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Four-transmembrane-domain proteins of the tetraspanin superfamily are the organizers of specific microdomains at the membrane [TERMs (tetraspanin-enriched microdomains)] that incorporate various transmembrane receptors and modulate their activities. The structural aspects of the organization of TERM are poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the role of gangliosides in the assembly and stability of TERM. We demonstrated that inhibition of the glycosphingolipid biosynthetic pathway with specific inhibitors of glucosylceramide synthase [NB-DGJ (N-butyldeoxygalactonojirimycin) and PPMP (D-threo-1-phenyl-2-hexadecanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol·HCl)] resulted in specific weakening of the interactions involving tetraspanin CD82. Furthermore, ectopic expression of the plasma-membrane-bound sialidase Neu3 in mammary epithelial cells also affected stability of the complexes containing CD82: its association with tetraspanin CD151 was decreased, but the association with EGFR [EGF (epidermal growth factor) receptor] was enhanced. The destabilization of the CD82-containing complexes upon ganglioside depletion correlated with the re-distribution of the proteins within plasma membrane. Importantly, depletion of gangliosides affected EGF-induced signalling only in the presence of CD82. Taken together, our results provide strong evidence that gangliosides play an important role in supporting the integrity of CD82-enriched microdomains. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that the association between different tetraspanins in TERM is controlled by distinct mechanisms and identify Neu3 as a first physiological regulator of the integrity of these microdomains.

Throughout the biological world, a 30 Å hydrophobic film typically delimits the environments that serve as the margin between life and death for individual cells. Biochemical and biophysical findings have provided a detailed model of the composition and structure of membranes, which includes levels of dynamic organization both across the lipid bilayer (lipid asymmetry) and in the lateral dimension (lipid domains) of membranes. How do cells apply anabolic and catabolic enzymes, translocases and transporters, plus the intrinsic physical phase behaviour of lipids and their interactions with membrane proteins, to create the unique compositions and multiple functionalities of their individual membranes?

The cell surface of eukaryotic cells is enriched in choline phospholipids, whereas the aminophospholipids are concentrated at the cytosolic side of the plasma membrane by the activity of one or more P-type ATPases. Lipid translocation has been investigated mostly by using short chain lipid analogs because assays for endogenous lipids are inherently complicated. In the present paper, we optimized two independent assays for the translocation of natural phosphatidylcholine (PC) to the cell surface based on the hydrolysis of outer leaflet phosphoglycerolipids by exogenous phospholipase A2 and the exchange of outer leaflet PC by a transfer protein. We report that PC reached the cell surface in the absence of vesicular traffic by a pathway that involved translocation across the plasma membrane. In erythrocytes, PC that was labeled at the inside of the plasma membrane was translocated to the cell surface with a half-time of 30 min. This translocation was probably mediated by an ATPase, because it required ATP and was vanadate-sensitive. The inhibition of PC translocation by glibenclamide, an inhibitor of various ATP binding cassette transporters, and its reduction in erythrocytes from both Abcb1a/1b and Abcb4 knockout mice, suggest the involvement of ATP binding cassette transporters in natural PC cell surface translocation. The relative importance of the outward translocation of PC as compared with the well characterized fast inward translocation of phosphatidylserine for the overall asymmetric phospholipid organization in plasma membranes remains to be established.

The various organellar membranes of eukaryotic cells display striking differences in the composition, leaflet distribution and transbilayer movement of their lipids. In membranes such as the endoplasmic reticulum, phospholipids can move readily across the bilayer, aided by membrane proteins that facilitate a passive equilibration of lipids between both membrane halves. In the plasma membrane, and probably also in the late Golgi and endosomal compartments, flip-flop of phospholipids is constrained and subject to a dynamic, ATP-dependent regulation that involves members of distinct protein families. Recent studies in yeast, parasites such as Leishmania, and mammalian cells have identified several candidates for lipid flippases, and whereas some of these serve a fundamental role in the release of lipids from cells, others appear to have unexpected and important functions in vesicular traffic: their activities are required to support vesicle formation in the secretory and endocytic pathways.

Various ABC transporters can translocate lipid molecules from the cytoplasmic into the exoplasmic leaflet of the plasma membrane bilayer. Two of these, MDR1 P-glycoprotein (Pgp) and MRP1, are multidrug transporters responsible for the resistance of various cancers against chemotherapy. We wanted to study whether MRP2, an ABC transporter of the bile canalicular membrane with a substrate specificity very similar to that of MRP1, is capable of translocating lipids. The translocation of short-chain lipids across the apical membrane of MDCK cells transfected with MRP2 was significantly higher than that in untransfected controls. However, the characteristics of the lipid translocation were similar to substrate transport by MDR1 and not MRP2: transport was strongly inhibited by classic MDR1 Pgp inhibitors, was independent of cellular glutathione, and was insensitive to a drug known to inhibit MRP2 activity. When tested by immunoblot, the MRP2-transfected cells expressed high levels of MRP2 but also of endogenous Mdr1. The expression of Mdr1 was unstable during maintenance of the cell line and correlated with the rate of lipid translocation across the apical membrane. We conclude that the observed increase in lipid transport in the MDCK cells transfected with MRP2 is the consequence of the upregulation of the expression of endogenous Mdr1 and that careful characterization of endogenous Mdr1 expression is needed in studies aimed to identify substrates of plasma membrane transporters.

