Cell-free transfer and sorting of membrane lipids in spinach

Summary The donor and acceptor specificity of cell-free transfer of radiolabeled membrane constituents, chiefly lipids, was examined using purified fractions of endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, nuclei, plasma membrane, tonoplast, mitochondria, and chloroplasts prepared from green leaves of spinach. Donor membranes were radiolabeled with [¹⁴C]acetate. Acceptor membranes were unlabeled and immobilized on nitrocellulose filters. The assay was designed to measure membrane transfer resulting from ATP-and temperature-dependent formation of transfer vesicles by the donor fraction in solution and subsequent attachment and/or fusion of the transfer vesicles with the immobilized acceptor. When applied to the analysis of spinach fractions, significant ATP-dependent transfer in the presence of cytosol was observed only with endoplasmic reticulum as donor and Golgi apparatus as acceptor. Transfer in the reverse direction, from Golgi apparatus to endoplasmic reticulum, was only 0.2 to 0.3 that from endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi apparatus. ATP-dependent transfers also were indicated between nuclei and Golgi apparatus from regression analysis of transfer kinetics. Specific transfer between Golgi apparatus and plasma membrane and, to a lesser extent, from plasma membrane to Golgi apparatus was observed at 25°C compared to 4°C but was not ATP plus cytosol-dependent. All other combinations of organelles and membranes exhibited no ATP plus cytosol-dependent transfer and only small increments of specific transfer comparing transfer at 37°C to transfer at 4°C. Thus, the only combinations of membranes capable of significant cell-free transfer in vitro were those observed by electron microscopy of cells and tissues to be involved in vesicular transport in vivo (endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, plasma membrane, nuclear envelope). Of these, only with endoplasmic reticulum (or nuclear envelope) and Golgi apparatus, where transfer in situ is via 50 to 70 nm transition vesicles, was temperature-and ATP-dependent transfer of acetatelabeled membrane reproduced in vitro. Lipids transferred included phospholipids, mono-and diacylglycerols, and sterols but not triacylglycerols or steryl esters, raising the possibility of lipid sorting or processing to exclude transfer of triacylglycerols and steryl esters at the endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi apparatus step.     

ATP-dependent cell-free transfer of membrane lipids from nuclei to Golgi apparatus of germinating axes of garden pea

Summary ATP-dependent cell-free transfer of membrane constituents radiolabeled with [¹⁴C]acetate, primarily lipids, was demonstrated between isolated nuclei in suspension and purified Golgi apparatus immobilized on nitrocellulose strips prepared from garden pea (Pisum sativum) in the presence of pea cytosol. The ATP-dependent transfer correlated with the ability of the nuclear envelope to form 50–70 nm vesicles and blebs in an ATP-dependent manner. Specific transfer, transfer at 23°C minus transfer at 4°C, was approximately doubled by addition of ATP and was greater for peas germinated for 2 days than for peas germinated for 3 days. ATP plus cytosol-dependent transfer could not be demonstrated using radiolabeled pea nuclei as donor with purified endoplasmic reticulum, plasma membrane, nuclei, mitochondria or amyloplasts as acceptors. The results provide a second example, in addition to transfer between endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus, where ATP-and temperature-dependent transfer via 50–70 nm transition vesicles can be demonstrated in a cell-free system.     

Dictyosome-like structures from guinea-pig testes lack galactosyltransferase,a Golgi apparatus marker

Summary More than twenty different enzyme activities of fractions containing dictyosome-like structures (DLS) as a dominant cell component were monitored. Plasma membrane vesicles were a major contaminant of the DLS fractions, which, presumably as a consequence, were enriched somewhat in plasma membrane markers. The lysosomal enzymes arylsulfatase and latent acid phosphatase were present in the DLS fractions as were the Golgi apparatus activities thiamine pyrophosphatase and nucleoside diphosphatase. The presence of the latter two enzymes in DLS, plus NADH-ferricyanide reductase, has been verified from cytochemistry. On the other hand, the Golgi apparatus marker, galactosyltransferase, was not enriched in DLS fractions and appeared to be absent. This latter finding, verified from cytochemistry with isolated DLS fractions and, in situ, from [³H]galactose incorporation by testis tubules with analysis by autoradiography, provides the first clear biochemical characteristic that serves unequivocally to distinguish DLS from conventional Golgi apparatus.Work supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health HD 11508     

