Life Sciences Commons^™

Characterization Of Lipid Rafts In Human Platelets Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: A Pilot Study, Joshua F. Ceñido, Boris Itin, Ruth E. Stark, Yung-Yu Huang, Maria A. Oquendo, J. John Mann, M. Elizabeth Sublette

Publications and Research

Lipid microdomains (‘lipid rafts’) are plasma membrane subregions, enriched in cholesterol and glycosphingolipids, which participate dynamically in cell signaling and molecular trafficking operations. One strategy for the study of the physicochemical properties of lipid rafts in model membrane systems has been the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), but until now this spectroscopic method has not been considered a clinically relevant tool. We performed a proof-of-concept study to test the feasibility of using NMR to study lipid rafts in human tissues. Platelets were selected as a cost-effective and minimally invasive model system in which lipid rafts have previously been studied …