Elucidation of Ganglioside Microdomains Using Proximity Labeling

It has long been known that lipid microdomain structures (also called "lipid rafts") are formed in the cell membrane, and gangliosides are concentrated in these domains. Many functional molecules (membrane proteins, receptors, and their associated signaling molecules, etc.) are concentrated in these domains along with gangliosides, and it has been pointed out that these domains play an important role in signal transduction, for instance, from outside the cell. Interestingly, it has been pointed out that each microdomain contains different types of gangliosides and functional molecules, and it is highly likely that the functions of the microdomain structures are different from each other. However, it has been difficult to specifically analyze individual microdomains, for instance, such as the microdomain composed of GM1, whereas the methods for analyzing all microdomains existed in same cell have been established. Here, we explain a method for analyzing "individual" microdomains by each ganglioside using a proximity labeling technique.