Interactions of cholesterol with the membrane lipid matrix. A solid state NMR approach

The effects of cholesterol on the structure and dynamics of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) model membranes have been monitored as functions of temperature and cholesterol concentration in the membrane. The use of deuterium labels both on the cholesterol fused ring system and on the lipid chains in conjunction with solid state deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance ( 2H-NMR) afforded to monitor the degree of ordering of both molecules in a mixed system. The degree of ordering of the lipid head group was followed by phosphorus-31 ( 31P)-NMR. New findings on the effect of cholesterol on DMPC may be summarized as follows: i) cholesterol disorders the lipid chains below temperature of the DMPC gel-to-fluid transition (T c) and orders them above; the effect is linear with cholesterol concentration at 0 and 60°C but for intermediate temperatures, a saturation effect is observed at 20–30 mol %; ii) the ordering-disordering effects are perceived similarly by all chain segments with, however, a greater sensitivity for positions near the bilayer center; iii) below T c, the lipid head group is considerably disordered by increasing amounts of cholesterol but slightly affected above; iv) the degree of ordering of cholesterol is quasi temperature independent for fractions greater than or equal to 30%; v) the average orientation of the cholesterol rigid body is perpendicular to the bilayer surface and exhibits little variations with temperature and cholesterol concentration. Variations in membrane dynamics are interpreted in terms of cholesterol-induced changes in bilayer thickness. The sterol is described as a regulator of membrane dynamics (for fractions greater than or equal to 30%) by providing the bilayer with quasi constant motional amplitudes over a large temperature scale.