Exploring the structure and stability of cholesterol dimer formation in multicomponent lipid bilayers.

ABSTRACT: For 40 years, the existence and possible functional importance of cholesterol dimer formation has been discussed. Due to challenges associated with structural studies of membrane lipids, there has as yet been no direct experimental verification of the existence and relevance of the cholesterol dimer. Building on recent advances in lipid force fields for molecular simulation, in this work the structure and stability of the cholesterol dimer is characterized in POPC bilayers in absence and presence of sphingomyelin. The cholesterol dimer structural ensemble is found to consist of sub-states that reflect, but also differ from, previously proposed dimer structures. While face-to-face dimer structures predominate, no evidence is found for the existence of tail-to-tail dimers in POPC lipid bilay

SUBMITTER: Bandara A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5398962 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature