“…The requirements for strong filipin-sterol binding are the same as those for sterols to exert a regulatory effect in artificial membranes and Acholeplasma membranes, i.e., a planar steroid nucleus, an unesterified 3/3-hydroxyl group, and an apolar side chain at C-17; thus, the optical properties of filipin provide a convenient means by which phospholipid-sterol interactions may be examined (48,50,57)~ Filipin is not a typical probe in that it causes membrane perturbation, the extent of which depends on the conditions (antibiotic to sterol molar ratio, period of exposure of the membrane to the antibiotic, temperature) (50). Some of these perturbations are particularly striking and involve lateral redistributions of membrane components, as in the filipin-induced morphological alterations in the envelope of vesicular stomatitis (VS) virions (26). Along the periphery of the filipin-treated particles, a series of depressions and ridges occurred, with a periodicity of 15 to 20 nm; glycoprotein spikes were attached only to the ridges.…”