Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Mar;1768(3):655-68.
doi: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2007.01.002. Epub 2007 Jan 12.

Cholesterol depletion induces dynamic confinement of the G-protein coupled serotonin(1A) receptor in the plasma membrane of living cells

Thomas J Pucadyil  1 , Amitabha Chattopadhyay
Affiliations
Free article

Cholesterol depletion induces dynamic confinement of the G-protein coupled serotonin(1A) receptor in the plasma membrane of living cells

Thomas J Pucadyil et al. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2007 Mar.
Free article

Abstract

Cholesterol is an essential constituent of eukaryotic membranes and plays a crucial role in membrane organization, dynamics, function, and sorting. It is often found distributed non-randomly in domains or pools in biological and model membranes and is thought to contribute to a segregated distribution of membrane constituents. Signal transduction events mediated by seven transmembrane domain G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the primary means by which cells communicate with and respond to their external environment. We analyzed the role of cholesterol in the plasma membrane organization of the G-protein coupled serotonin(1A) receptor by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) measurements with varying bleach spot sizes. Our results show that lateral diffusion parameters of serotonin(1A) receptors in normal cells are consistent with models describing diffusion of molecules in a homogenous membrane. Interestingly, these characteristics are altered in cholesterol-depleted cells in a manner that is consistent with dynamic confinement of serotonin(1A) receptors in the plasma membrane. Importantly, analysis of ligand binding and downstream signaling of the serotonin(1A) receptor suggests that receptor function is affected in a significantly different manner when intact cells or isolated membranes are depleted of cholesterol. These results assume significance in the context of interpreting effects of cholesterol depletion on diffusion characteristics of membrane proteins in particular, and cholesterol-dependent cellular processes in general.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources