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Near‐field scanning optical microscopy detects nanoscale glycolipid domains in the plasma membrane
Author(s) -
ABULROB A.,
LU Z.,
BRUNETTE E.,
PULLA D.,
STANIMIROVIC D.,
JOHNSTON L.J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2008.02093.x
Subject(s) - glycolipid , membrane , caveolae , fluorescence microscope , chemistry , population , microscopy , lipid raft , cell fractionation , fluorescence , biophysics , analytical chemistry (journal) , chromatography , biology , biochemistry , optics , physics , demography , sociology
Summary The localization of asialo‐GM1 in ordered membrane raft domains in HeLa cells has been examined using a combination of membrane fractionation and fluorescence imaging. The glycolipid is enriched in Triton X‐100 insoluble membrane fractions that contain high concentrations of cholesterol and caveolin‐1 but is also found in detergent soluble membrane fractions. Near‐field fluorescence microscopy shows that a fraction of the asialo‐GM1 is localized in small nanoscale clusters that have an upper limit for the average diameter of approximately 90 nm and are partially colocalized with caveolae membrane domains. In addition to clusters, a diffuse, non‐clustered population of asialo‐GM1 is observed and is hypothesized to correspond to glycolipid isolated in detergent soluble membrane fractions.