Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Cholesterol (Chol) is a crucial component of cellular membranes, but knowledge of its intracellular dynamics is scarce. Thus, it is of utmost interest to develop tools for visualization of Chol organization and dynamics in cells and tissues. For this purpose, many studies make use of fluorescently labeled Chol analogs. Unfortunately, the introduction of the label may influence the characteristics of the analog, such as its localization, interaction, and trafficking in cells; hence, it is important to get knowledge of such bias. In this report, we compared different fluorescent lipid analogs for their performance in cellular assays: 1) plasma membrane incorporation, specifically the preference for more ordered membrane environments in phase-separated giant unilamellar vesicles and giant plasma membrane vesicles; 2) cellular trafficking, specifically subcellular localization in Niemann-Pick type C disease cells; and 3) applicability in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS)-based and super-resolution stimulated emission depletion-FCS-based measurements of membrane diffusion dynamics. The analogs exhibited strong differences, with some indicating positive performance in the membrane-based experiments and others in the intracellular trafficking assay. However, none showed positive performance in all assays. Our results constitute a concise guide for the careful use of fluorescent Chol analogs in visualizing cellular Chol dynamics.

Original publication

DOI

10.1194/jlr.M065326

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Lipid Res

Publication Date

02/2016

Volume

57

Pages

299 - 309

Keywords

Niemann-Pick type C disease, cholesterol/metabolism, cholesterol/trafficking, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, giant plasma membrane vesicles, giant unilamellar vesicles, lipid rafts, membranes/model, stimulated emission depletion, Cell Membrane, Cholesterol, Fluorescence, Fluorescent Dyes, Humans, Lipid Bilayers, Spectrometry, Fluorescence, Unilamellar Liposomes