Abstract
The attachment of a sugar moiety to the 3-hydroxy group of a sterol drastically increases the size of the hydrophilic part of the lipid. It is obvious that the glycosylation of a considerable fraction of membrane-bound free sterols alters the biophysical properties of the membrane. However, the consequences of such changes in the proportions of free sterols and steryl glycosides on the biological functions of a membrane are still unclear. This is the main hurdle in understanding the biological functions of steryl glycosides on a molecular level. The recent cloning of sterol glycosyltransferase genes from plants, fungi and bacteria has enabled genetic approaches to analyze steryl glycoside functions. Down regulation of phytosteryl beta-glycoside biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana causes several dysfunctions in seed development. Ergosteryl beta-glycoside depleted mutants of the yeast Pichia pastoris lose their ability to degrade their peroxisomes by an autophagic mechanism called micropexophagy. In the plant-pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum orbiculare the same defect impairs invasion of the cucumber host plants. Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium colonizing the human stomach, is unable to modulate the host's immune response when the cholesteryl alpha-glycoside biosynthesis of the bacterium is mutated. These mutants with manipulated steryl glycoside metabolism will inspire further studies with cell biological, biophysical and other methods that will provide us with a mechanistic understanding of steryl glycoside functions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 262-288 |
Number of pages | 27 |
Journal | Progress in Lipid Research |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2010 |
Keywords
- Arabidopsis thaliana
- Helicobacter pylori
- Pichia pastoris
- Pexophagy
- Sterol glycosyltransferase
- Sterol glycoside
- CHOLESTEROL-ALPHA-GLUCOSYLTRANSFERASE
- BETA-D-GLUCOSIDE
- PEROXISOMAL METABOLIC FUNCTION
- HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION
- PARKINSONISM DEMENTIA COMPLEX
- MEMBRANE LIPID-COMPOSITION
- IMMATURE SOYBEAN SEEDS
- SINAPIS-ALBA SEEDLINGS
- ALGA CODIUM-IYENGARII
- TONOPLAST H+-ATPASE