Role of sphingolipids in the biogenesis of membrane domains

In recent years, a huge interest in sphingolipid- and cholesterol-enriched membrane domains has risen, after their involvement in fundamental membrane -associated events such as signal transmission, cell adhesion and lipid/pro tein sorting was postulated. Theoretical considerations and several experim ental data suggest that sphingolipids play an important role in the biogene sis and function of domains. In fact, their physicochemical features, diffe rent from those of other membrane lipids, allow their interaction either wi th other sphingolipids or with other membrane components and external ligan ds. Owing to these features, sphingolipids may undergo segregation and repr esent a nucleation point for co-clustering with other lipids and proteins i n a complex, functional domain. Moreover, sphingolipids confer dynamic prop erties on domains, a fundamental feature for the modulation of their postul ated functions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.