Function of sterols

There is ample evidence that the sterols of plant cells are localized in the membranes of the intracellular organelles. Evidence for their function in the membranes is still only indirect. The polyene antibiotic filipin increases the cellular 

In addition to the bulk role in membranes, sterol plays still other role(s) that are not yet well defined. However, there can be no doubt that the other role(s) ex-ist(s). In yeast (83, 84, 87, 91), which makes ergosterol (73, 24)ff-methylcholesta-5,7,22 -trien-3)ff-ol), the minimum amount of ergosterol necessary for viability 

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Weete JD (1989) Structure and function of sterols in fungi. Adv Lipid Res 23 115 Morrissey JP, Osbourn AE (1999) Fungal resistance to plant antibiotics as a mechanism of pathogenesis. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 63 708... 

Since the start of the twentieth century, steroids have continued to be the focus of the research activities of natural product chemists, synthetic chemists, biochemists and clinicians. The reasons are several-fold and related to the fascination of the chemical complexity of sterols and their biochemical functions in living organisms. Sterols and steroids are excellent compounds for the organic chemists to practise their skills upon in the development of new reactions and synthetic procedures. The biological functions of sterols, for example as an essential constituent of membranes, have proved thought-provoking to lipid biochemists. 

In the discussion of the mode of action of ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors, the question of the function of sterols in mem-... 

Hemmerlin, A., Gerber, E., Feldtrauer, J.R, Wentzinger, L., Hartmann, M.A., Tritsch, D., Hoeffler, J.F., Rohmer, M. and Bach, T.J. (2004) A review of tobacco BY-2 cells as an excellent system to study the synthesis and function of sterols and other isoprenoids. Lipids, 39, 723-35. 

To understand the function of sterol anchors, fluorescently labelled heptapeptides 65a and 65b bearing sterol moieties were attached to the N-RasG12V(l-181) 64, yielding the sterol-modified proteins 66a, b (Scheme 12c). N-Ras was chosen as the protein moiety because this system offers the possibility to evaluate the membrane binding of different membrane anchors in cells [65]. 

The physiological function of sterols has been reviewed by Grunwald (1975a). Apart from the stabilizing effect of free sterols on phospholipid-containing membranes, other functions suggested have been that the sterol derivatives are transport forms, that the sterols are precursors of hormones, and that sterol derivatives are auxin synergists. 

The rate of turnover of sterol derivatives requires further study. The correlation of turnover and physiological changes may lead to an understanding of the function of sterol derivatives. At the moment, this fimction is an open... 

Weete, J.D. 1989. Structure and function of sterol in fungi. Advances inLipid Research. Vol 23. Academic Press, London pp. 115-167... 

It may be concluded that probably all insects require dietary sterol and, unlike the vertebrate, cannot use vitamin D. Nothing is yet known of the function of sterols in insects. 

Hannich, J.T., Umebayashi, K. and Riezman, H. (2011) Distribution and functions of sterols and sphingolipids. Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol. 3, a004762. 

A number of people who were attending the Symposium for the first time commented on the open and friendly atmosphere. There is a family feeling since the community of people who work on plant lipids is still fairly small. At this Symposium however, there were several friends of the family, people accustomed to reporting their research in other areas who have much to contribute to the field of plant lipids. We think in particular of the contribution of Leo Parks on the function of sterols in yeast, the presentation of Joe Kuc on the importance of lipids in host-pathogen interactions, and the paper of Rudy Demel on the dynamics of glycerolipid, sphingolipid and sterol interaction in membranes. 

Figure 1. Removal of the 4- and 14-methyl-groups protuding on the a-face of sterols precursors is essential for efficient membrane function of sterols...

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