title: Comparison of cis and trans fatty acid containing phosphatidylcholines on membrane properties.
abstract: The ever-increasing amount of trans fatty acids in the human diet has been linked to a variety of afflictions, most notably coronary heart disease and arteriosclerosis. The mechanism of why the replacement of cis fatty acids with their trans counterparts can be detrimental to the health of an individual remains a mystery. Here, we compare the differences in membrane physical properties including molecular dynamics, lateral lipid packing, thermotropic phase behavior, "fluidity", lateral mobility, and permeability between model membranes (lipid monolayers and bilayers) composed of cis- and trans-containing phosphatidylcholines (PCs). The PCs tested have a total of zero, one, two, or four cis (oleic or linoleic) or trans (elaidic or linoelaidic) double bonds. These experiments all confirm the basic hypothesis that trans fatty acids produce membrane properties more similar to those of saturated chains than to those of acyl chains containing cis double bonds; i.e., cis double bonds induce much larger membrane perturbations than trans double bonds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 723 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5132, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roach
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Feller
authors.forename: Jesse A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Saame Raza
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Shaikh
authors.forename: Mustapha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zerouga
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Stillwell
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D005227:Fatty Acids; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines