Evidence for Regular Distribution of Sterols in Liquid Crystalline Phosphatidylcholine Bilayers

To investigate the lateral organization of sterols in membranes, the fluorescence intensity of dehydroergosterol at different mole fractions in liquid crystalline dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayers was examined. A number of intensity drops were observed at specific mole fractions, as0 predicte...

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Veröffentlicht in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1994-10, Vol.91 (21), p.10069-10073
1. Verfasser: Chong, Parkson Lee-Gau
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:To investigate the lateral organization of sterols in membranes, the fluorescence intensity of dehydroergosterol at different mole fractions in liquid crystalline dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayers was examined. A number of intensity drops were observed at specific mole fractions, as0 predicted from a hexagonal super-lattice model. The fluorescence dips provide compelling evidence that a naturally occurring sterol is regularly distributed at fixed compositional fractions, consistent with the presence of hexagonal super-lattices in the fluid membranes. Regularly distributed regions, however, coexist with irregularly distributed regions. The extent of regular distribution varies periodically with sterol mole fraction and, consequently, similar variations take place in the membrane volume and lipid packing. This level of modulation in local membrane structure by minute changes in sterol concentration should have profound implications for the functional role of cholesterol content in cell membranes.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.91.21.10069