Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Cholesterol-sphingomyelin interactions: a molecular dynamics simulation study.

Tomasz Róg1, Marta Pasenkiewicz-Gierula

  • 1Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.

Biophysical Journal
|August 22, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Preventing Age-Related Nuclear Cataract Development - Is Cholesterol the Key?

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science·2026
Same author

Analysis of variant interactions in families with autism points to genes involved in the development of the central nervous system.

PloS one·2025
Same author

Dynamic and Energetic Aspects of Carotenoids In-and-Around Model Lipid Membranes Revealed in Molecular Modelling.

International journal of molecular sciences·2024
Same author

Protecting the Eye Lens from Oxidative Stress through Oxygen Regulation.

Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)·2023
Same author

Stacks of monogalactolipid bilayers can transform into a lattice of water channels.

iScience·2023
Same author

Psychedelics promote plasticity by directly binding to BDNF receptor TrkB.

Nature neuroscience·2023

Cholesterol significantly alters stearoylsphingomyelin (SSM) bilayers by promoting liquid-ordered phases, unlike its effect on 15-stearoylphosphatidylcholine (15SPC) bilayers. This difference stems from stronger hydrogen bonding between cholesterol and SSM lipids.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Lipid Bilayer Dynamics
  • Molecular Modeling

Background:

  • Stearoylsphingomyelin (SSM) and 15-stearoylphosphatidylcholine (15SPC) are key sphingolipids and phospholipids, respectively.
  • Cholesterol (Chol) is a crucial component influencing cell membrane properties.
  • Understanding lipid-cholesterol interactions is vital for membrane biophysics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the differential effects of cholesterol on stearoylsphingomyelin (SSM) and 15-stearoylphosphatidylcholine (15SPC) lipid bilayers.
  • To elucidate the role of hydrogen bonding in cholesterol-lipid interactions within bilayers.
  • To analyze the impact of cholesterol on bilayer phase behavior and molecular order.

Main Methods:

  • Molecular dynamics simulations of SSM and 15SPC bilayers with varying cholesterol concentrations (0-50 mol%).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Simulations conducted at physiological (37°C) and elevated (60°C) temperatures.
  • Analysis of hydrogen bonding, lipid chain order, headgroup hydration, and phase transitions.

    • Main Results:

    • Cholesterol exhibited more extensive hydrogen bonding with SSM than with 15SPC, anchoring its hydroxyl group deeper in the SSM bilayer interface.
    • Cholesterol induced a phase transition from gel to liquid-ordered in SSM bilayers (22 mol% Chol at 37°C), stabilizing them above the pure SSM transition temperature (~45°C).
    • In contrast, cholesterol did not alter the gel phase of 15SPC bilayers at 37°C due to its higher interfacial location.

    Conclusions:

    • The distinct interactions of cholesterol with SSM, driven by enhanced hydrogen bonding, significantly alter bilayer phase behavior compared to 15SPC.
    • Cholesterol's influence on SSM extends to both the bilayer core and interface, increasing lipid order and headgroup hydration while decreasing inter-lipid polar interactions.
    • These findings highlight the lipid-specific nature of cholesterol's membrane-ordering effects.