Comparison of the intracellular metabolism and trafficking of 25-hydroxycholesterol and cholesterol in macrophages.
Oxysterols arising from the diet or through lipid peroxidation may be important in the modulation of cellular cholesterol metabolism. In this study, the metabolism of one of the oxysterols, 25-hydroxycholesterol (25OHC), was examined in J774 and mouse peritoneal macrophages. Uptake of 25OHC from serum was rapid and substantial. Esterification of the cellular 25OHC was also rapid as was hydrolysis of pre-formed esters. Like cholesterol, 25OHC was removed from cells by an extracellular acceptor such as high density lipoprotein. Unlike cholesterol, 25OHC was also rapidly and extensively removed from cells by serum albumin, but not by ovalbumin. The differential removal of oxysterols and cholesterol from cells by albumin allows separation of cellular effects due to oxysterols and cholesterol. In order to understand more about this differential efflux of sterols, a computer model for sterol mass transport in cells was used to compare intracellular trafficking of cholesterol and 25OHC. The rate constants determined by this model for movement of sterols between cytoplasm and plasma membrane were similar for both cholesterol and 25OHC, whereas those for esterification and ester hydrolysis as well as those for bidirectional movement between plasma membrane and extracellular medium were greater for 25OHC than for cholesterol. For both sterols, the rate-limiting step for removal of cellular esters appeared to be the rate of cytoplasmic ester hydrolysis. As 25OHC and cholesterol differ significantly in aqueous solubility, the similarity in their rate constants for movement between cytoplasm and plasma membrane is consistent with facilitation of transport between these two loci.
Morel
D W
DW
Department of Biochemistry, Allegheny University, MCP-Hahnemann Medical School, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA.
Edgerton
M E
ME
Warner
G E
GE
Johnson
W J
WJ
Phillips
M C
MC
Rothblat
G H
GH
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002460:Cell Line; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006888:Hydroxycholesterols / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism*; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological
D006888:Hydroxycholesterols; C007997:25-hydroxycholesterol; D002784:Cholesterol