Lipid rafts in lymphocyte activation

The existence of sphingolipid- and cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains called "lipid rafts", as well as their role in lymphocyte biology, has been widely debated during the last few years. Plasma membrane microdomains seem to be primarily involved in initiation and propagation of the signal transduction cascade associated with lymphocyte activation. In this review, we discuss the recent literature suggesting that, during lymphocyte activation and chemotaxis, lipid rafts act as platforms to compartmentalise signalling and facilitate specific protein-protein interactions.