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The Effect of the Phospholipid Bilayer Environment on Cholesterol Crystal Polymorphism
Author(s) -
Varsano Neta,
Beghi Fabio,
Dadosh Tali,
Elad Nadav,
Pereiro Eva,
Haran Gilad,
Leiserowitz Leslie,
Addadi Lia
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chempluschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.801
H-Index - 61
ISSN - 2192-6506
DOI - 10.1002/cplu.201800632
Subject(s) - sphingomyelin , popc , triclinic crystal system , crystallization , monoclinic crystal system , polymorphism (computer science) , cholesterol , phospholipid , crystallography , chemistry , phosphatidylcholine , crystal (programming language) , membrane , crystal structure , biochemistry , organic chemistry , computer science , genotype , programming language , gene
Cholesterol crystallization from mixtures of unesterified cholesterol with phospholipids and cholesterol esters is believed to be a key event in atherosclerosis progression. Not much is understood, however, about the influence of the lipid environment on cholesterol crystallization. Here we study cholesterol monohydrate crystal formation from mixed bilayers with palmitoyl‐oleoyl‐phosphatidylcholine (POPC), dipalmitoyl‐phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and sphingomyelin. We show that disordered phospholipids and sphingomyelin stabilize the formation of crystal plates of the triclinic cholesterol monohydrate polymorph, whereas saturated glycerolipids stabilize helical and tubular crystals of the metastable monoclinic polymorph. We followed the subsequent transformation of these helical crystals into the stable triclinic plates. Discovering the relations between membrane lipid composition and cholesterol crystal polymorphism may provide important clues to the understanding of cholesterol crystal formation in atherosclerosis.