Cholesterol-binding toxins and anti-cholesterol antibodies as structural probes for cholesterol localization.
Subcell Biochem
; 51: 597-621, 2010.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20213560
ABSTRACT
Cholesterol is one of the major constituents of mammalian cell membranes. It plays an indispensable role in regulating the structure and function of cell membranes and affects the pathology of various diseases. In recent decades much attention has been paid to the existence of membrane microdomains, generally termed lipid "rafts", and cholesterol, along with sphingolipids, is thought to play a critical role in raft structural organization and function. Cholesterol-binding probes are likely to provide useful tools for analyzing the distribution and dynamics of membrane cholesterol, as a structural element of raft microdomains, and elsewhere within the cell. Among the probes, non-toxic derivatives of perfringolysin O, a cholesterol-binding cytolysin, bind cholesterol in a concentration-dependent fashion with a strict threshold. They selectively recognize cholesterol in cholesterol-enriched membranes, and have been used in many studies to detect microdomains in plasma and intracellular membranes. Anti-cholesterol antibodies that recognize cholesterol in domain structures have been developed in recent years. In this chapter, we describe the characteristics of these cholesterol-binding proteins and their applications to studies on membrane cholesterol localization.
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Membrana Celular
/
Colesterol
/
Citotoxinas
Límite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Subcell Biochem
Año:
2010
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Japón