All chemical reagents were purchased from commercial suppliers and used without further purification. Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP), cholesterol, cholesterol sulfate, and DC-cholesterol were purchased from Sigma Aldrich. Stock solutions of DC-cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate were prepared by dissolving compound powder in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and the stock solution of cholesterol was prepared by dissolving in a mixture of hexane/chloroform/ethanol 11:5:4 v/v/v.[31 (link)]