Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-16-2021
Department
Engineering
Keywords
low-density lipoprotein, oxysterol, multicomponent phospholipid bilayer, molecular dynamics simulation, lipid order, sterol tilt, hypercholesterolemia, mass spectrometry
Abstract
Under hypercholesterolemic conditions, exposure of cells to lipoproteins results in a subtle membrane increase in the levels of cholesterol and 7-ketocholesterol, as compared to normal conditions. The effect of these physiologically relevant concentration increases on multicomponent bilayer membranes was investigated using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Significant changes in the structural and dynamic properties of the bilayer membranes resulted from these subtle increases in sterol levels, with both sterol species inducing decreases in the lateral area and inhibiting lateral diffusion to varying extents. Cholesterol and 7-ketocholesterol, however, exhibited opposite effects on lipid packing and orientation. The results from this study indicate that the subtle increases in membrane sterol levels induced by exposure to lipoproteins result in molecular-scale biophysical perturbation of membrane structure.
Source Publication Title
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine - Atherosclerosis and Vascular Medicine
Publisher
Frontiers Media
DOI
10.3389/fcvm.2021.715932
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Ayee, M. A., & Levitan, I. (2021). Lipoprotein-Induced Increases in Cholesterol and 7-Ketocholesterol Result in Opposite Molecular-Scale Biophysical Effects on Membrane Structure. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine - Atherosclerosis and Vascular Medicine https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2021.715932
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