Using single-molecule near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), the group – together with collaborators from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center in the Netherlands – perturbed the lipid raft nanolandscape and visualised the formation of cholesterol-dependent GM1 nanodomains less than 120nm in size. Subsequent in silico experiments at University of Barcelona and Barcelona´s Co.S.Mo. Labs contributed to the high-resolution data that conclusively demonstrates the existence of raft-based interconnectivity on resting cell membranes.
These findings constitute a step towards a fuller understanding of the activation and clustering of lipid raft constituents, which amplify and strengthen preexisting interactions and mediate signal transduction across the cell membrane.
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