Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Reconstitution of a Kv Channel into Lipid Membranes for Structural and Functional Studies
Published on: July 13, 2013
Use of Streptolysin O-Induced Membrane Damage as a Method of Studying the Function of Lipid Rafts During B Cell
1Laboratory of Intracellular Parasites, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 S 4th St., Hamilton, MT, 59840, USA. heather.miller@nih.gov.
Abstract:
B-lymphocytes have the ability to repair their plasma membranes following injury, such as by bacterial cholesterol-dependent cytolysins. The repair process includes the removal of the pore from the inflicted region of the plasma membrane via lipid raft-mediated internalization. Lipid rafts are critical for B cell receptor (BCR) activation. Cholesterol-dependent pore forming bacterial toxins provide a useful tool for examining the role of lipid rafts in B cell activation and the underlying cellular mechanisms. This method serves as a great alternative of known cholesterol disruption reagents such as filipin, nystatin, and methyl-β-cyclodextrin. Here, we describe a method of damaging primary murine B cell plasma membranes with the Streptococcus pyogenes cytolysin, Streptolysin O (SLO), and monitoring levels of damage, repair and BCR activation.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Membrane Lipids
Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin are the most common phospholipids present in mammalian membranes. At physiological pH, phosphatidylserine is negatively charged, while the other three...
What are Lipids?
Structure of Lipids
Introduction to Membrane Proteins
DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle

