Gangliosides and cholesterol, two major components of the membrane lipid rafts, as new regulatory partners for stress granules assembly

Stress granules are cytoplasmic inclusions with cyto-protective functions assembling in response to stress. They are now accepted to be part of the pathological mechanism in several diseases, from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders. However, the field is still struggling to find common regulators of their assembly and function. In this study, we describe a mechanism involving lipid rafts (gangliosides and cholesterol), in the regulation of stress granules formation. This study reports that membrane lipid composition is able to regulate the formation of stress granules potentially unraveling several disease mechanisms.