[Lipid rafts in Alzheimer's disease].

Forty years after Singer and Nicolson (1972) announced the fluid mosaic membrane model a number of new facts caused updating of their historic view. Plasma membrane is not uniform in state of matter, i.e. fluid portion is represented by glycerophospholipids spontaneously mounted into lipid bilayer in disordered manner (Ld - liquid disordered). In such membrane numerous nanodomains (millions in single cell) known as lipid rafts (TL) and caveolae contain sphingolipids and cholesterol as well as lipid modified integral membrane proteins. Nanodomains are more rigid, denser portion of plasma membrane (Lo - liquid ordered). Nanodomains are buoyant in fluid portion of membrane and have tendency to coalesce into larger platforms to form signalosomes essential for signal transduction. TL constitutively express certain proteins (alpha subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins, secretases, caveolins, flotillin). There are other proteins found in TL after additional lipid modifications (palmitoylation, myristoylation). With regard to dementia, retrospective studies carried out in human beings point to cholesterol and TL as crucial factors in etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Chronic administration of statins to patients significantly reduced the incidence of AD. This article is intended to make closer view into the molecular basis of AD and sheds more light on possible causal links between TL and AD.