Cholesterol induces uneven curvature of asymmetric lipid bilayers. 2013

S O Yesylevskyy, and A P Demchenko, and S Kraszewski, and C Ramseyer
Department of Physics of Biological Systems, Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Prospect Nauky 46, Kiev 03680, Ukraine. yesint3@ukr.net

A remarkable flexibility is observed in biological membranes, which allows them to form the structures of different curvatures. We addressed the question of intrinsic ability of phospholipid membranes to form highly curved structures and the role of cholesterol in this process. The distribution of cholesterol in the highly curved asymmetric DOPC/DOPS lipid bilayer was investigated by the coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations in the membrane patches with large aspect ratio. It is shown that cholesterol induces uneven membrane curvature promoting the formation of extended flattened regions of the membrane interleaved by sharp bends. It is shown that the affinity of cholesterol to anionic DOPS or neutral DOPC lipids is curvature dependent. The cholesterol prefers DOPS to DOPC in either planar or highly curved parts of the membrane. In contrast, in the narrow interval of moderate membrane curvatures this preference is inverted. Our data suggest that there is a complex self-consistent interplay between the membrane curvature and cholesterol distribution in the asymmetric lipid bilayers. The suggested new function of cholesterol may have a biological relevance.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008051 Lipid Bilayers Layers of lipid molecules which are two molecules thick. Bilayer systems are frequently studied as models of biological membranes. Bilayers, Lipid,Bilayer, Lipid,Lipid Bilayer
D008560 Membrane Fluidity The motion of phospholipid molecules within the lipid bilayer, dependent on the classes of phospholipids present, their fatty acid composition and degree of unsaturation of the acyl chains, the cholesterol concentration, and temperature. Bilayer Fluidity,Bilayer Fluidities,Fluidities, Bilayer,Fluidities, Membrane,Fluidity, Bilayer,Fluidity, Membrane,Membrane Fluidities
D008968 Molecular Conformation The characteristic three-dimensional shape of a molecule. Molecular Configuration,3D Molecular Structure,Configuration, Molecular,Molecular Structure, Three Dimensional,Three Dimensional Molecular Structure,3D Molecular Structures,Configurations, Molecular,Conformation, Molecular,Conformations, Molecular,Molecular Configurations,Molecular Conformations,Molecular Structure, 3D,Molecular Structures, 3D,Structure, 3D Molecular,Structures, 3D Molecular
D002784 Cholesterol The principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils. Epicholesterol

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