A novel vesicular assay to study factors affecting cholesterol crystallization in vitro

We present an assay to study cholesterol crystal- lization that is fast, facile, and highly reproducible. Choles- terol crystallization from metastable vesicles was induced upon addition of bile salts and depended on the hydropho- bicity of the bile salt used and the cholesterol-to-phospholipid ratio of the vesicles. Bile salt-induced crystallization was stimulated upon addition of Con A-binding glycoproteins (CABGs), comparable to the results of the same CABGs in a crystal growth assay. The onset time and total measuring time, however, were much shorter. This assay might, more- over, provide a tool to study the mechanism of cholesterol crystallization in more detail.-Zijlstra, A. I. M., B. J. M. Van de Heijning, M. van Overveld, and A. K. Groen. A novel vesicular assay to study factors affecting cholesterol crystal- lization in vitr0.J Lipid Res. 1996. 37: 877-883.