Delivery of liposome membrane-associated sterols through silastic membranes

The transport of sterols incorporated into the lecithin bilayer of small unilamellar liposomes through a model membrane was studied. A two-chamber diffusion cell containing liposomes with incorporated [4-¹⁴C]cholesterol or β-[4-¹⁴C]sitosterol in the donor chamber and liposomes with unlabeled cholesterol in the receiver chamber was used. The permeability coefficients of the sterols through silastic rubber membranes which served as a model membrane were measured. The permeability for cholesterol incorporated into liposomes in a phosphatidyl choline/cholesterol molar ratio of 1 : 1, produced by sonication for 1 h, and subsequent centrifugation at 100000 × g for 1 h, was 1.6 · 10^?8 cm sec^?1. Dilution of the liposome suspension did not change the permeability coefficient significantly. The permeability coefficient of sitosterol incorporated into liposomes was about 4-times smaller than that of cholesterol. These results suggest that the sterols were delivered to the silastic membrane by the intact liposomes and that free solute was not involved in the transport to the membrane to a significant degree. The large differences in the permeability coefficients between cholesterol and sitosterol indicate that an aqueous interfacial barrier was crossed by the sterol during the delivery to the membrane.     

Chloroplast biogenesis. Cell-free transfer of envelope monogalactosylglycerides to thylakoids.

An ATP- and temperature-dependent transfer of monogalactosylglycerides from the chloroplast envelope to the chloroplast thylakoids was reconstituted in a cell-free system prepared from isolated chloroplasts of garden pea (Pisum sativum) or spinach (Spinacia oleracea). Isolated envelope membranes, in which the label was present exclusively in monogalactosylglycerides, were prepared radiolabeled in vitro with [14C]galactose from UDP-[14C]galactose to label galactolipids as the donor. ATP-dependent transfer of radioactivity from donor to unlabeled acceptor thylakoids, immobilized on nitrocellulose strips, was observed. In some experiments linear transfer for longer than 30 min of incubation was facilitated by the addition of stroma proteins but in other experiments stroma was without effect or inhibitory suggesting no absolute requirements for a soluble protein carrier. Transfer was donor specific. No membrane fraction tested (plasma membrane, tonoplast, endoplasmic reticulum, nuclei, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria or thylakoids) (isolated from tissue radiolabeled in vivo with [14C]acetate) other than chloroplast envelopes demonstrated any significant ability to transfer labeled membrane lipids to immobilized thylakoids. Acceptor specificity, while not absolute, showed a 3-10-fold greater ATP-dependent transfer of labeled galactolipids from chloroplast envelopes to immobilized thylakoids than to other leaf membranes. The results provide independent confirmation of the potential for transfer of galactolipids between chloroplast envelopes and thylakoids suggested previously from ultrastructural studies and of the known location of thylakoid galactolipid biosynthetic activities in the chloroplast envelope.     

Biosynthesis of makisterone A and 20-hydroxyecdysone from labeled sterols by the honey bee,Apis mellifera

In an effort to determine the sterol precursor(s) of the 28-carbon ecdysteroid, makisterone A, honey bee pupae (13 days post-oviposition) were injected with radiolabeled sterols and subsequently examined for labeled ecdysteroids. High performance liquid chromatography of the pupal extracts revealed that [³H]campesterol was converted to a compound that behaved chromatographically identical to authentic makisterone A, and [¹⁴C]cholesterol was incorporated into a compound chromatographically like 20-hydroxyecdysone. No incorporation of either 24-[³H]methylenecholesterol or [¹⁴C]sitosterol into an ecdysteroid was observed. The neutral sterols of uninjected honey bee pupae contained 49.8% 24-methylenecholesterol on a relative percent basis and, with three other C²⁸ and C²⁹ sterols, accounted for over 99% of the total sterols present.     

