Scientists Finally Capture Elusive Lipids in Action Inside Cells

Mathilda Lennartz and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics used bifunctional lipid probes together with correlative light and electron microscopy — a method called lipid-CLEM — to map lipid positions in cells.

The probes are designed to resemble natural lipids, can be locked in place inside living cells by photo-crosslinking, and are labeled by click chemistry with fluorescent tags for imaging with minimal disturbance.

Lipids move extremely quickly within membranes, which made them hard to follow with traditional tools.

Cell membranes are organized into nanodomains where lipids and proteins cluster for specific tasks; lipid-CLEM visualizes such localization, including sphingomyelin at early endosomes with 3D membrane outlines.

Earlier CLEM approaches could damage delicate membranes, were often limited to the cell surface, or could not distinguish different lipid types.