The puzzle of sphingolipids and cholesterol under the atomic force microscope: bilayer thicknesses and breakthrough forces

A variety of studies published in the last decades in the field of lipid biophysics deal with the puzzle regarding the relationship between the signaling power of bioactive lipids (sphingolipids) and their capacity to induce lipid membrane heterogeneity (domains). Advances in technology, particularl...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: García-Arribas, Aritz B., Alonso, Alicia, Goñi, Félix M.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/399092
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/399092
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105010847822
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Atomic force microscopy
Ceramide
Cholesterol
Force spectroscopy
Lipid bilayers
Sphingomyelin
Descripción
Sumario:A variety of studies published in the last decades in the field of lipid biophysics deal with the puzzle regarding the relationship between the signaling power of bioactive lipids (sphingolipids) and their capacity to induce lipid membrane heterogeneity (domains). Advances in technology, particularly Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), have provided a solid contribution in this regard. Moreover, supported planar bilayers (SPB) have become an established membrane model in the study of lipid-lipid interactions. However, in spite of the large amount of published results in this field, the data remain scattered, and a coherent collection that allows easy access to the investigator is missing. This review summarizes the relevant results obtained in our laboratory through the use of AFM under comparable experimental conditions, offering a collection of data on supported lipid bilayer thicknesses and breakthrough forces. An extensive list of lipid compositions including phospholipids, cholesterol and sphingolipids (sphingomyelins, ceramides), at varying molecular ratios, has been considered.