Distribution and movement of sterols with different side chain structures between the two leaflets of the membrane bilayer of mycoplasma cells

Mycoplasma gallisepticum was adapted to grow with delta 5-sterols modified in the aliphatic side chain, and stopped-flow kinetic measurements of filipin association were made to estimate the sterol distribution between the two leaflets of the membrane. Cholesterol derivatives with unsaturated side chains (desmosterol, cis- and trans-22-dehydrocholesterol, and cholesta-5,22E,24-trien-3 beta-ol) or an alkyl substituent (beta-sitosterol) were predominantly (86-94%) localized in the outer leaflet of the bilayer. However, cholesterol, 20-isocholesterol, and sterols with side chains of varying lengths (in the 20(R)-n-alkylpregn-5-en-3 beta-ol series where the alkyl group ranged from ethyl to undecyl) were distributed nearly symmetrically between the two halves of the bilayer. Kinetic measurements of beta-[14C]sitosterol and [14C]desmosterol exchange between M. gallisepticum cells and an excess of sonicated sterol/phosphatidylcholine vesicles confirmed the filipin-binding studies. More than 90% of these radiolabeled sterols underwent exchange at 37 degrees C with unlabeled sterols in vesicles over a period of 12-14 h in the presence of 2% (w/v) albumin. beta-[14C]Sitosterol exchange was characterized by biphasic exchange kinetics, indicative of two pools of sitosterol molecules in the cell membrane. Only a single kinetic pool was detected for [14C]desmosterol exchange. Stopped flow measurements of filipin binding to beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol also revealed an asymmetrical localization of these sterols in membranes of growing Mycoplasma. capricolum cells. When an early exponential culture of beta-sitosterol- or stigmasterol-adapted M. capricolum was transferred to a sterol-rich medium at 37 degrees C, approximately three-quarters of the beta-sitosterol or stigmasterol was localized in the outer leaflet after growth was continued for 6 h; in contrast, cholesterol was distributed symmetrically after about 1 h. The asymmetric localization of sterols with alkylated or unsaturated side chains suggests that growth-supporting sterols need not be translocated extensively into the inner leaflet of the bilayers of M. gallisepticum and M. capricolum.     

Hepatic and nonhepatic sterol synthesis and tissue distribution following administration of a liver selective HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, CI-981: comparison with selected HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

Since cholesterol biosynthesis is an integral part of cellular metabolism, several HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors were systematically analyzed in in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo sterol synthesis assays using [14C]acetate incorporation into digitonin precipitable sterols as a marker of cholesterol synthesis. Tissue distribution of radiolabeled CI-981 and lovastatin was also performed. In vitro, CI-981 and PD134967-15 were equipotent in liver, spleen, testis and adrenal, lovastatin was more potent in extrahepatic tissues than liver and BMY21950, pravastatin and PD135023-15 were more potent in liver than peripheral tissues. In ex vivo assays, all inhibitors except lovastatin preferentially inhibited liver sterol synthesis; however, pravastatin and BMY22089 were strikingly less potent in the liver. CI-981 inhibited sterol synthesis in vivo in the liver, spleen and adrenal while not affecting the testis, kidney, muscle and brain. Lovastatin inhibited sterol synthesis to a greater extent than CI-981 in the spleen, adrenal and kidney while pravastatin and BMY22089 primarily affected liver and kidney. The tissue distribution of radiolabeled CI-981 and lovastatin support the changes observed in tissue sterol synthesis. Thus, we conclude that a spectrum of liver selective HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors exist and that categorizing agents as liver selective is highly dependent upon method of analysis.     

Sterol transfer by ABCG5 and ABCG8: in vitro assay and reconstitution

ATP-binding cassette transporters G5 and G8 are half-transporters expressed on the apical membranes of enterocytes and hepatocytes that limit intestinal uptake and promote secretion of neutral sterols. Genetic defects that inactivate either half-transporter cause accumulation of cholesterol and plant sterols, resulting in premature coronary atherosclerosis. These observations suggest that G5 and G8 promote the translocation of sterols across membranes, but the primary transport substrate of the G5G8 complex has not been directly determined. Here we report the development of a sterol transfer assay using "inside-out" membrane vesicles from Sf9 cells expressing recombinant mouse G5 and G8. Radiolabeled cholesterol or sitosterol was transferred from donor liposomes to G5- and G8-containing membrane vesicles in an ATP-dependent and vanadate-sensitive manner; net transfer of cholesterol was associated with an increase in vesicular cholesterol mass. CTP, GTP, and UTP, as well as ATP, supported transfer but with lesser efficiency (ATP > CTP > GTP > UTP). Transfer was specific for sterols and was stereoselective; minimal ATP-dependent and vanadate-sensitive transfer of cholesteryl oleate, phosphatidylcholine, or enantiomeric cholesterol was observed. These studies indicate that G5 and G8 are sufficient for reconstitution of sterol transfer activity in vitro and provide the first demonstration that sterols are direct transport substrates of the G5 and G8 heterodimer.     

