Unexpected asymmetric distribution of cholesterol and phospholipids in equilibrium model membranes.

ABSTRACT: Lipid compositional asymmetry across the leaflets of the plasma membrane is an ubiquitous feature in eukaryotic cells. How this asymmetry is maintained is thought to be primarily controlled by active transport of lipids between leaflets. This strategy is facilitated by the fact that long-tail phospholipids and sphingolipids diffuse through the lipid bilayer slowly-taking many hours or days. However, a lipid like cholesterol-which is the most abundant lipid in the plasma membrane of animal cells-has been harder to pinpoint in terms of its favored side. In this work we show that, when a saturated lipid is added to a mix of the unsaturated lipid palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) and cholesterol, both cholesterol and the long-tail phospholipids organize asymmetrically across the memb

SUBMITTER: Zhu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11617633 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature