title: Probes for studying cholesterol binding and cell biology.
abstract: Cholesterol is a multifunctional lipid in eukaryotic cells. It regulates the physical state of the phospholipid bilayer, is crucially involved in the formation of membrane microdomains, affects the activity of many membrane proteins, and is the precursor for steroid hormones and bile acids. Thus, cholesterol plays a profound role in the physiology and pathophysiology of eukaryotic cells. The cholesterol molecule has achieved evolutionary perfection to fulfill its different functions in membrane organization. Here, we review basic approaches to explore the interaction of cholesterol with proteins, with a particular focus on the high diversity of fluorescent and photoreactive cholesterol probes available today.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany. gimpl@uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gimpl
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gehrig-Burger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D003505:Cyclodextrins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000737:chemistry*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003505:Cyclodextrins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D015335:Molecular Probes; D010743:Phospholipids; D002784:Cholesterol