From membrane rafts to lipid therapy - a new approach to everyday stress and illness

Vígh, Laszlo

A fallacy is falling. To speak metaphorically, for a long time we imagined cells as houses around which the cell membrane is a fence whose posts are made of uniform lipid molecules. However, as it has turned out, this "fence" is very much part of the house and the "fence posts" are unique and irreplaceable components of it. In the membrane of a eukaryotic cell, there are over 1,000 different types of lipids, and their individual structures are indispensable for the body's vital functions. For example, all living beings sense the stress caused by extreme changes in temperature through lipid-dependent mechanisms. A defining factor in the development of some major diseases (such as diabetes) is a characteristic pattern of damage to the lipids of the cell membrane. Thanks to developments in several branches of science, we are learning more and more about how genes or unhealthy eating habits can distort the pattern of lipids and the fine structure of cell membranes. What is more, it is increasingly likely that we will be able to repair defective membranes by targeting them with "lipid therapy".

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