Rafts defined: a report on the Keystone symposium on lipid rafts and cell function

The recent Keystone Symposium on Lipid Rafts and Cell Function (March 23–28, 2006 in Steamboat Springs, CO) brought together biophysicists, biochemists, and cell biologists to discuss the structure and function of lipid rafts. What emerged from the meeting was a consensus definition of a membrane raft: “Membrane rafts are small (10–200 nm), heterogeneous, highly dynamic, sterol- and sphingolipid-enriched domains that compartmentalize cellular processes. Small rafts can sometimes be stabilized to form larger platforms through protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions.” This definition helps to clarify current thinking in a field that has been plagued by the heterogeneous and sometimes ephemeral nature of…