What is the role of cholesterol in a cell membrane?
Cholesterol is Abundant in Cell Membranes Cholesterol is found in every cell of your body. It is especially abundant in the membranes of these cells, where it helps maintain the integrity of these membranes, and plays a role in facilitating cell signaling– meaning the ability of your cells to communicate with each other so you function as a human, rather than a pile of cells. Cholesterol Maintains the Integrity of the Cell Membrane Cholesterol’s Importance to the Cell Membrane July, 2005 by Chris Masterjohn Cholesterol is Abundant in Cell Membranes Cholesterol is found in every cell of your body. It is especially abundant in the membranes of these cells, where it helps maintain the integrity of these membranes, and plays a role in facilitating cell signaling– meaning the ability of your cells to communicate with each other so you function as a human, rather than a pile of cells. Molecule for molecule, cholesterol can make up nearly half of the cell membrane.1 Since it is smaller and
