title: Effect of cholesterol on rhodopsin stability in disk membranes.
abstract: The effect of cholesterol on rhodopsin stability has been investigated in intact disk membranes. Because cholesterol readily equilibrates between membranes, the disk membrane cholesterol content can be altered by incubation with cholesterol/phospholipid vesicles. The effect of membrane cholesterol on rhodopsin was investigated using three independent techniques: thermal bleaching, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and activation of the cGMP cascade. Rhodopsin exhibited an increased resistance to thermally induced bleaching as the membrane cholesterol level was increased. DSC also indicated that the protein is stabilized by cholesterol in that the Tm increased in response to higher membrane cholesterol. A similar degree of stabilization was observed in both the unbleached and bleached states in the DSC experiments. These results suggest that cholesterol affects the disk membrane properties such that thermally induced unfolding is inhibited, thus stabilizing the rhodopsin structure. Furthermore, high membrane cholesterol inhibited the activation of the cGMP cascade. This is consistent with the stabilization of the metarhodopsin I photointermediate relative to the metarhodopsin II intermediate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo 14214, USA. aalbert@ubmedg.buffalo.edu
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boesze-Battaglia
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Paw
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watts
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Epand
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D002417:Cattle; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000502:physiology; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008027:Light; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D011489:Protein Denaturation; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D012374:Rod Cell Outer Segment / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; C013110:metarhodopsins; D012243:Rhodopsin; D002784:Cholesterol; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; D006152:Cyclic GMP