Physically distinguishable microdomains associated with various functional membrane proteins are one of the major current topics in cell biology. Glycosphingolipids present in such microdomains have been used as "markers;" however, the functional role of glycosyl epitopes in microdomains has received little attention. In this review, I have tried to summarize the evidence that glycosyl epitopes in microdomains mediate cell adhesion and signal trans- duction events that affect cellular phenotypes. Molecular assem- blies that perform such functions are hereby termed "glycosyn- apse" in analogy to "immunological synapse," the membrane assembly of immunocyte adhesion and signaling.
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