Biomembranes play an important role in cellular response to heat stress. In this study, we focus on the interaction between liposomes and tRNA. Upon heat treatment we determined circular dichroism spectra of tRNA in presence of liposomes prepared from POPC (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylsn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) and cholesterol (Ch). To compare thermal stability, midpoint temperature (T(m)) of tRNA was calculated from normalized theta(208). Addition of POPC/Ch liposomes decreased the T(m) value of tRNA from 48 degrees C to 38 degrees C. We conclude that POPC/Ch liposomes interact with tRNA and destabilize its conformation under heat stress.