ReviewThe Journal of membrane biology2012
Functions of cholesterol and the cholesterol bilayer domain specific to the fiber-cell plasma membrane of the eye lens.
Review in The Journal of membrane biology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Mammalian Ocular Lens in Focus: Development, Anatomy, Physiology, Transparency, Biomechanics, and Age-related Challenges.Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE · 2026Review
- Preventing Age-Related Nuclear Cataract Development - Is Cholesterol the Key?Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Review
- Impact of Lipid Composition on Membrane Partitioning and Permeability of Gas Molecules.Membranes · 2026Article
- Physical Properties of Lens Membranes in Animals with Different Lifespans.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Mechanical Properties of Eye Lens Cortical and Nuclear Membranes and the Whole Lens.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Cholesterol Content Regulates the Interaction of αA-, αB-, and α-Crystallin with the Model of Human Lens-Lipid Membranes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Tissue, cellular, and molecular level determinants for eye lens stiffness and elasticity.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2024Review
- Binding of βInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Identification and quantification of ionising radiation-induced oxysterol formation in membranes of lens fibre cells.Advances in redox research · 2023Article
- Membrane Models and Experiments Suitable for Studies of the Cholesterol Bilayer Domains.Membranes · 2023Review
- Article
- Insights into the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms mediating the longevity of the transparent optics of the eye lens.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2022Review
- Molecular oxygen as a probe molecule in EPR spin-labeling studies of membrane structure and dynamics.Oxygen (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Membrane elasticity modulated by cholesterol in model of porcine eye lens-lipid membrane.Experimental eye research · 2022Article
- Optimization of Giant Unilamellar Vesicle Electroformation for Phosphatidylcholine/Sphingomyelin/Cholesterol Ternary Mixtures.Membranes · 2022Article
- Giant Unilamellar Vesicle Electroformation: What to Use, What to Avoid, and How to Quantify the Results.Membranes · 2021Review
- Factors determining barrier properties to oxygen transport across model and cell plasma membranes based on EPR spin-label oximetry.Applied magnetic resonance · 2021Article
- Mechanical properties of the high cholesterol-containing membrane: An AFM study.Biochimica et biophysica acta. Biomembranes · 2021Article
- The aging mouse lens transcriptome.Experimental eye research · 2021Article
- Association of Alpha-Crystallin with Fiber Cell Plasma Membrane of the Eye Lens Accompanied by Light Scattering and Cataract Formation.Membranes · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The most unique feature of the eye lens fiber-cell plasma membrane is its extremely high cholesterol content. Cholesterol saturates the bulk phospholipid bilayer and induces formation of immiscible cholesterol bilayer domains (CBDs) within the membrane. Our results (based on EPR spin-labeling experiments with lens-lipid membranes), along with a literature search, have allowed us to identify the significant functions of cholesterol specific to the fiber-cell plasma membrane, which are manifest through cholesterol-membrane interactions. The crucial role is played by the CBD. The presence of the CBD ensures that the surrounding phospholipid bilayer is saturated with cholesterol. The saturating cholesterol content in fiber-cell membranes keeps the bulk physical properties of lens-lipid membranes consistent and independent of changes in phospholipid composition. Thus, the CBD helps to maintain lens-membrane homeostasis when the membrane phospholipid composition changes significantly. The CBD raises the barrier for oxygen transport across the fiber-cell membrane, which should help to maintain a low oxygen concentration in the lens interior. It is hypothesized that the appearance of the CBD in the fiber-cell membrane is controlled by the phospholipid composition of the membrane. Saturation with cholesterol smoothes the phospholipid-bilayer surface, which should decrease light scattering and help to maintain lens transparency. Other functions of cholesterol include formation of hydrophobic and rigidity barriers across the bulk phospholipid-cholesterol domain and formation of hydrophobic channels in the central region of the membrane for transport of small, nonpolar molecules parallel to the membrane surface. In this review, we provide data supporting these hypotheses.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.