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First published in JLR Journal of Lipid Research, v64 i4 (Apr 2023) published by Elsevier. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlr.2023.100344

Document Type

Article

Publication Version

Published Version

Keywords

accessible, active, complex, filipin, perfringolysin O, phospholipid, simulation, threshold

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Lipid Research

Volume

64

Issue

4

Abstract

Almost all the cholesterol in cellular membranes is associated with phospholipids in simple stoichiometric complexes. This limits the binding of sterol ligands such as filipin and perfringolysin O (PFO) to a small fraction of the total. We offer a simple mathematical model that characterizes this complexity. It posits that the cholesterol accessible to ligands has two forms: active cholesterol, which is that not complexed with phospholipids; and extractable cholesterol, that which ligands can capture competitively from the phospholipid complexes. Simulations based on the model match published data for the association of PFO oligomers with liposomes, plasma membranes, and the isolated endoplasmic reticulum. The model shows how the binding of a probe greatly underestimates cholesterol abundance when its affinity for the sterol is so weak that it competes poorly with the membrane phospholipids. Two examples are the understaining of plasma membranes by filipin and the failure of domain D4 of PFO to label their cytoplasmic leaflets. Conversely, the exaggerated staining of endolysosomes suggests that their cholesterol, being uncomplexed, is readily available. The model is also applicable to the association of cholesterol with intrinsic membrane proteins. For example, it supports the hypothesis that the sharp threshold in the regulation of homeostatic endoplasmic reticulum proteins by cholesterol derives from the cooperativity of their binding to the sterol weakly held by the phospholipids. Thus, the model explicates the complexity inherent in the binding of ligands like PFO and filipin to the small accessible fraction of membrane cholesterol.

Department

Department of Physics

Original Publication Date

4-1-2023

Object Description

1 PDF File

DOI of published version

10.1016/j.jlr.2023.100344

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Date Digital

2023

Copyright

©2023 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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