Eukaryotes are characterized by endomembranes that are connected by vesicular transport along secretory and endocytic pathways. The compositional differences between the various cellular membranes are maintained by sorting events, and it has long been believed that sorting is based solely on protein-protein interactions. However, the central sorting station along the secretory pathway is the Golgi apparatus, and this is the site of synthesis of the sphingolipids. Sphingolipids are essential for eukaryotic life, and this review ascribes the sorting power of the Golgi to its capability to act as a distillation apparatus for sphingolipids and cholesterol. As Golgi cisternae mature, ongoing sphingolipid synthesis attracts endoplasmic reticulum-derived cholesterol and drives a fluid-fluid lipid phase separation that segregates sphingolipids and sterols from unsaturated glycerolipids into lateral domains. While sphingolipid domains move forward, unsaturated glycerolipids are retrieved by recycling vesicles budding from the sphingolipid-poor environment. We hypothesize that by this mechanism, the composition of the sphingolipid domains, and the surrounding membrane changes along the cis- trans axis. At the same time the membrane thickens. These features are recognized by a number of membrane proteins that as a consequence of partitioning between domain and environment follow the domains but can enter recycling vesicles at any stage of the pathway. The interplay between protein- and lipid-mediated sorting is discussed.

Sphingolipids are considered to play a key role in protein sorting and membrane trafficking. In melanocytic cells, sorting of lysosomal and melanosomal proteins requires the sphingolipid glucosylceramide (GlcCer). This sorting information is located in the lumenal domain of melanosomal proteins. We found that two processes dependent on lumenal pH, protein sialylation and lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) activity were aberrant in GM95 melanocyte cells, which do not produce glycosphingolipids. Using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), we found that the lumenal pH in the trans-Golgi network and lysosomes of wild-type melanocyte MEB4 cells are1 pH unit lower than GM95 cells and fibroblasts. In addition to the lower pH found in vivo, the in vitro activity of the proton pump, the vacuolar-type H(+) -translocating ATPase (V-ATPase), was twofold higher in MEB4 compared to GM95 cells. The apparent K(i) for inhibition of the V-ATPase by concanamycin A and archazolid A, which share a common binding site on the c-ring, was lower in glycosphingolipid-deficient GM95 cells. No difference between the MEB4 and GM95 cells was found for the V-ATPase inhibitors apicularen A and salicylihalimide. We conclude that hyperacidification in MEB4 cells requires glycosphingolipids and propose that low pH is necessary for protein sorting and melanosome biogenesis. Furthermore, we suggest that glycosphingolipids are indirectly involved in protein sorting and melanosome biogenesis by stimulating the proton pump, possibly through binding of GlcCer. These experiments establish, for the first time, a link between pH, glycosphingolipids and melanosome biogenesis in melanocytic MEB4 cells, to suggest a role for glycosphingolipids in hyperacidification in melanocytes.

Technological developments, especially in mass spectrometry and bioinformatics, have revealed that living cells contain thousands rather than dozens of different lipids [for classification and nomenclature, see Fahy et al. ([Fahy et al., 2009][1])]. Now, the resulting questions are what is the

The various membranes in eukaryotic cells have unique lipid compositions. Despite important discoveries in lipid research over recent decades, the basic principles by which cells define their membrane compositions are essentially unknown. Cells must sense the concentration of each lipid, integrate such signals and regulate the activity of their metabolic enzymes and transport routes to dynamically meet their needs in terms of membrane composition. Sphingolipids constitute a lipid category that is essential for eukaryotic life and appears to be key to differences in lipid composition. Here we discuss recent findings that assign an important role to lipid transfer proteins in the regulation of sphingolipid metabolism, organization and function.

Lipids were long considered to be passive passengers of carrier vesicles with the single role of sealing the transport container. We now know that specific phospholipids are required for efficient fusion, while others facilitate budding and fission. Moreover, the various polyphosphoinositides assist in the recruitment from the cytosol of proteins of the transport machinery. Finally, the segregation of membrane lipids into different fluid phases appears to serve as a 'lipid raft' mechanism for protein sorting at various stages of the secretory and endocytic pathways. The current challenge is to understand how proteins control the metabolism and subcellular localization, and thereby the activity, of the various lipids.

