Kinetic and Thermodynamic Analysis of Cholesterol Transfer between Phospholipid Vesicles and Nanodiscs

We investigated interparticle transfer of cholesterol (Chol) between large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) and phospholipid bilayer nanodiscs. The Chol transfer rate from LUVs to nanodiscs was decreased by an increase in the Chol content or incorporation of sphingomyelin in donor phosphatidylcholine/Chol LUVs but was not influenced by the lipid composition of acceptor particles. These results suggest that Chol dissociation from the lipid bilayer into aqueous phase is the rate-limiting step of the transfer and that the process depends on the fluidity of the donor membranes. The Chol dissociation rate from nanodiscs was faster than that from LUVs with similar lipid composition. Chol preferably partitioned to LUVs rather than nanodiscs, which is consistent with the faster dissociation rate from nanodiscs. The activation energy of Chol dissociation from nanodiscs was 1.7 kJ/mol lower than that from LUV, which was brought by increased (less negative) activation entropy and enthalpy. In addition, fluorescence lifetime and anisotropy data revealed that the lipid bilayer of nanodiscs is more tightly packed than that of LUVs. These results suggest that the tighter lipid packing in nanodiscs destabilizes the Chol-containing bilayer by reducing the entropy, which facilitates Chol dissociation.