stigmasterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol

Sterols (sitosterol, cholesterol, stigmasterol, ergosterol, and 7-dehydrocholesterol) and sitostanol have been converted in high to near-quantitative yields to the corresponding long-chain acyl esters via esterification with fatty acids or transesterification with methyl esters of fatty acids or triacylglycerols using lipase from Candida rugosa as biocatalyst in vacuo (20-40 mbar) at 40 degrees C. Neither organic solvent nor water is added in these reactions. Under similar conditions, cholesterol has been converted to cholesteryl butyrate and steroids (5alpha-pregnan-3beta-ol-20-one or 5-pregnen-3beta-ol-20-one) have been converted to their propionic acid esters, both in moderate to high yields, via transesterification with tributyrin and tripropionin, respectively. Reaction parameters studied in esterification include the temperature and the molar ratio of the substrates as well as the amount and reuse properties of the C. rugosa lipase. Lipases from porcine pancreas, Rhizopus arrhizus, and Chromobacterium viscosum are quite ineffective as biocatalysts for the esterification of cholesterol with oleic acid under the above conditions.

Topics: Candida; Catalysis; Cholesterol; Dehydrocholesterols; Ergosterol; Esterification; Fatty Acids; Kinetics; Lipase; Sitosterols; Sterols; Stigmasterol; Substrate Specificity; Triglycerides; Vacuum

We describe a rapid and sensitive method involving time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) for specific laboratory diagnosis of the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, which is characterized by massive (approximately 1000-fold) accumulation of the biosynthetic cholesterol precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol. Minute amounts of blood (1-50 microL) were extracted with n-hexane, and aliquots were analyzed by TOF-SIMS. 7-Dehydrocholesterol and its isomers were detected at 491.3 mass units ([M + 107Ag]+) and cholesterol at 495.3 mass units ([M + 109Ag]+). Quantitation of 7-dehydrocholesterol and cholesterol was achieved after saponification and addition of stigmasterol as internal standard. Whereas 7-dehydrocholesterol and isomeric dehydrocholesterol were not detectable in controls, the patients revealed concentrations ranging between 0.84 and 1.25 mmol/L. Comparison with results obtained by gas chromatography indicated that quantitation by TOF-SIMS yielded the sum of 7-dehydrocholesterol, isomeric dehydrocholesterol II, and sterol III, the latter two also being increased in the patients. Consistent with quantitation by gas chromatography, the cholesterol concentrations in the patients ranged between 1.54 and 2.12 mmol/L (controls: 6.10 +/- 1.37 mmol/L).

Topics: Cholesterol; Chromatography, Gas; Dehydrocholesterols; Hexanes; Humans; Lipid Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Mass Spectrometry; Reference Values; Sensitivity and Specificity; Stigmasterol; Syndrome

The ESR spectra of cholestane spin labels (CSL) in dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) bilayers containing 20 wt% of cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol and lanosterol exhibit a marked similarity, thus indicating that these steroids induced the same effects on the lipid bilayer over the temperature range 21-55 degrees C. The incorporation of these steroids into the DOPC bilayers enhances the orientational order of the CSL molecules at every temperature studied, but only induces a pronounced slow-down in their rotational motions at temperatures above 35 degrees C. Similar results were obtained in DOPC/ergosterol multilamellar liposomes, but the changes are now less pronounced than in the other five DOPC/steroid systems. In contrast, the addition of stigmasterol to digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) bilayers appears to increase the order parameter mean value of P2, without affecting the diffusion coefficients. Furthermore, the incorporation of 7-dehydrocholesterol to DGDG bilayers causes a large enhancement in the orientational order, but has only a small effect on D perpendicular of the CSL molecules. Importantly, this latter effect appears to be independent of temperature. The marked changes in the rates of the rotational motion brought about by the addition of steroids, contrasts with the lack of a significant effect of unsaturation on the bilayer dynamics reported by us previously (Korstanje et al. (1989), Biochim. Biophys. Acta 980, 225-233, and 982, 196-204).

Topics: Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry, Physical; Cholestanes; Cholesterol; Dehydrocholesterols; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Galactolipids; Glycolipids; Lanosterol; Lipid Bilayers; Liposomes; Phosphatidylcholines; Sitosterols; Spin Labels; Steroids; Stigmasterol; Structure-Activity Relationship; Temperature