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Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Construction of Model Lipid Membranes Incorporating G-protein Coupled Receptors GPCRs
Published on: February 5, 2022
Peptide Recognition of Cholesterol in Fluid Phospholipid Bilayers
Masaru Mukai1, Martin R Krause1, Steven L Regen1
1Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University , Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States.
Abstract:
N-Acetyl-LWYIKC-amide, a cholesterol recognition/interaction amino acid consensus (CRAC) peptide, has been found capable of recognizing an exchangeable form of cholesterol in liquid-disordered (l(d)) bilayers derived from 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC). In sharp contrast, such recognition is barely detectable in analogous cholesterol-rich, liquid-ordered (l0) bilayers. These findings represent the first evidence for a peptide favoring a sterol as a nearest-neighbor in fluid bilayers. They also reveal that such recognition can be strongly dependent on the degree of compactness of the membrane.
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