Plasma membrane rafts engaged in T cell signalling: new developments in an old concept

Considerable controversy arose over the concept that cholesterol/sphingolipid-rich rafts in the T cell plasma membrane serve as a platform for TCR signalling reactions. This controversy was founded on the initial definition of rafts as detergent resistant membranes which later turned out to misrepresent many features of cell membrane organisation under physiological conditions. Raft-organisation was subsequently studied using a number of detergent-free experimental approaches. The results led to a refined perception of membrane rafts which resolves the controversies. Here we review new biophysical and biochemical data which provide an updated picture of the highly dynamic nanometer-sized cholesterol/sphingolipid-rich raft domains stabilised by protein-networks to form TCR signalling platforms in the T cell plasma membrane.