Saturation transfer ESR studies of molecular motion in phosphatidylglycerol bilayers in the gel phase: effects of pretransitions and pH titration

Molecular dynamics of the cyclic lipodepsipeptides' action on model membranes: effects of syringopeptin22A, syringomycin E, and syringotoxin studied by EPR technique

Interaction of pore-forming toxins, syringopeptin22A (SP22A), syringomycin E (SRE) and syringotoxin (ST), with model membranes were investigated. Liposomes were prepared from saturated phospholipids (DPPC or DMPC) or from binary mixtures of DPPC with varying amount of DOPC or cholesterol. The effects of the three toxins on the molecular order and dynamics of the lipids were studied using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. SP22A was the most-, SRE less-, and ST the least effective to increase the ordering and to decrease the rotational correlation time of the lipid molecules. The effects were more pronounced: (a) on small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) than on multilamellar vesicles (MUVs); (b) on pure DPPC than on DPPC-cholesterol or DPPC-DOPC mixtures. Fluidity changes, determined from EPR spectra at different concentrations of the toxin, suggested the shell structure of the lipid molecules in pore formation. EPR spectra observed at different depth of the hydrocarbon chain of the lipid molecules implied an active role of the lipid molecules in the architecture of the pores created in the presence of the three toxins. Temperature dependence of the fluidity of the SUVs treated with toxins has shown an abrupt and irreversible change in the molecular dynamics of the lipid molecules at a temperature close to the pretransition, depending on the toxin species and the lipid composition. Coalescence and aggregation of the SUVs were proposed as the origin of this irreversible change.

Probing DMPG vesicle surface with a cationic aqueous soluble spin label

A small, highly aqueous soluble, deuterated, cationic spin label, 4-trimethylammonium-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-d17-1-oxyl iodide (dCAT1), was used to directly monitor the negatively charged DMPG vesicle surface in order to test a recent suggestion (Riske et al., Chem. Phys. Lipids, 89 (1997) 31-44) that alterations in the surface potential accompanied apparent phase transitions observed by light scattering. The temperature dependence of the label partition between the lipid surface and the aqueous medium indicated an increase in the surface potential at the gel to liquid-crystal transition, supporting the previous suggestion. Results at the phase transition occurring at a higher temperature were less definitive. Although some change in the dCAT1 ESR spectra was observed, the interpretation of the phenomena is still rather unclear. DMPG surface potentials were estimated from the dCAT1 partition ratios (surface label moles/total label moles), using a simple two-sites model, where the electrostatic potential is zero everywhere but at the vesicle surface, and the interaction between the spin label and the membrane surface is chiefly electrostatic. The Gouy-Chapman-Stern model predicts surface potentials similar to those observed, although the measured decrease in the surface potential with ionic strength is somewhat steeper than that predicted by the model.

Miscibility of phospholipids with identical headgroups and acyl chain lengths differing by two methylene units: effects of headgroup structure and headgroup charge

We have investigated the influence of the chemical structure and charge of the hydrophillic headgroup on the miscibility of saturated phospholipids with acyl chain lengths differing by two methylene units, namely DMPA/DPPA, DMPC/DPPC, DMPE/DPPE and DMPG/DPPG (0.1 M NaCl). All four mixtures were analysed by DSC at pH 7. To study the influence of a change in headgroup charge, we additionally investigated DMPA/DPPA mixtures at pH 4 and 12, and DMPG/DPPG mixtures at pH 2. The experimental DSC thermograms were fitted using methods described before [Johann et al., Biophys. J. 71 (1996), 3215-3228] to obtain the temperatures of onset and end of melting and first approximations for the non-ideality parameters as a function of composition. The resulting phase diagrams were then fitted using a four non-ideality parameter model for non-ideal, non-symmetric mixing in both phases. The phase diagram of the system DMPG/DPPG has a lens-like shape, the non-ideality parameters rhog and rhol for the gel and the liquid-crystalline phase, respectively, are zero, indicating ideal mixing in both phases. For the other mixtures, differences in miscibility are observed depending on the structure of the headgroup. At pH 7, rhog > rhol, i.e., the miscibility in the liquid-crystalline phase is more ideal than in the gel state. All rhog values are positive and the sequence for rhog observed is PA>PE>PC>PG. Partial protonation of PA at pH 4 or complete deprotonation at pH 12 leads to negative non-ideality parameters for both phases, indicating a preference for mixed pair formation. Protonation of PG in DMPG/DPPG mixtures at pH 2 leads to positive non-ideality parameters for both phases, indicating a tendency for demixing. The results show, that the miscibility of phospholipids with identical headgroups but chain lengths differing by two methylene groups is dependent on headgroup structure and on headgroup charge.

Calorimetric and spectroscopic studies of the thermotropic phase behavior of the n-saturated 1,2-diacylphosphatidylglycerols

The polymorphic phase behavior of a homologous series of n-saturated 1,2-diacyl phosphatidylglycerols (PGs) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared and 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. When dispersed in aqueous media under physiologically relevant conditions, these compounds exhibit two thermotropic phase transitions that are structurally equivalent to the well-characterized pretransitons and gel/liquid-crystalline phase transitions exhibited by bilayers of the corresponding 1,2-diacyl phosphatidylcholines. Furthermore, when incubated at low temperatures, their gel phases spontaneously transform into one or more solid-like phases that appear to be highly ordered, quasicrystalline bilayers that are probably partially dehydrated. The quasicrystalline structures, which form upon short-term, low-temperature annealing of these lipids, are meta-stable with respect to more stable structures, to which they eventually transform upon prolonged low-temperature incubation. The rates of formation of the quasicrystalline phases of the PGs generally tend to decrease as hydrocarbon chain length increases, and PGs whose hydrocarbon chains contain an odd number of carbon atoms tend to be slower than those of neighboring even-numbered homologs. The calorimetric data also indicate that the quasicrystalline phases of these compounds become progressively less stable relative to both their gel and liquid-crystalline phases as the length of the hydrocarbon chain increases and that they decompose either to the liquid-crystalline phase (short- and medium-chain compounds) or to the normal gel phase (long-chain compounds) upon heating. The spectroscopic data indicate that although there is odd-even alternation in the structures of the quasicrystalline phases formed upon short-term low-temperature incubation of these compounds, the structural features of the stable quasicrystalline phases eventually formed are all similar. Furthermore, the degree of hydration and the nature of hydrogen bonding interactions in the headgroup and interfacial regions of these PG bilayers differ significantly from that observed in all other phospholipid bilayers studied so far. We suggest that many of the properties of PG bilayers can be rationalized by postulating that the glycerol moiety of the polar headgroup is directly involved in shielding the negative charges at the surface of the bilayer by means of hydration-like hydrogen bonding interactions with the phosphate moiety.

Saturation transfer, continuous wave saturation, and saturation recovery electron spin resonance studies of chain-spin labeled phosphatidylcholines in the low temperature phases of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayers. Effects of rotational dynamics and spin-spin interactions

The saturation transfer electron spin resonance (STESR) spectra of 10 different positional isomers of phosphatidylcholine spin-labeled in the sn-2 chain have been investigated in the low temperature phases of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers. The results of continuous wave saturation and of saturation recovery measurements on the conventional ESR spectra were used to define the saturation properties necessary for interpreting the STESR results in terms of the chain dynamics. Spin labels with the nitroxide group located in the center of the chain tended to segregate preferentially from the DPPC host lipids in the more ordered phases, causing spin-spin interactions which produced spectral broadening and had a very pronounced effect on the saturation characteristics of the labels. This was accompanied by a large decrease in the STESR spectral intensities and diagnostic line height ratios relative to those of spin labels that exhibited a higher degree of saturation at the same microwave power. The temperature dependence of the STESR spectra of the different spin label isomers revealed a sharp increase in the rate of rotation about the long axis of the lipid chains at approximately 25 degrees C, correlating with the pretransition of gel phase DPPC bilayers, and a progressive increase in the segmental motion towards the terminal methyl end of the chains in all phases. Prolonged incubation at low temperatures led to an increase in the diagnostic STESR line height ratios in all regions of the spectrum, reflecting the decrease in chain mobility accompanying formation of the subgel phase. Continuous recording of the central diagnostic peak height of the STESR spectra while scanning the temperature revealed a discontinuity at approximately 14-17 degrees C, corresponding to the DPPC subtransition which occurred only on the initial upward temperature scan, in addition to the discontinuity at 29-31 degrees C corresponding to the pretransition which displayed hysteresis on the downward temperature scan.

Selective detection of the rotational dynamics of the protein-associated lipid hydrocarbon chains in sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes

We have developed a saturation transfer EPR (ST-EPR) method to measure selectively the rotational dynamics of those lipids that are motionally restricted by integral membrane proteins and have applied this methodology to measure lipid-protein interactions in native sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membranes. This analysis involves the measurement of spectral saturation using a series of six stearic acid spin labels that are labeled with a nitroxide at different carbon atom positions. A large amount of spectral saturation is observed for spin labels in native SR membranes, but not for spin labels in dispersions of extracted SR lipids, implying that the motional properties of those lipids interacting with the Ca-ATPase, i.e., the boundary or annular lipid, can be directly measured without the need for spectral subtraction procedures. A comparison of the motional properties of the restricted lipid, measured by ST-EPR, with those measured by digital subtraction of conventional EPR spectra qualitatively agree, for in both cases the Ca-ATPase restricts the rotational mobility of a population of lipids, whose rotational mobility increases as the nitroxide is positioned toward the center of the bilayer. However, the ability of ST-EPR to directly measure the motionally restricted lipid in a model-independent means provides the greater precision necessary to measure small changes in the rotational dynamics of the lipid at the protein-lipid interface, providing a valuable tool in clarifying the relationship between the physical nature of the protein-lipid interface and membrane function.

Use of electron spin resonance spectroscopy of spin labels for studying drug-induced membrane perturbation

The use of electron spin resonance spectroscopy of spin labels is reviewed in the context of drug-induced membrane perturbation. The correlation between membrane perturbation and biological effects is also considered.

A calorimetric examination of the effect of myotoxin a on the thermotropic phase behavior of model lipid membranes

The effect of myotoxin a on the thermotropic phase behavior of aqueous dispersions of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dimyristoyl phosphatidylserine (DMPS) was examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Myotoxin a significantly altered the normal phase behavior of DMPC in a concentration dependent fashion. This effect is perturbed by Ca2+ and is sensitive to ionic strength and pH. High concentrations of toxin eliminate the characteristic pretransition associated with the polar head group of DMPC. They also increase the temperature of the main gel-to-liquid crystal transition from 23 degrees C to 32-35 degrees C. At low concentrations of toxin, the first visible effect is upon the pretransition which is split into two components that diminish with time. The main transition is less affected at low toxin concentrations, although the magnitude of the transition is reduced while it is simultaneously shifted to higher temperatures. The main transition is also split into multiple components. The toxin also had pH specific effects on the phase behavior of DMPS. Above physiological pH (8.5) the normal transition of DMPS at 36-38 degrees C was split in the presence of myotoxin a and new components appeared centered at 31 degrees C and 35 degrees C. These observations are consistent with reports that the skeletal muscle membrane system is the major site of the myonecrotic effect of myotoxin a.

The influence of membrane proteins on lipid dynamics

The application of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to the study of phospholipid dynamics in membranes is discussed. Using these complementary spectroscopic techniques it is possible to investigate the dynamics of lipids in membranes over a time scale range of from 10(-10) to 1 s. A rather detailed, quantitative description of phospholipid dynamics in pure lipid/water bilayer dispersions has emerged. For example, the correlation time for phosphate group reorientation has been shown to be of the order of 10(-9) s. Chain dynamics can be modelled in terms of three basic types of motion: reorientation about the long axis, fluctuation of the long axis with respect to the bilayer normal, and gauche-trans isomerization about C-C bonds. In the fluid phase, all of these chain motions are in the fast limit on the NMR time scale, but only the gauche-trans isomerization is fast on the EPR time scale. In the gel phase, all of these motions are in the intermediate time scale regime for NMR. While a similarly detailed description of the influence of protein on lipid dynamics has not yet been obtained, these techniques have demonstrated their capability to perform that task. The limited data available suggest that the major effect of protein on lipid dynamics is to increase the relative importance of motions at lower frequency. This is most clearly evident as a slight increase in the correlation time for phosphate group reorientation. The strongest evidence for slower motion of the hydrocarbon chains is from NMR relaxation time and line width measurements. The interpretation of changes in lipid dynamics in terms of protein/lipid interactions will require further studies of protein/lipid phase equilibria as well as molecular dynamics.

Hydrostatic pressure induces hydrocarbon chain interdigitation in single-component phospholipid bilayers

By use of neutron diffraction for structural analysis, the temperature-pressure phase diagrams of several fully hydrated single-component phospholipid bilayers have been explored up to hydrostatic pressures of 2 kbars. The gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition temperature Tm increases linearly with pressure over a 10(-3)-2 kbar range in accordance with the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship giving dTm/dP values of 23.0 degrees C/kbar for 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and 28.0 degrees C/kbar for 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC). The so-called pretransition was not observed in the isothermal pressure experiments, suggesting that no appreciable volume change occurs at this transition. These results are in good agreement with those reported using other techniques. In addition, at pressures higher than the isothermal liquid-crystalline to gel transition pressure, a new pressure-induced phase transition was observed for DPPC and DSPC in which the hydrocarbon chains from apposing monolayers become interdigitated with the chains occupying a cross-sectional area approximately equal to 5% less than in the gel phase. The temperature-pressure phase diagrams show the gel-interdigitated phase boundaries to be highly curved and the minimum pressure at which interdigitation occurs to decrease with increasing hydrocarbon chain length.

New biophysical techniques and their application to the study of membranes

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Models for slow anisotropic rotational diffusion in saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance at 9 and 35 GHz

Model systems of cholestane and 5-doxylstearic acid analogue spin probes in lipid bilayer dispersions of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol (9:1 w/w) are used to analyze saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance spectral behavior for slow rotational diffusion in an anisotropic medium. Measurements are made at both 9 and 35 GHz to provide enhanced spectral resolution for different types of motion. Parameter correlation plots of spectral parameters from different regions of the saturation transfer spectra appear to be potentially useful in characterizing different types of motion. Anisotropic rotational diffusion about a symmetry axis coincident with the nitroxide y principal axis is clearly distinguishable from isotropic rotational diffusion and may be distinguishable from rotational diffusion about the nitroxide z principal axis. Approximate anisotropic rotational diffusion about a symmetry axis coincident with the nitroxide z principal axis is distinguishable from isotropic rotational diffusion under some, but not all, conditions.

Charge-induced tilt in ordered-phase phosphatidylglycerol bilayers evidence from X-ray diffraction

X-ray diffraction studies have been performed, as a function of water content, on dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol bilayers, both in the charged state at pH 8.0 and in the protonated state at pH 1.5, using buffers of 1.5 M salt concentration. Measurements were made at 20 degrees C, and the high-angle reflections indicated that the bilayers were in the ordered phase at both pH values. Lamellar diffractions were observed under all conditions studied. THe lamellar repeat reached a limiting value of 62.4 A (6.24 nm) at a water/lipid ratio of 0.24 at pH 8.0, and a limiting value of 67.3 A (6.73 nm) at a water/lipid ratio of 0.22 at pH 1.5. The area per lipid molecule in the plane of the bilayer, deduced from the bilayer thickness and the lipid partial specific volume, is 48 A2 (0.48 nm2) at pH 8.0 and 37 A2 (0.37 nm2) at pH 1.5. The area per molecule in the plane perpendicular to the chain axes, deduced from the X-ray short spacings, is 40.5 A2 (0.405 nm2) at pH 8.0 and 39.2 A2 (0.392 nm2) at pH 1.5. Thus the lipid molecules are tilted by approx. 30 degrees relative to the bilayer normal at pH 8.0, but are essentially untilted at pH 1.5.