Cholesterol important for signal transmission in cells

CXCR4 receptor which belongs to a group known as G protein-coupled receptors FAU/Rainer Böckmann

FAU researchers Kristyna Pluhackova and Stefan Gahbauer discovered that cholesterol strongly influences signal transmission in the body. Their study focused on the chemokine receptor CXCR4, which belong to a group known as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

These receptors sense external stimuli such as light, hormones or sugar and pass these signals on to the interior of the cell which reacts to them. CXCR4 normally supports the human immune system. However, it also plays an important role in the formation of metastases and the penetration of HIV into the cell interior.

There is evidence to suggest that certain GPCRs must form pairs known as dimers in order to sense and pass on external stimuli. The FAU researchers’ simulations show that cholesterol strongly influences the formation of CXCR4 pairs, which in turn suggests that it affects their function. This means that cholesterol is required for these pairs to form correctly.

In this process, cholesterol molecules selectively ‘glue’ specific regions of two CXCR4 molecules together , resulting in a complex structure that is believed to sense signals and pass them on through the cell membrane. Although the receptors can still bind to one another without sufficient cholesterol, in this case different structures are formed which most likely suppress the transmission of signals to the cell interior.

These processes had not been studied in depth on the molecular level until now. The two researchers from the Computational Biology group at FAU’s Chair of Biotechnology used over 1000 computer simulations to examine them. A better understanding of the influence of cholesterol and dimerisation on the function of GPCRs could pave the way for new medications to be developed.

*Doi: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005169

Further information:
Prof. Dr. Rainer Böckmann
Phone: +49 9131 8525409
rainer.boeckmann@fau.de

https://www.fau.eu/2016/11/09/news/research/cholesterol-important-for-signal-tra…

Media Contact

Dr. Susanne Langer idw - Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors