Abstract
The unique structure of cholesterol appears to have evolved to give the molecule important functions and properties as a membrane component. The amphiphilic properties of cholesterol are provided by the hydrophilic 3P-hydroxy group, the hydrophobic tetracyclic ring structure, and the isooctyl side chain at position C-17. The side chain seems to be important for proper interactions with phospholipids in membranes [Demel et al. , 1972a; Demel et al. , 1972b]. 5-Androsten-3P-ol, which lacks the isooctyl side chain, can neither condense dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers [Demel et al. 1972a; Slotte et al. , 1994], nor reduce the solute permeability of phosphatidylcholine liposomes [Nakamura et al. , 1980]. Sterols having shorter or longer side chains, as compared to the isooctyl chain of cholesterol, are also less effective as rigidifiers in phospholipid bilayer membranes than cholesterol [Suckling & Boyd, 1976; Craig et al. , 1978; Suckling et al. , 1979]. A study from our laboratory using cholesterol oxidase as a probe for the strength of sterol-phospholipid interaction also reported a significant difference in sterol/phospholipid interaction in both small unilamellar vesicles and monolayers as a function of the sterol side chain composition [Slotte et al. , 1994].
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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Mattjus, P., Slotte, J.P., Vilchèze, C., Bittman, R. (1996). The Effect of Sterol Side Chain Conformation on Lateral Lipid Domain Formation in Monolayer Membranes. In: Op den Kamp, J.A.F. (eds) Molecular Dynamics of Biomembranes. NATO ASI Series, vol 96. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61126-1_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61126-1_21
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