Liver fatty acid binding protein enhances sterol transfer by membrane interaction

Among the large family of fatty acid binding proteins, the liver L-FABP is unique in that it not only binds fatty acids but also interacts with sterols to enhance sterol transfer between membranes. Nevertheless, the mechanism whereby L-FABP potentiates intermembrane sterol transfer is unknown. Both fluorescence and dialysis data indicate L-FABP mediated sterol transfer between L-cell fibroblast plasma membranes occurs by a direct membrane effect: First, dansylated-L-FABP (DNS-L-FABP) is bound to L-cell fibroblast plasma membranes as indicated by increased DNS-L-FABP steady state polarization and phase resolved limiting anisotropy. Second, coumarin-L-FABP (CPM-L-FABP) fluorescence lifetimes were significantly increased upon interaction with plasma membranes. Third, dialysis studies with³H-cholesterol loaded plasma membranes showed that L-FABP added to the donor compartment of the dialysis cell stimulated³H-cholesterol transfer whether or not the dialysis membrane was permeable to L-FABP. However, L-FABP mediated intermembrane sterol transfer did require a sterol binding site on L-FABP. Chemically blocking the ligand binding site also inhibited L-FABP activity in intermembrane sterol transfer. Finally, L-FABP did not act either as an aqueous carrier or in membrane fusion. The fact that L-FABP interacted with plasma membrane vesicles and required a sterol binding site was consistent with a mode of action whereby L-FABP binds to the membrane prior to releasing sterol from the bilayer.Abbreviations ³H-CHO [1,2-³H(N)]-cholesterol - ANTS 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid - CF carboxyfluorescein - CHO cholesterol - CPM (coumarin maleimide) 7-diethylamino-3-(4-maleimidylphenyl)-4-methylcoumarin - cPNA cisparinaric acid - DHE (dehydroergosterol) ^5,7,9(11),22-ergostatetraen-3-ol - DMF dimethyl formamide - DMPOPOP 1,4-bis[4-methyl-5-phenyl-2-oxazolyl]benzene - DNS (dansyl chloride) 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonylchloride - DPX p-xylene-bis-pyridinium bromide - FBS fetal bovine serum - fluorescamine 4-phenylspiro[furan-2(3H), 1 phthalan]-3,3-dione - L-FABP liver fatty acid binding protein - NPG p-nitrophenylglyoxal - PIPES piperazine-N,N-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid) - POPC 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine - SUV small unilamellar vesicle(s) - TNM tetranitromethane This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health United States Public Health Service (GM31651 and DK41402) and the American Heart Association (Postdoctoral Fellowship to JKW). The helpful assistance of Dr. Scott M. Colles and Mr. Daniel R. Prows in isolating L-FABP was much appreciated.     

Acyl donors for sterol esterification by cell-free preparations from Sinapis alba roots

Homogenates or crude 300-16 000 g membrane fractions from Sinapis alba roots catalysed esterification of [4-¹⁴C]cholesterol with utilization of endogenous acyl sources. With acetone powder preparations cholesterol esterification was distinctly stimulated by a neutral lipid fraction isolated from S. alba roots. Among neutral lipids triacylglycerols were the most active in this process. Experiments with various acyl-labelled acylglycerols as acyl donors and non-labelled sterols as acceptors confirmed that triacylglycerols are directly utilized as the source of fatty acids for sterol esterification. Di- and mono-acylglycerols were much less effective.     

