Biophysical methods: Complementary tools to study the influence of human steroid hormones on the liposome membrane properties

Abstract

Human steroid hormones are involved in many aspects of physiology and have long been known to exert rapid and delayed effects. They are lipophilic molecules which can be incorporated into the lipid membranes. Through non-covalent interactions they can alter the properties of the membrane, including fluidity, lipid raft formation and others. In this review, different biophysical techniques were described to study the interaction of human steroid hormones with biological and biomimetic membranes such as differential scanning calorimetry, electron paramagnetic resonance, fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The aim of this review is to overview the results of these complementary biophysical techniques summarizing the effects of these hormones on thermotropic and dynamic membrane properties. Meanwhile, the disorder induced by human steroid hormones is discussed in terms of hydrophobicity and chemical structure.

Keywords: Differential scanning calorimetry; Electron paramagnetic resonance; Fluorescence anisotropy; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Human steroid hormones; Membrane.