title: Manipulation of cholesterol levels in rod disk membranes by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin: effects on receptor activation.
abstract: The effect of cholesterol on rod outer segment disk membrane structure and rhodopsin activation was investigated. Disk membranes with varying cholesterol concentrations were prepared using methyl-beta-cyclodextrin as a cholesterol donor or acceptor. Cholesterol exchange followed a simple equilibrium partitioning model with a partition coefficient of 5.2 +/- 0.8 in favor of the disk membrane. Reduced cholesterol in disk membranes resulted in a higher proportion of photolyzed rhodopsin being converted to the G protein-activating metarhodopsin II (MII) conformation, whereas enrichment of cholesterol reduced the extent of MII formation. Time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy measurements using 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene showed that increasing cholesterol reduced membrane acyl chain packing free volume as characterized by the parameter f(v). The level of MII formed showed a positive linear correlation with f(v) over the range of 4 to 38 mol % cholesterol. In addition, the thermal stability of rhodopsin increased with mol % of cholesterol in disk membranes. No evidence was observed for the direct interaction of cholesterol with rhodopsin in either its agonist- or antagonist-bound form. These results indicate that cholesterol mediates the function of the G protein-coupled receptor, rhodopsin, by influencing membrane lipid properties, i.e. reducing acyl chain packing free volume, rather than interacting specifically with rhodopsin.
authors.affiliation: Section of Fluorescence Studies, Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
authors.forename: Shui-Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Drake C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Burton J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Litman
mesh_terms: D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism*; D003505:Cyclodextrins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017948:Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000378:metabolism; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D047392:beta-Cyclodextrins
chemical_list: D003505:Cyclodextrins; D047392:beta-Cyclodextrins; C108732:methyl-beta-cyclodextrin; D012243:Rhodopsin; D002784:Cholesterol