The structure of cell membranes has been intensively investigated and many models and concepts have been proposed for the lateral organization of the plasma membrane. While proteomics and lipidomics have identified many if not all membrane components, how lipids and proteins interactions are coordinated in a specific cell function remains poorly understood. It is generally accepted that the organization of the plasma membrane is likely to play a critical role in the regulation of cell function such as receptor signalling by governing molecular interactions and dynamics. In this review we present different plasma membrane models and discuss microscopy approaches used for investigating protein behaviour, distribution and lipid organization.

细胞膜的结构已被深入研究，并提出了许多用于质膜横向组织的模型和概念。尽管蛋白质组学和脂质组学已经鉴定了许多（即使不是全部）膜成分，但对于特定细胞功能中脂质和蛋白质相互作用的协调方式仍然知之甚少。人们普遍认为，质膜的组织可能通过控制分子相互作用和动力学在调节细胞功能（例如受体信号）中起关键作用。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了不同的质膜模型，并讨论了用于研究蛋白质行为，分布和脂质组织的显微镜方法。