlight some inherent challenges faced when using super-resolution microscopy to study membranes, and we discuss recent technical advancements that promise further improvements to super-resolution microscopy and its application to the plasma membrane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan , 930 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan , 930 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shelby
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan , 930 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9317-2308
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Veatch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008853:Microscopy