Cholesterol distribution in rat heart myocytes.

Cholesterol oxidase was used to investigate the distribution of free cholesterol between plasma membrane and intracellular pools in cultured neonatal rat heart myocytes. Only 20% of the total unesterified cholesterol was converted to delta 4-cholestenone by cholesterol oxidase in intact cells. With increasing age in culture and concurrent hypertrophy, there was an increase in unesterified cellular cholesterol and plasma membrane cholesterol; their relative distribution remained unchanged. Electron micrographs of negatively stained samples of day 4 cytosol revealed the presence of vesicles 50-200 nm in diameter. Cholesterol monohydrate crystals were found in the cytosol of hypertrophic day 14 cells. Treatment of day 14 cells with small unilamellar vesicles of egg phosphatidylcholine reduced plasma membrane and intracellular cholesterol levels, resulting in the disappearance of the cholesterol monohydrate crystals and the formation of vesicles smaller than those observed in day 4 cultures.