Download Model systems for studying virus entry: roles of lipid rafts in

Model systems for studying virus entry: roles of lipid rafts in
membrane fusion
Sung-Tae Yang
Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia School of Medicine
Cell membranes composed of various lipid species exhibit complex behavior, some of which are
organized into microdomains such as lipid rafts enriched in sphingolipids and cholesterol. Lipid rafts have
been implicated in a variety of dynamic cellular processes influencing membrane fluidity, serving as
organizing centers for membrane-mediated cell signaling, and regulating the activity of many membrane
proteins, which are known to be involved in diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cardiovascular
and prion diseases. In addition, lipid rafts play vital roles in adaptive immune responses to combat
infectious pathogens, while many pathogens including HIV have evolved to exploit the rafts to gain entry
into host cells. Despite the widespread implications in health and disease, many of the fundamental
properties of lipid rafts such as their composition, structure, and lifetime are still poorly understood. We
investigate and modulate their properties in synthetic and biological membranes aimed at understanding
how lipid rafts influence HIV entry into host cells. To this end, we prepare pseudoviruses and visualize
the interactions of individual particles with lipid rafts on model membranes using advanced optical tools.
(Yang et al. Nature Chemical Biology (2015), 11, 424-431. Nature Communications (2016), 7, 11401.)