Intracellular sterol distribution in transfected mouse L-cell fibroblasts expressing rat liver fatty acid-binding protein

The potential role of liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) in modulating cellular sterol distribution was examined in mouse L-cell fibroblasts transfected with cDNA encoding L-FABP. L-cells were chosen because they contain only a small amount of endogenous FABP which does not bind [3H]cholesterol, does not enhance intermembrane sterol transfer, and whose content is unaltered by the expression of L-FABP. Transfected L-cells expressed 0.34% of cytosolic protein as L-FABP. Transfection alone with low expression of L-FABP (0.008% of cytosolic protein) had no effect on any of the parameters tested. Three aspects of cellular sterol transfer were examined. First, cellular sterol uptake, monitored by [3H]cholesterol and the fluorescent sterol, delta-5,7,9(11),22-ergostatetraen-3 beta-ol, was increased 21.5 +/- 2.6% (p less than 0.001) in L-cells expressing L-FABP. This increase was not accounted for by increased sterol esterification in the cells expressing L-FABP. Inhibition of both cholesterol transfer and esterification with 3-(decyldimethylsilyl)-N-[2-(4-methylphenyl)-1-phenylethyl]propanamide from Sandoz abolished the L-FABP related enhancement of both [3H]cholesterol uptake and esterification. Second, plasma membrane transbilayer distribution of sterol, determined by fluorescence methods indicated that the majority of sterol was in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane. In transfected cells expressing L-FABP, twice as much sterol (28 +/- 4%) was present in the exofacial leaflet of the plasma membrane as compared to that of control cells (15 +/- 2%). Third, expression of L-FABP enhanced sterol transfer from the plasma membrane to microsomes in intact cells. Treatment of [3H]cholesterol or [3H]oleate-loaded cells with sphingomyelinase resulted in increased formation of radiolabeled cholesterol ester, consistent with enhanced microsomal esterification of plasma membrane derived cholesterol. Concomitantly, plasma membrane [3H]cholesterol became less accessible to oxidation by cholesterol oxidase. Sphingomyelinase-stimulated cholesterol esterification was 21 +/- 3% greater in transfected cells. Concomitantly, accessibility of plasma membrane [3H]cholesterol to cholesterol oxidase was decreased 18 +/- 3% in cells expressing L-FABP. These differences are consistent with the ability of L-FABP to influence sterol transport and plasma membrane transbilayer sterol distribution in intact cells.     

Amo 1618 effects on incorporation of 14C-MVA and 14C-acetate into sterols in Nicotiana and Digitalis seedlings and cell-free preparations from Nicotiana

Incorporation of radioactivity from acetate-[¹⁴C] and MVA-[¹⁴C] into sterols and sterol precursors in tobacco was inhibited by Amo 1618; differing patterns of accumulation were obtained with the two precursors, suggesting more than one point of inhibition. This was borne out with cell-free preparations with which it was demonstrated that both HMG-CoA reductase and squalene-2,3-epoxide cyclase were inhibited, the latter more strongly than the former. GLC analysis of gross sterol and hydrocarbon fractions confirmed previous indications that incorporation of radioactivity into individual sterols was inhibited by Amo 1618. Finally, incorporation of MVA-[¹⁴C] into sterols and sterol precursors of Digitalis was significantly altered by the retardant, thus expanding the generality of the relationship between sterol (particularly 4-desmethylsterol) biosynthesis inhibition and retardant effect.     

Changes in sterol metabolism in the skin of developing chick embryo and alterations in the presence of an anticholesterolemic agent and a chemical carcinogen

Changes in sterol metabolism in the skin of chick embryo during its development were studied with embryonal chick skin and with the cultured skin tissues. Changes in sterol metabolism of the skin of chick embryo began to appear at day 17, as observed by the accumulation of dihydrolanosterol, and the ratio of dihydrolanostrol:cholesterol increased thereafter until hatching. A similar change in sterol metabolism was also observed with the cultured skin tissue of chick embryo, although the stages of development seem to have been delayed by 3 days. The active sterol metabolism of the cultured skin tissue was also confirmed by studies of incorporation of [2-14C]acetate into sterols. 20,25-Diazacholesterol almost completely inhibited the incorporation of [2-14C]acetate into C27 sterols, whereas a chemical carcinogen, 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide, inhibited the incorporation of [2-14C]acetate into lathosterol but not that into cholesterol.     

