Enzymatic oxidation of cholesterol: properties and functional effects of cholestenone in cell membranes.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial cholesterol oxidase is commonly used as an experimental tool to reduce cellular cholesterol content. That the treatment also generates the poorly degradable metabolite 4-cholesten-3-one (cholestenone) has received less attention. Here, we investigated the membrane partitioning of cholestenone using simulations and cell biological experiments and assessed the functional effects of cholestenone in human cells. Atomistic simulations predicted that cholestenone reduces membrane order, undergoes faster flip-flop and desorbs more readily from membranes than cholesterol. In primary human fibroblasts, cholestenone was released from membranes to physiological extracellular acceptors more avidly than cholesterol, but without acceptors it remained in cells over a day. To address the functio

SUBMITTER: Neuvonen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4144813 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature