Significance of ethanol-induced changes in membrane lipid domains

Ethanol both in vitro and in vivo has been shown to affect membrane bulk lipids and it had been previously proposed that such effects may explain sensitivity and tolerance to ethanol. There has been however, criticism of the membrane bulk lipid hypothesis and interest in the role of lipids as a site of the effects of ethanol has declined. This change in how lipids are viewed may have been premature. Several groups including work of our laboratory have shown in the past few years that ethanol has a very pronounced effect on membrane lipids but that these effects are restricted to specific domains of the membrane. This paper will discuss how ethanol affects membrane domains and mechanisms that may be involved in the regulation of lipid domains with emphasis on cholesterol domains. Discussion will also cover how lipid domains interact with protein organization and function.