Evidence that specific interactions play a role in the cholesterol sensitivity of G protein-coupled receptors.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known to be modulated by membrane cholesterol levels, but whether or not the effects are caused by specific receptor-cholesterol interactions or cholesterol's general effects on the membrane is not well-understood. We performed coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations coupled with structural bioinformatics approaches on the β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) and the cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor subfamily. The βAR has been shown to be sensitive to membrane cholesterol and cholesterol molecules have been clearly resolved in numerous βAR crystal structures.