Cholesterol effect on thermostability of the (Ca2+, Mg2+)-ATPase from cardiac muscle sarcolemma

When the cholesterol concentration in the sarcolemmal system is raised, the (Ca2+,Mg2+)-ATPase activity acquires an important degree of thermostability; phenomena that is completely lost if the experiment is carried out with cholesterol depleted sarcolemma. In this system, a gradual depletion of sarcolemmal cholesterol, renders the ATPase remarkably sensitive to temperature. At different concentrations of ATP, it is found that cholesterol affects the Vmax of the (Ca2+,Mg2+)-ATPase but not its Km. These results support our earlier suggestion of a direct effect of cholesterol upon the enzyme, and opens a possible mode of action of cholesterol on the enzyme. It is suggested that the inverse relationship between catalysis and thermostability is due to differences in the flexibility of the enzyme directly related to hydrophobicity changes caused by cholesterol.