Damage of photoreceptor membrane lipids and proteins induced by photosensitized generation of singlet oxygen

It has been shown that illumination of rod outer segment suspension in the presence of photosensitizers (methylene blue lambda greater than or equal to 620 nm; retinal 370 less than or equal to lambda less than or equal to 390 nm) results in chemical modification of the lipid and protein components of the photo-receptor membranes. This modification can be registered by accumulation of lipid peroxidation (LPO) products as well as oligomerization of rhodopsin and a decrease of rhodopsin thermal stability. These effects are prevented by 'O2-quenchers and free radical scavengers. It has been found that the electric activity (ERG) of isolated frog retina is inhibited due to photosensitized generation of 'O2 which can be overcome by preliminary addition of 'O2-quenchers and free radical scavengers to the incubation medium. The LPO products are accumulated in the retinae of rats exposed to high intensity light in vivo. It is concluded that 'O2 and LPO are involved in light-induced damage of the retina.

Amino acid sequence adjacent to a sulfhydryl group exposed on illumination of bovine rhodopsin

Two sulfhydryl groups of bovine rhodopsin, available for chemical modification only after bleaching, were specifically labeled with radioactive iodoacetamide. The labeled protein was extensively reduced and alkylated and digested with pronase, and peptides were purified by gel filtration chromatography, anion and cation exchange chromatography, and high pressure liquid chromatography. Purified peptides were detected by their radioactivity, UV spectral properties, and by their fluorescence after reaction with fluorescamine. Sequence analysis of a highly purified peptide established the sequence S-carboxamido[14C]methyl cysteinyl-prolyl-glycine as the site of one of the light-exposed sulfhydryl groups of bovine rhodopsin.

Flash photolysis and low temperature photochemistry of bovine rhodopsin with a fixed 11-ene

Nonbleachable rhodopsins containing retinal moieties with fixed 11-ene structures have been prepared. When the nonbleachable rhodopsin analogue corresponding to the natural pigment was flash-photolysed at 20.8 degrees C, no absorption changes occurred at the monitoring wavelengths of 380, 480, and 580 nm for the time range of 2 microseconds--10 s. This observation is in contrast to that of natural rhodopsin which showed the formation of metarhodopsin I and its decay to meta II. Irradiation of the artificial rhodopsin, 77 K, with light of 460 and 540 nm, also gave no spectral changes; in the case of natural rhodopsin, however, the irradiation leads to formation of the red-shifted intermediate bathorhodopsin. The absence of photochemistry in the artificial pigment shows that an 11-cis to trans photoisomerization of the retinal moiety is a crucial step in inducing the chain of events in te photolysis of rhodopsin.

Amino-acid sequence determination of a hydrophobic region of bovine rhodopsin

The 50 amino acid residues sequence of a hydrophobic region of bovine rhodopsin, a membrane protein of retinal rod photoreceptors of molecular weight 39,000 was determined. This primary structure determination was performed on the S5 fragment (about 12,000 molecular weight) obtained from 2-(2 nitrophenylsulfenyl)-3-methyl-3'bromo-indolenine cleavage of the protein. Automatic Edman degradation used in liquid phase was performed in presence of N-cetyl-N,N,N-trimethyl-ammoniumbromide, a cationic detergent incorporated in the proteic film. S5 is a C-terminal rhodopsin fragment and contains the phosphorylation sites. The covalent structure determined overlaps with the sequence of an already known fragment [1]; thus 25 per cent of the rhodopsin primary structure is now elucidated. Our results are in agreement with and chiefly refine the topological model for rhodopsin which correlates its membrane location and its functional sites.

Primary photochemistry and photoisomerization of retinal at 77 degrees K in cattle and squid rhodopsins

The relative quantum yields of the photoreactions Rhodopsin in equilibrium Bathorhodopsin in equilibrium Isorhodopsin over an extended wavelength region have been determined in cattle and squid rhodopsins at 77 degrees K. The quantum yields were found to be wavelength independent and unchanged for samples suspended in D2O. The rhodopsin-bathorhodopsin forward and backward quantum yields sum to larger than one. These results are consistent with the previous suggestion that the excited singlet potential of rhodopsin has a single minimum along the 11-12 torsional coordinate. The values of the quantum yields are important for evaluating dynamic models of the rhodopsin-bathorhodopsin transition. We conclude that equilibration in the common excited state afer excitation of rhodopsin, as previously suggested, does not occur. Models involving molecular excitation trajectories conserving torsional momenta and excited state to ground state surface crossings better fit the data, and a semiquantitative analysis is presented. Probabilities of surface crossings are calculated.

Chemical cleavage of bovine rhodopsin at tryptophanyl bonds; characterization of the polypeptide fragments and the phosphorylated site

Bovine rhodopsin from retinal rod photoreceptors, a protein of 39,000 molecular weight, was cleaved by BNPS-Skatole at the level of tryptophanyl bonds. This hydrolysis yields five fragments S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5 (molecular weights: 35,000, 28,000, 19,500, and 15,500 and 12,000, respectively) and four peptides. Large fragments were purified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in SDS. S2, S3 and S4 contain the glycanes of native rhodopsin and their N-termini are blocked. S5 has the same C-terminal extremity as rhodopsin and contains the phosphorylated site. Phosphate groups are incorporated in this fragment on serines and threonines.

Incorporation of photoreceptor membrane into a multilamellar film

Multilamellar arrays of photoreceptor membrane up to 50 micrometer thick have been produced using a new method. Rhodopsin chromophore orientation in the films was studied using optical linear dichroism. The rhodopsin appears to be structurally intact and capable of photobleaching and regeneration. The production of biologically active liquid-crystal films offers a promising new approach to the study of biomembranes.

A spectroscopic study of rhodopsin alpha-helix orientation

Polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and far ultraviolet circular dichroism of oriented multilamellar films of photoreceptor membranes indicate rhodopsin alpha-helices are predominantly oriented perpendicular to the bilayer plane.

Tryptophan in bovine rhodopsin: its content, spectral properties and environment

The tryptophan content of purified bovine rhodopsin was obtained by two independent methods: direct analysis of hydrolysates prepared by digestion of opsin with methanesulfonic acid containing 0.2% 3-(2-aminoethyl)indole and a computer-assisted analysis of the near-UV spectrum of rhodopsin. Both methods gave a value of eight tryptophan residues per rhodopsin. Based on the near-UV spectral analysis, the light-induced difference spectrum of rhodopsin, and the susceptibility of residues to oxidation by N-bromosuccinimide, we concluded that approximately half of the tyrosine and tryptophan residues are shielded to some extent from the aqueous solvent, that two of the tryptophan residues are in very apolar environments, and that following light excitation at least one of these tryptophan residues and several tyrosines are exposed to an aqueous environment. Analysis of rhodopsin absorption in the far-UV indicated that below 240 nm, approximately half of the absorption is due to aromatic residues and that the other half is largely due to the peptide bond. The effect of illumination on secondary structure is to induce a loss in helical structure, calculated to involve 35% of the amino acid residues in purified rhodopsin. If light-induced changes in secondary structure are specifically excluded, most of these results can be extended to bovine rod outer segment membranes.

[Is tocopherol a rhodopsin stabilizer in photoreceptor membranes?]

To elucidate the mechanisms of stabilization of biomembranes by tocopherols, the effect of alpha-tocopherol on thermal stability of rhodopsin in photoreceptor membranes of walleye pollock was studied. It was shown that alpha-tocopherol changed the rate constants of rhodopsin thermal denaturation neither in native, nor in peroxidised or treated with phospholipase A2 rod outer segments. Substitution of phospholipid microenvironment of rhodopsin in photoreceptor membrane by alpha-tocopherol did not result in stabilization of the visual pigment too.

Magnetic anisotropy of the visual pigment rhodopsin

A new estimate of diamagnetic anisotropy of the frog rhodopsin is reported. The estimate is obtained by combining the data of magnetic field induced orientation of isolated frog rod outer segments as measured by Chagneux and Chalazonitis (1972) and the data of diamagnetic anisotropy of lecithin membranes as recently reported by Boroske and Helfrich (1978). The anisotropy of the volume susceptibilities of frog rhodopsin is calculated to be 4.4 X 10(-8) cgs unit/cm3, which corresponds to 1.5 X 10(-27) cgs unit/molecule, or 9.0 X 10(-4) cgs unit/mol.

Reassembly of protein-lipid complexes into large bilayer vesicles: perspectives for membrane reconstitution

Protein-lipid complexes in apolar solvents reassemble into large bilayer protein-lipid vesicles (PLVs) with diameters of several micrometers. PLVs form spontaneously upon hydration of the protein-lipid complex residue after solvent removal. This procedure has been applied to the following membrane proteins: bovine and squid rhodopsin, reaction centers from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides, beef heart cytochrome c oxidase, and acetylcholine receptors from Torpedo californica. PLVs have a large internal aqueous space (e.g., 790 mul/mg of lipid for cattle rhodopsin vesicles). Freeze-fracture replicas of PLVs revealed that both internal and external leaflets contained numerous intramembranous particles with diameters between 80 and 120 A, depending on the specific protein incorporated in the membrane. The optical spectral properties of rhodopsin and reaction centers in PLVs were similar to those recorded in the respective natural membrane. Furthermore, bovine rhodopsin in PLVs was chemically regenerable with 9-cis-retinal. Actinic illumination induced proton efflux from reaction center vesicles that was abolished by proton ionophores. Therefore, this method is suitable for the incorporation of some membrane proteins in their functional state. PLVs were penetrated with microelectrodes and visualized by the injection of a fluorescent dye. Preliminary electrical recordings were obtained by sealing PLVs to a hole in a septum separating two aqueous compartments. These studies suggest that PLVs assembled by this procedure permit the simultaneous analysis of reconstituted membranes by chemical, optical, and electrical techniques.

Proton and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance studies of rhodopsin-phospholipid interactions

Proton and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C NMR) spectra of rhodopsin-phospholipid membrane vesicles and sonicated disk membranes are presented and discussed. The presence of rhodopsin in egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles results in homogeneous broadening of the methylene and methyl resonances. This effect is enhanced with increasing rhodopsin content and decreased by increasing temperature. The proton NMR data indicate the phospholipid molecules exchange rapidly (less than 10(-3) s) between the bulk membrane lipid and the lipid in the immediate proximity of the rhodopsin. These interactions result in a reduction in either or both the frequency and amplitude of the tilting motion of the acyl chains. The 13C NMR spectra identify the acyl chains and the glycerol backbone as the major sites of protein lipid interaction. In the disk membranes the saturated sn-1 acyl chain is significantly more strongly immobilized than the polyunsaturated sn-2 acyl chain. This suggest a membrane model in which the lipid molecules preferentially solvate the protein with the sn-1 chain, which we term an edge-on orientation. The NMR data on rhodopsin-asolectin membrane vesicles demonstrate that the lipid composition is not altered during reconstitution of the membranes from purified rhodopsin and lipids in detergent.

Photochemical reaction of 9-cis-retro-gamma-rhodopsin at low temperatures

9-cis-Retro-gamma-rhodopsin (lambda max = 420 nm) was prepared from 9-cis-retro-gamma-retinal and cattle opsin. After cooling to liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K), the pigment was irradiated with light at 380 nm. The spectrum shifted to the longer wavelengths, owing to formation of a batho product. This fact indicates that the conjugated double bond system from C-5 to C-8 of the chromophoric retinal in rhodopsin was not necessary for formation of bathorhodopsin. Reirradiation of the batho product with light at wavelengths longer than 520 nm yielded a mixture composed of presumably 9- or 11-cis forms of retro-gamma-rhodopsin. These three isomers are interconvertible by light at liquid nitrogen temperature. Thus the retro-gamma-rhodopsin system is similar in photochemical reaction at 77 K to cattle rhodopsin system. Each system has its own batho product. Based on these results, it was infered that the formation of batho-rhodopsin is due to photoisomerization of the chromophoric retinal of rhodopsin and is not due to translocation of a proton on the ring or on the side chain from C-6 to C-8 of the chromophoric retinal to the Schiff-base nitrogen.

Linear dichroism of rhodopsin in air-water interface films

Air-water interface films of purified cattle rhodopsin and defined phospholipids are formed by the osmotic lysis of reconstituted membrane vesicles. The interface films thus formed consist of a phospholipid monolayer containing vesicle membrane fragments. Rhodopsin molecules at the interface are restricted within the membrane fragments where they are spectrophotometrically intact and capable of undergoing photoregeneration and chemical regeneration. Multilayers of up to 8 layers can be built from these interface films. The visible absorption band of rhodopsin in these multilayers is linearly dichroic. Quantitative analysis of the linear dichroism reveals that the dipole moment of transition of the retinal chromophore in rhodopsin forms an angle of 15 degrees +/- 4 degrees with the plane of the membrane fragments in the interface film. This orientation of the chromophore relative to the plane of the membrane is essentially the same as that observed in the intact retina. Thus, the orientation of rhodopsin in the interface films is similar to that in the intact disc membranes.

Orientation of rhodopsin alpha-helices in in retinal rod outer segment membranes studied by infrared linear dichroism

Frog retinal rod outer segments, oriented by a magentic field, were shown to contain rhodopsin alpha-helical segments preferentially aligned perpendicular to the plane of the disc membrane, by the technique of infrared linear dichroism. Infrared absorption parallel and perpendicular to the rod axes by peptide C parallel to O groups, whose absorption band contains alpha-helical and random coil components at slightly different frequencies, showed positive dichroism centered on the alpha-helix frequence. We conclude that the alpha-helical portion of the protein has an average orientation in the transmembrane direction. Furthermore, infrared spectra of rods in 2H2O Ringer's solution exhibit two distinct peptide amino group absorption bands: the unexchanged N-2H band, which is nondichroic. This implies that the oriented part of the protein is in the lipid bilayer, supporting a model for rhodopsin with a hydrophobic core containing partially oriented alpha-helices and hydrophilic ends consisting of unoriented polypeptide.

Molecular mechanism for the initial process of visual excitation. IV. Energy surfaces of visual pigments and photoisomerization mechanism

Using the twisted conformations of the chromophores for visual pigments and intermediates which were theoretically determined in the previous paper, energy surfaces of the pigment at - 190 degrees C were obtained as functions of the torsional angles theta 9-10 and theta 11-12 or of the torsional angles theta 9-10 and theta 13-14. In these calculations, the existence of specific reaction paths between rhodopsin (R) and bathorhodopsin (B), between isorhodopsin I (I) and bathorhodopsin, and between isorhodopsin II (I') and bathorhodopsin were assumed. It was shown that the total energy surfaces of the excited states had minima C1 at theta 9-10 approximately -10 degrees and theta 11-12 approximately -80 degrees, C2 at theta 9-10 approximately -85 degrees and theta 11-12 approximately -5 degrees, and C3 at theta 9-10 approximately -0 degree and theta 13-14 approximately -90 degrees. These minima are considered to correspond to the thermally barrierless common states as denoted by Rosenfeld et al. Using the total energy surfaces in the ground and excited states, the molecular mechanism of the photoisomerization reaction was suggested. Quantum yields for the photoconversions among R, I, I' and B were related to the rates of vibrational relaxations, radiationless transitions and thermal excitations. Some discussion was made of the temperature effect on the quantum yield. Similar calculations of the energy surfaces were also made at other temperatures where lumirhodopsin or metarhodopsin I is stable. Relative energy levels of the pigments and the intermediates were discussed.

The directional absorption properties of rhodopsin and its photoproducts

The experimental data on the absorption of a plane polarised light by a solution of cattle rhodopsin at -196 degrees C have been theoretically analysed to model the directional absorption properties of rhodopsin and its photoproducts. It is seen that these molecules behave like planar absorbers having a ratio of about 100 : 7 between the extinction coefficients along the long axis and perpendicular to it. Using this result and the experimental observations on absorption and dichroism in the retina in situ, a model for the configuration of chromophores in the disc membranes has been derived. In this model the plane of the chromophore is perpendicular to that of the disc and the long axis of the chromophore makes an angle of 6.6 degrees with the plane of the disc. The solution of the problem depends on the assumption that the absorption axes are the same for the rhodopsin, prelumirhodopsin and isorhodopsin.