An activation-collision mechanism for cholesterol transfer between membranes

We report the results of experiments which show that cholesterol transfer between membranes cannot proceed by aqueous diffusion, as widely held, but must involve a more complex mechanism. (a) The rate of transfer of [3H]cholesterol from red blood cells was found to vary inversely with the size of the acceptor particle (ghosts, vesicles of ghosts, liposomes, and plasma lipoproteins). (b) The transfer of [3H]cholesterol from red blood cells to ghosts was accelerated by the presence of plasma, even though the plasma competed with the ghosts as an acceptor. (c) The rate of transfer of [3H]cholesterol from red blood cells to ghosts decreased to zero with increasing dilution but was not simply second-order. (d) The cholesterol in retinal rod disc membranes is not at equilibrium with plasma lipoproteins in that disc cholesterol increased when the homogenates were incubated in vitro with plasma. (e) The kinetics of cholesterol transfer cannot be limited by unstirred layer effects since the transfer of lysolecithin in the same system was faster than that of cholesterol by 3 orders of magnitude. The simplest model compatible with all the data suggests a two-step pathway involving a first-order followed by a second-order process. The first step could be a unimolecular activation event, perhaps the movement of the sterol in the donor particle to a more exposed (hydrated) position. In the second step, the activated sterol would be transferred during transient collisions between donor and acceptor particles. When collision is not rate-limiting, the overall process would appear to be simply first-order, hence kinetically indistinguishable from the aqueous diffusion mechanism. The activation-collision model thus not only rationalizes our data but is also consistent with the simpler kinetics previously reported for the transfer of both membrane phospholipids and sterols.     

Plasma Membrane Sterols Are Essential for Sensing Osmotic Changes in the Halotolerant Alga Dunaliella

The halotolerant alga Dunaliella responds to hyperosmotic stress by synthesis of massive amounts of glycerol. The trigger for this osmotic response is the change in cell volume, but the mechanism that senses volume changes is not known. Preincubation of Dunaliella salina with tridemorph, a specific inhibitor of sterol biosynthesis, inhibits glycerol synthesis and volume recovery. The inhibition is associated with suppression of [14C]bicarbonate incorporation into sterols and is correlated with pronounced depletion of plasma membrane sterols. Incubation of sterol-depleted cells with cholesterol hemisuccinate restores the capacity for volume regulation in response to hyperosmotic stress. Tridemorph as well as lovastatin also inhibit volume changes that are induced by high light in Dunaliella bardawil, a species that responds to high light intensity by synthesis of large amounts of [beta]-carotene. These volume changes result from accumulation of glycerol and are associated with de novo synthesis of sterols. The major plasma membrane sterol in D. salina and the high-light-induced sterol in D. bardawil co-migrate with ergosterol on thin-layer chromatography and on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. These results suggest that the osmosensory mechanism in Dunaliella resides in the plasma membrane, and that sterols have an important role in sensing osmotic changes.     

Movement of plasma-membrane sterols to the endoplasmic reticulum in cultured cells.

The spontaneous turnover of plasma-membrane sterols, as measured by their transfer to the endoplasmic reticulum, was measured in quiescent cultured human skin fibroblasts and monkey arterial smooth-muscle cells. The plasma-membrane sterol pool was pulse-labelled with trace amounts of either [3H]desmosterol or [3H]cholesterol. We then measured the enzymic conversion of [3H]desmosterol into [3H]cholesterol and of [3H]cholesterol into [3H]cholesteryl esters in intact cells. Depending on the probe used, markedly different transfer or conversion rates were found in these cells. In quiescent human skin fibroblasts, incubated in a serum-free medium, about 1.1% of the plasma-membrane [3H]desmosterol was converted into [3H]cholesterol/h, whereas in monkey arterial smooth-muscle cells the corresponding rate was 0.4%. Under similar experimental conditions, these cells esterified less than 0.02% (fibroblasts) and 0.12% (smooth-muscle cells) of the plasma-membrane [3H]cholesterol/h. The movement of sterols from the plasma membrane to the endoplasmic reticulum, as measured by the conversion of [3H]desmosterol into [3H]cholesterol was not blocked by colchicine, but was markedly enhanced by 3% (w/v) dimethyl sulphoxide. In all, these results indicate that plasma-membrane sterols of cultured cells are continuously transferred to the interior of the cell at a rate substantially higher than previously appreciated. This turnover of plasma-membrane sterol molecules took place even when there was no mass transfer of sterols into the cells.     

