Cholesterol, membrane nano-domains, and immune cell signaling

In mammalian cells, significant signaling pathways and networks are triggered through multiple receptors and their signaling partners expressed on the plasma membrane. Compositionally heterogeneous and dynamic cholesterol-rich membrane nano-domains, also known as lipid rafts, play a major role in organizing and integrating cell signaling events that have spatial-temporal aspects to it. While the role of cholesterol in organizing these membrane domains has come to light, the details of how this hydrophobic molecule organizes membrane domains for generating signals that travel to interior of the cell is emerging.

A significant amount of cholesterol synthesized by all mammalian cells is mobilized to the plasma membrane where it associates with saturated phospholipids and lipid-anchored proteins to form membrane nano-domains. These membrane domains are small, compositionally heterogeneous, dynamic, and potentially allows interaction of signaling molecules during initiation and regulation of cell signaling. While naïve immune cells are posited to possess small cholesterol-rich nano-domains that sequester some signaling proteins to form “incomplete signaling units” to promote cells quiescence, recent advances indicate that immune cell activation through their receptors requires integrity of cholesterol-rich nanodomains. Highlighting the role of membrane nano-domains and molecular interactions of signaling proteins within these domains will be the focus of this Research Topic.

This Research Topic aims to create a resource for investigators working in spatial-temporal cell signaling and cholesterol-rich domains fields though a collection of original research articles, brief reports, perspectives, novel method/approach, review, or mini-review articles on the following topics:
• Role of cholesterol-rich membrane domains in cell signaling
• Role of cholesterol, its metabolites, and metabolism in cell signaling
• Role of cholesterol in tumorigenicity and anti-tumor immunity

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Cholesterol, immune cells, signaling, nano-domains, lipid rafts, T cells, Membrane microdomains, Signal transduction, Membrane organization, Membrane lipids, Adaptor proteins, Receptor clustering, Spatial-temporal signaling, Cholesterol metabolism, Receptor signaling, Tumor immunity, Plasma membrane, Membrane dynamics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.