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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Detergent-free Ultrafast Reconstitution of Membrane Proteins into Lipid Bilayers Using Fusogenic Complementary-charged Proteoliposomes.
Published on: April 5, 2018
The role of cholesterol in membrane fusion
Sung-Tae Yang1, Alex J B Kreutzberger1, Jinwoo Lee1
1Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
Abstract:
Cholesterol modulates the bilayer structure of biological membranes in multiple ways. It changes the fluidity, thickness, compressibility, water penetration and intrinsic curvature of lipid bilayers. In multi-component lipid mixtures, cholesterol induces phase separations, partitions selectively between different coexisting lipid phases, and causes integral membrane proteins to respond by changing conformation or redistribution in the membrane. But, which of these often overlapping properties are important for membrane fusion?-Here we review a range of recent experiments that elucidate the multiple roles that cholesterol plays in SNARE-mediated and viral envelope glycoprotein-mediated membrane fusion.
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