Department of Medical Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Milan, Italy.
Chem Phys Lipids. 2011 Nov;164(8):796-810. doi: 10.1016/j.chemphyslip.2011.09.005. Epub 2011 Sep 19.
Cellular membranes are highly organized structures with multiple and multi-dimensional levels of order where lipid components are active players. The lipid role is especially evident in rafts, where lipid-driven collective interaction dictates the local structure of a membrane. However, lipids play as well other roles in many aspects of membrane mechanics and function. In this review, we would like to re-focus the attention of the readers on the importance of gangliosides in organizing the fine structure of cellular membranes, in lateral and transverse directions. Important biological events are likely to be affected such as the dynamic control of the shape of specialized plasma membrane areas and of the intracellular organelles, the in- and outward budding and fusion of membrane vesicles, the physical and functional coupling of the outer and the inner plasma membrane leaflet, involved in the transduction of signals across the membrane.
细胞膜是高度组织化的结构，具有多层次和多维度的有序性，其中脂质成分是活跃的参与者。脂质的作用在脂筏中尤为明显，在脂筏中，脂质驱动的集体相互作用决定了膜的局部结构。然而，脂质在膜力学和功能的许多方面也起着其他作用。在这篇综述中，我们希望重新引起读者对神经节苷脂在组织细胞膜的精细结构，包括横向和纵向方向上的重要性的关注。可能会影响到重要的生物学事件，如专门的质膜区域和细胞内细胞器形状的动态控制，膜小泡的内陷和融合，参与跨膜信号转导的内外质膜小叶的物理和功能偶联。
