Cholesterol increase in mitochondria: a new method of cholesterol incorporation.

In this study, we report a new method for cholesterol incorporation in mitochondria. This method is based on the coupling of cholesterol to bovine serum albumin (BSA) to form a structure with a spherical shape (designated C-BSA-C). The results show that C-BSA-C induces a specific cholesterol incorporation in mitochondria without interference from BSA. The cholesterol increase is complete in 1 minute, and is dose-related and pH-dependent. Temperature also has an effect. In mitochondria from dog adrenal glands, pregnenolone biosynthesis induced by C-BSA-C is increased, indicating that only cholesterol is transferred to the membrane.