Content area

Abstract

Lipid composition determines membrane properties, and cholesterol plays a major role in this determination as it regulates membrane fluidity and permeability, as well as induces the formation of coexisting phases and domains in the membrane. Biological membranes display a very diverse lipid composition, the lateral organization of which plays a crucial role in regulating a variety of membrane functions. We hypothesize that, during biological evolution, membranes with a particular cholesterol content were selected to perform certain functions in the cells of eukaryotic organisms. In this review, we discuss the major membrane properties induced by cholesterol, and their relationship to certain membrane functions.

Details

Title
High Cholesterol/Low Cholesterol: Effects in Biological Membranes: A Review
Author
Subczynski, Witold K 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pasenkiewicz-Gierula, Marta 2 ; Widomska, Justyna 3 ; Mainali, Laxman 1 ; Raguz, Marija 4 

1  Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA 
2  Department of Computational Biophysics and Bioinformatics, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland 
3  Department of Biophysics, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland 
4  Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; Department of Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Split, Split, Croatia 
Pages
369-385
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Dec 2017
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
10859195
e-ISSN
15590283
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-017-0792-7
ProQuest document ID
1965148843
Copyright
Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics is a copyright of Springer, (2017). All Rights Reserved.