Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Cholesterol Efflux Assay
Published on: March 6, 2012
Cholesterol depletion inhibits fatty acid uptake without affecting CD36 or caveolin-1 distribution in adipocytes
Scott D Covey1, Rachelle H Brunet, Shephali G Gandhi
1Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, 1200 Main St. W. Hamilton, Ont., Canada L8N 3Z5.
Abstract:
Caveolin-1 and CD36 are plasma membrane fatty acid binding proteins that participate in adipocyte fatty acid uptake and metabolism. Both are associated with cholesterol-enriched caveolae/lipid rafts in the plasma membrane that are important for long chain fatty acid uptake. Depletion of plasma membrane cholesterol reversibly inhibited oleate uptake by adipocytes without altering the amount or the cell surface distribution of either caveolin-1 or CD36. Cholesterol levels thus regulate fatty acid uptake by adipocytes via a pathway that does not involve altered cell surface localization of caveolin-1 or CD36.
Related Concept Videos
Cholesterol: Significance and Regulation
Considering cholesterol and...
Lipid Absorption
These breakdown products bind with bile salts and lecithin to form micelles, which quickly pass between microvilli to come in close contact with the apical...
Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...
Receptor-mediated Endocytosis
Lipid Catabolism
Lipids: Dietary Sources and Requirements

