Role of sphingomyelinase and ceramide in modulating rafts: do biophysical properties determine biologic outcome?

FEBS Letters

Goni, Felix M²  Cremesti, Aida E¹  Kolesnick, Richard¹ 

[1] Laboratory of Signal Transduction, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 430 East 67 Street, New York, NY 10021, USA;Unidad de Biofisica (Centro Mixto Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientifices), Universidad del Pais Vascol, Aptdo 644, 48080 Bilbao, Spain

关键词: Raft;    Ceramide;    Sphingomyelinase;    Capping;   

DOI  :  10.1016/S0014-5793(02)03489-0

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

Recent biophysical data suggest that the properties of ceramide observed in model membranes may apply to biological systems. In particular, the ability of ceramide to form microdomains, which coalesce into larger platforms or macrodomains, appears to be important for some cellular signaling processes. Several laboratories have now demonstrated similar reorganization of plasma membrane sphingolipid rafts, via ceramide generation, into macrodomains. This event appeared necessary for signaling upon activation of a specific set of cell surface receptors. In this article, we review the properties and functions of rafts, and the role of sphingomyelinase and ceramide in the biogenesis and re-modeling of these rafts. As clustering of some cell surface receptors in these domains may be critical for signal transduction, we propose a new model for transmembrane signal transmission.

【 授权许可】

Unknown