Eukaryotic cells contain hundreds of different lipid species that are not uniformly distributed among their membranes. For example, sphingolipids and sterols form gradients along the secretory pathway with the highest levels in the plasma membrane and the lowest in the endoplasmic reticulum. Moreover, lipids in late secretory organelles display asymmetric transbilayer arrangements with the aminophospholipids concentrated in the cytoplasmic leaflet. This lipid heterogeneity can be viewed as a manifestation of the fact that cells exploit the structural diversity of lipids in organizing intracellular membrane transport. Lipid immiscibility and the generation of phase-separated lipid domains provide a molecular basis for sorting membrane proteins into specific vesicular pathways. At the same time, energy-driven aminophospholipid transporters participate in membrane deformation during vesicle biogenesis. This review will focus on how selective membrane transport relies on a dynamic interplay between membrane lipids and proteins.

Plasma membranes in eukaryotic cells display asymmetric lipid distributions with aminophospholipids concentrated in the inner and sphingolipids in the outer leaflet. This asymmetry is maintained by ATP-driven lipid transporters whose identities are unknown. The yeast plasma membrane contains two P-type ATPases, Dnf1p and Dnf2p, with structural similarity to ATPase II, a candidate aminophospholipid translocase from bovine chromaffin granules. Loss of Dnf1p and Dnf2p virtually abolished ATP-dependent transport of NBD-labeled phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylcholine from the outer to the inner plasma membrane leaflet, leaving transport of sphingolipid analogs unaffected. Labeling with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid revealed that the amount of phosphatidylethanolamine exposed on the surface of /deltadnf1/deltadnf2 cells increased twofold relative to wild-type cells. Phosphatidylethanolamine exposure by /deltadnf1/deltadnf2 cells further increased upon removal of Drs2p, an ATPase II homolog in the yeast Golgi. These changes in lipid topology were accompanied by a cold-sensitive defect in the uptake of markers for bulk-phase and receptor-mediated endocytosis. Our findings demonstrate a requirement for Dnf1p and Dnf2p in lipid translocation across the yeast plasmamembrane. Moreover, it appears that Dnf1p, Dnf2p and Drs2p each help regulate the transbilayer lipid arrangement in the plasma membrane, and that this regulation is critical for budding endocytic vesicles.

Until some 15 years ago, sphingolipids were generally believed to protect the cell surface against harmful factors in the environment by forming a mechanically stable and chemically resistant outer leaflet of the plasma membrane lipid bilayer. Furthermore, complex glycosphingolipids were found to be involved in specific functions like recognition and signaling (1). Whereas the first feature would depend on physical properties of the sphingolipids, the signaling functions involve specific interactions of the complex glycan structures on the glycosphingolipids with similar lipids on neighboring cells or with proteins. Since then, two findings have revolutionized the field. (i) Simple sphingolipid metabolites, like ceramide and sphingosine 1-phosphate, have been found to be important mediators in signaling cascades of apoptosis, proliferation, and stress responses (reviews by Hannun and Obeid (66) and Spiegel and Milstien (67)). (ii) It has been realized that ceramidebased lipids self-aggregate in cellular membranes to form a separate phase that is less fluid (liquid-ordered) than the bulk liquid-disordered phospholipids based on diacylglycerol. Sphingolipid-based microdomains or “rafts” were originally proposed to sort membrane proteins along the cellular pathways of membrane transport (2). Presently, most excitement focuses on their organizing functions in signal transduction (3). Sphingolipids are synthesized in the ER 1 and the Golgi but are enriched in plasma membrane and endosomes where they perform many of their functions. Thus, sphingolipids travel between organelles. Transport occurs via transport vesicles and via monomeric transport through the cytosol. Furthermore, some sphingolipids efficiently translocate across cellular membranes. That transport is not random is clear from the heterogeneous distribution of sphingolipids over the cell; sphingolipids are virtually absent from mitochondria and the ER but constitute 20 –35 mol % of the plasma membrane lipids (Table I). Furthermore, signaling pools of sphingolipids do not freely mix with pools of biosynthesis and degradation (reviews by Hannun and Obeid (66), Merrill (68), and Spiegel and Milstien (67)). The specificity in sphingolipid transport is the topic of the present review.

