Fig. 2. Coupling between membrane curvature and cholesterol distribution.
Mean curvature values within circular domains of radius 3 nm were analyzed in absence (black) and presence of cholesterol (blue), separately for DPPC (at 330 K), and DOPC bilayers (320 K) at all-atom resolution. Panels a, c show the time development and panels b, d histograms for the mean curvature with a fit assuming a Gaussian distribution. Panel e shows the low-pass filtered mean curvature values (blue) together with the asymmetric distribution of cholesterol between the two leaflets within the analyzed central circular domain (red; difference in the number of cholesterol molecules between the upper and lower leaflets, normalized to the average number within one leaflet). Panel (f) displays the time-averaged mean curvature as a function of cholesterol asymmetry for both the DPPC and DOPC bilayers.