Lipid trafficking and sorting: how cholesterol is filling gaps

Recent research has highlighted a role for cholesterol homeostasis in the regulation of trafficking and sorting of sphingolipids. This sorting may dictate the nature of the acyl chain species of phospholipids in the plasma membrane which, in turn, may govern the selective partitioning of these lipids into lateral domains. Recently, several proteins have been identified that play a role in the flow and sorting of all major lipid classes.