Effect of gibberellic acid on sterol production in Corylus avellana seeds

Gibberellic acid-induced germination of hazel seeds was accompanied by little change in the sterol content of the cotyledons. Dormant and germinating cotyledons rapidly incorporated [2-¹⁴C]MVA into squalene which was slowly converted to sterols. Gibberellin treatment induced an increase in the incorporation of [2-¹⁴C]MVA into cotyledon esterified sterols. An increase in free sterols occurred in the germinating embryonic axes, with increased relative amounts of stigmasterol and campesterol in the free 4-desmethylsterols. Germination was accompanied by increased incorporation of [2-¹⁴C]MVA into free and esterified sterols in the embryonic axes.     

Discrimination between cholesterol and sitosterol for absorption in rats

The intestinal absorption of cholesterol and sitosterol was compared in rats. The intragastric administration of a single emulsified lipid meal containing either 50 mg of [4-14C]cholesterol or [4-14C]sitosterol resulted in the lymphatic absorption of 18.2% and 0.42% of each sterol, respectively, in 6 hr. This difference was unaltered when the mucosal sterol load was equalized by reducing the cholesterol to 1 mg in the emulsified lipid meal while maintaining the same sitosterol load or when the physical state in the lumen was equalized by infusion of a micellar solution containing both sterols into bile-diverted intestine. Lymphatic cholesterol was 90% esterified compared to 12% for sitosterol. Both sterols were associated predominantly (greater than 70%) with the chylomicron fraction. Eighty percent of the chylomicron cholesterol was recovered as ester with the core lipids, while 77% of the sitosterol was recovered as free sterol with the chylomicron coat. In mucosal homogenates at 6 hr, sitosterol recovery was one-eleventh that of cholesterol. When [3H]cholesterol (10 mg) and [14C]sitosterol (10 mg) were co-administered in an emulsified intragastric lipid meal, sitosterol associated with the brush border isolated 2 hr later was one-fifth that of cholesterol. Similar differences were seen when brush border membranes were incubated in vitro with micellar solutions containing either 50 microM [3H]cholesterol or [14C]sitosterol and the relative uptake of each sterol was unaffected by micellar phospholipid type (egg yolk phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine, or phosphatidylethanolamine).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Identification of sterol acceptors that stimulate cholesterol efflux from human spermatozoa during in vitro capacitation

The nature of cholesterol-binding proteins acting upon human spermatozoa during in vitro capacitation was determined by measuring the efflux of [³H]cholesterol and of [³H]cholesteryl sulfate from labeled spermatozoa. Efflux of [³H]sterols was stimulated when the labeled gametes were incubated in Ham's F-10 medium supplemented with female serum or follicular fluid. Upon centrifugation of capacitated spermatozoa and application of the supernatant to density-gradient ultracentrifugation for lipoprotein analysis, both [³H]cholesterol and [³H]cholesteryl sulfate were found to be carried by very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), as well as the albumin fraction (d > 1.21) in serum. When the capacitation medium was supplemented with follicular fluid, the [³H]sterols were bound to HDL's and to the albumin fraction; when the latter fraction was analysed by molecular sieve chromatography, 60–70% of the radioactivity eluted in fractions with a mean molecular weight corresponding to that of human serum albumin. Sperm cholesterol efflux was also stimulated when serum or follicular fluid was added to a simplified medium (50 mM Tris-HCl, 0.56% NaCl, pH 7.8); efflux of [³H]cholesterol from labeled gametes progressed in a time-dependent manner, but was low in the absence of serum components. The [³H]cholesterol/cholesterol ratios were higher in the albumin and HDL fractions, indicating some degree of specificity of these sterol acceptors. It was observed that follicular fluid albumin has a [³H]sterol binding capacity that is 2—3-fold higher than that of serum albumin. Commercial human serum albumin also promoted sperm cholesterol efflux. These results provide new information concerning those components of follicular fluid which may play a role in human sperm capacitation and provide further support for the concept that loss of cholesterol from the sperm plasma membrane is an important component of the capacitation process.