Direct chemical evidence for sphingolipid domains in the plasma membranes of fibroblasts.

ABSTRACT: Sphingolipids play important roles in plasma membrane structure and cell signaling. However, their lateral distribution in the plasma membrane is poorly understood. Here we quantitatively analyzed the sphingolipid organization on the entire dorsal surface of intact cells by mapping the distribution of (15)N-enriched ions from metabolically labeled (15)N-sphingolipids in the plasma membrane, using high-resolution imaging mass spectrometry. Many types of control experiments (internal, positive, negative, and fixation temperature), along with parallel experiments involving the imaging of fluorescent sphingolipids--both in living cells and during fixation of living cells--exclude potential artifacts. Micrometer-scale sphingolipid patches consisting of numerous (15)N-sphingolipid microdomains w

SUBMITTER: Frisz JF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3581929 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature