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Cholesterol distribution in rat heart myocytes
H Shmeeda1, D Petkova, Y Barenholz
1Department of Biochemistry, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
The American Journal of Physiology
|February 1, 1995
Summary
Neonatal rat heart cells show increased cholesterol with age and hypertrophy. Treatment with egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles reduced cholesterol and eliminated crystals, suggesting a therapeutic target for heart cell cholesterol management.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Cholesterol distribution between plasma membrane and intracellular pools is crucial for cell function.
- Neonatal rat heart myocytes undergo changes with age and hypertrophy, impacting cellular processes.
- Understanding cholesterol dynamics is vital for addressing cardiac health and disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distribution of free cholesterol in neonatal rat heart myocytes.
- To examine how cholesterol levels and distribution change with cell aging and hypertrophy.
- To assess the impact of phosphatidylcholine vesicles on cellular cholesterol and morphology.
Main Methods:
- Utilized cholesterol oxidase to quantify free cholesterol in intact neonatal rat heart myocytes.
- Employed electron microscopy to visualize cellular structures, including vesicles and crystals.
- Administered small unilamellar vesicles of egg phosphatidylcholine to treated cell cultures.
Main Results:
- Intact cells converted only 20% of unesterified cholesterol using cholesterol oxidase.
- Aging and hypertrophy increased both cellular and plasma membrane cholesterol, maintaining relative distribution.
- Cholesterol monohydrate crystals appeared in hypertrophic cells; phosphatidylcholine vesicles reduced cholesterol and eliminated crystals, forming smaller vesicles.
Conclusions:
- Cellular cholesterol increases with age and hypertrophy in neonatal rat heart myocytes.
- Cholesterol monohydrate crystal formation occurs in hypertrophic myocytes.
- Egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles effectively reduce cellular cholesterol and alter cellular morphology, offering potential therapeutic insights.