Caveolins constitute the coat of caveolae, specialized domains of the plasma membrane. A large body of evidence suggests that caveolae are enriched in sphingolipids and cholesterol. Besides a role in signal transduction and in the sorting of membrane components, a diverse range of functions has been assigned to the caveolins in the cellular homeostasis of cholesterol. Cholesterol is essential for numerous membrane processes, and its concentration in the cell is governed by a delicate sensor–effector mechanism. However, the basic rules that govern the distribution and dynamics of cholesterol in cells are not understood, a situation that may be changed by an improved insight in the actions of cholesterol-binding proteins like caveolins. Three papers in the present issue report unexpectedly that caveolins can be found on the surface of cytoplasmic lipid droplets (Fujimoto et al. 2001; Ostermeyer et al. 2001; Pol et al. 2001). Lipid droplets consist of apolar lipids and are thought to serve as inert energy storage sites. Caveolin transport to the lipid droplets may represent an "overflow" pathway from the ER under conditions where their concentration in the ER is enhanced (Ostermeyer et al. 2001). More sensational proposals are that caveolin on lipid droplets is a key component in maintaining the cellular cholesterol balance (Pol et al. 2001) and that caveolin populates a raft-like membrane domain on the droplet surface that is involved in intracellular signaling (Fujimoto et al. 2001).

The thin membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum matures into the thick plasma membrane in the Golgi apparatus. Along the way, the concentrations of cholesterol and sphingolipids increase. Here, Gerrit van Meer discusses how this phenomenon may reflect an intricate lipid-protein sorting machinery. Synthesis of sphingolipids, translocation across the Golgi membrane and lateral segregation into lumenal domains seem to be key events. In addition, signalling lipids indicate the lipid status of the Golgi and interact with proteins of the transport machinery to regulate membrane flux.

The success of post-embedding immunocytochemistry depends largely on the preparation methods. The requirements for structural preservation and immunocytochemistry are in some cases contradictory. This is especially the case in the study of lipid-rich structures and the localization of lipid components. Earlier work on freeze-substitution has shown that this method is very promising for the preservation of lipids and the immunocytochemical localization of lipids at the electron microscopical level. In this study we show that freeze-substitution in combination with low temperature embedding in Lowicryl HM20 has fulfilled this promise. Lamellar bodies in alveolar type II cells contain about 90% lipids and are very difficult to preserve in ultrathin cryosections. Lowicryl sections of freeze-substituted lung tissue shows excellent preservation of lamellar bodies in combination with immunogold localization of a hydrophobic surfactant protein. With an antibody against the Forssman glycolipid we demonstrate a highly reproducible intracellular localization of this glycolipid with high specificity and resolution. This method results in the retention of lipids and glycolipids and allows postembedding immunogold labeling.

Many mammalian ABC transporters move membrane lipids to acceptor lipid assemblies in the extracellular aqueous milieu. Because the desorption from the membrane costs more energy than provided by two ATPs, the transporter probably only translocates the lipid to a partially hydrophilic site on its extracellular face. From this high-energy site, the lipid may efficiently move to the acceptor, which ideally is bound to the transporter, or, in the absence of an acceptor, fall back into the membrane. If the lipid originated from the cytosolic membrane surface, this represents lipid flop and is probably a side activity of the transporters.

Polarized monolayers of intestinal Caco-2 cells were used to study the effects of saturated palmitic acid (16:0) and polyunsaturated linoleic acid (18:2) on triglyceride synthesis and lipoprotein secretion. Monolayers were incubated for 24 h, at the apical or lumenal side, with palmitic acid (16:0) or linoleic acid (18:2) in physiological concentrations. Incubation with 1.0 mM 16:0 or 18:2 resulted in differences in the composition and amount of secreted lipoproteins. Radiolabeled lipids in the lipoproteins secreted during incubation with 18:2 were found in the chylomicron/VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) density whereas with 16:0 the secreted lipoproteins were in the intermediate density/low density lipoprotein (IDL/LDL) density range. More triglyceride was secreted into the (basolateral) medium during incubation with 1.0 mM 18:2 (41 +/- 12% of total triglyceride synthesized) than with 1.0 mM 16:0 (18 +/- 3% of total). The biochemical findings correlate with conspicuous morphological changes in the cells in the presence of 16:0, but not 18:2. Increasing concentrations of 16:0 (0.1-1.0 mM) caused gradual accumulation of intracellular membrane. Microvilli became strongly reduced in number. With 1.0 mM palmitic acid we found an increased incorporation of [1-14C]palmitic acid into phosphatidic acid (14.8% of total incorporation into phospholipid with 16:0 vs.0.5% with 18:2) and diacylglycerol (12.5% with 16:0 vs.0.5% with 18:2) and diacylglycerol (12.5% with 16:0 vs. 0.5% with 18:2) and the amount of intracellular phospholipid doubled. The morphological changes were completely reversed after 24 h with 1.0 mM 18:2. We conclude from our results that, compared to 18:2, 16:0 is not efficiently incorporated into triglycerides. 16:0 is incorporated into cellular phospholipids in a greater proportion than 18:2, causing accumulation of intracellular phospholipid and the precursors phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol. Different processing of 18:2 and 16:0 by Caco-2 cells resulted in profound differences in triglyceride synthesis and lipoprotein composition and secretion.