Multiple Roles of Membrane Lipids: Implications for Health and Disease

Lipids are a major class of molecules which fulfil several functions. Cell membrane lipid composition can vary substantially, suggesting that different lipids are required for different functions. The lipid matrix is not simply the physical scaffold for proteins or the structural barrier that isolates and defines cells and organelles, but, it is also active in many cellular functions. Caveolae represent membrane compartments enriched with sphingolipids, cholesterol and signaling molecules whose structural integrity is essential for the cellular response. Levels of lipid species can change in response to diet, physiological and environmental factors. In human blood, transport of lipids is exerted by lipoproteins.Alterations of membrane and/or lipoprotein lipid composition, associated either with adaptive responses or with the aetiology of the disease, have been described in several pathologies. The current understanding of lipids, the structures they form, their roles in cells and lipoproteins, and their physico-chemical properties are the result of many years of our research. Aim of the paper is to review the history, current status, and future of lipids in cell and lipoprotein biology. A promising field of research is the study of structures derived from lipids as carriers of bioactive molecules to deliver site-specific targeting ligands in vivo.