Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Cholesterol Efflux Assay
Published on: March 6, 2012
Caveolin-1 and doxorubicin-induced P-glycoprotein modulate plasma cholesterol membrane accessibility in
Miaojun Zhu1, Laurence LE Moyec, Anna Starzec
1Unité ANBiophy, FRE 3207, CNRS, Universités Paris 13 et Paris 6, 93017 Bobigny, France.
Unlabelled:
AIM/ BACKGROUND: Various interactions between Caveolae membrane domains, multidrug resistance transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and cholesterol have been suggested. We tested the assumption that anthracycline-induced P-gp and Caveolin-1 have correlated effects on cholesterol distribution in plasma membrane.
Materials And Methods:
The present study was performed in four lymphoblastic K562 cell lines expressing none (KS), one (Cav and KR cells) or both P-gp and caveolin-1 proteins (CavKR cells).
Results:
The CavKR cell line exhibits a significantly higher free cholesterol content than the other cell lines. Cholesterol distribution at the outer leaflet was distinct from the total cellular cholesterol by its accessibility to cholesterol oxidase (COase). When cells were ATP-deprived, cholesterol accessibility to oxidation was significantly delayed in CavKR cells. Caveolin-1 or P-gp expression did not induce detectable changes in membrane cholesterol accessibility to COase.
Conclusion:
Combination of functional P-gp, caveolae presence and lasting effect of anthracycline treatment appear determinant in free membrane cholesterol homeostasis and likely modulate cholesterol membrane order.
Related Concept Videos
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Transporters: P-Glycoprotein and Solute Carrier Transporters
Receptor-mediated Endocytosis
Cholesterol: Significance and Regulation
Considering cholesterol and...
Carrier-Mediated Transport
Active transport involves two types of membrane-spanning transporters: uptake and efflux. Uptake transporters are expressed in the small...
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Cellular Membranes and Drug Transport
Phospholipids arrange themselves into a bilayer, with hydrophilic heads oriented outward and hydrophobic tails facing inward.

