The role of ABC proteins for the transbilayer dynamics of cholesterol in membranes II

Cholesterol is an essential component of biological membranes. Besides its role in supporting membrane structure, this lipid is also functionally involved in various membrane-based physiological processes. An important step of the cellular cholesterol transport is its movement across the membrane. Transport proteins of the ATP-Binding-Cassette protein family has been surmized to mediate the transbilayer movement of cholesterol. However, the molecular mechanism of this transport is unknown. The present project will investigate the role of specific ABC proteins for the transport of cholesterol across plasma membranes of eukaryotic cells. For that experiments will be performed on model membranes, on reconstituted membranes as well as on biological membranes by using labeled analoga of cholesterol and various biochemical and spectroscopical methods.