The plasma membrane, being an integral part of mammalian cells by providing both structure and functionality, is the focus of much scientific research. Many techniques, ranging from functional assays to sophisticated fluorescence microscopy approaches, have been implemented to investigate the plasma membrane's composition, behavior, and organization. These studies indicate that the plasma membrane contains domains that are enriched with sphingolipids and cholesterol. Using high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry and selective stable isotope incorporation into cellular lipids, we have acquired chemical evidence that sphingolipids are non-randomly organized in the plasma membrane.   This same approach is now used to characterize how the membrane organization changes as a function of pulse-labeling time. We show that changes in the short range (5 microns) varies with the duration of selective isotope incorporation.

High-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry reveals changes in long range sphingolipid organization with time

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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