A 1H-NMR investigation of the effects of ethanol and general anaesthetics on ion channels and membrane fusion using unilamellar phospholipid membranes

Potential Role of Oral Rinses Targeting the Viral Lipid Envelope in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Emerging studies increasingly demonstrate the importance of the throat and salivary glands as sites of virus replication and transmission in early COVID-19 disease. SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus, characterized by an outer lipid membrane derived from the host cell from which it buds. While it is highly sensitive to agents that disrupt lipid biomembranes, there has been no discussion about the potential role of oral rinsing in preventing transmission. Here, we review known mechanisms of viral lipid membrane disruption by widely available dental mouthwash components that include ethanol, chlorhexidine, cetylpyridinium chloride, hydrogen peroxide, and povidone-iodine. We also assess existing formulations for their potential ability to disrupt the SARS-CoV-2 lipid envelope, based on their concentrations of these agents, and conclude that several deserve clinical evaluation. We highlight that already published research on other enveloped viruses, including coronaviruses, directly supports the idea that oral rinsing should be considered as a potential way to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Research to test this could include evaluating existing or specifically tailored new formulations in well-designed viral inactivation assays, then in clinical trials. Population-based interventions could be undertaken with available mouthwashes, with active monitoring of outcome to determine efficacy. This is an under-researched area of major clinical need.

Sandcastle Worm-Inspired Blood-Resistant Bone Graft Binder Using a Sticky Mussel Protein for Augmented In Vivo Bone Regeneration

Xenogenic bone substitutes are commonly used during orthopedic reconstructive procedures to assist bone regeneration. However, huge amounts of blood accompanied with massive bone loss usually increase the difficulty of placing the xenograft into the bony defect. Additionally, the lack of an organic matrix leads to a decrease in the mechanical strength of the bone-grafted site. For effective bone grafting, this study aims at developing a mussel adhesion-employed bone graft binder with great blood-resistance and enhanced mechanical properties. The distinguishing water (or blood) resistance of the binder originates from sandcastle worm-inspired complex coacervation using negatively charged hyaluronic acid (HA) and a positively charged recombinant mussel adhesive protein (rMAP) containing tyrosine residues. The rMAP/HA coacervate stabilizes the agglomerated bone graft in the presence of blood. Moreover, the rMAP/HA composite binder enhances the mechanical and hemostatic properties of the bone graft agglomerate. These outstanding features improve the osteoconductivity of the agglomerate and subsequently promote in vivo bone regeneration. Thus, the blood-resistant coacervated mussel protein glue is a promising binding material for effective bone grafting and can be successfully expanded to general bone tissue engineering.

Biological water and its role in the effects of alcohol

Alcohol and water compete with each other on target membrane molecules, specifically, lipids and proteins near the membrane surface. The basis for this competition is the hydrogen bonding capability of both compounds. But alcohol's amphiphilic properties give it the capability to be attracted simultaneously to both hydrophobic and hydrophilic targets. Thus, alcohol could bind certain targets preferentially and displace water, leading to conformational consequences. This article reviews the clustering and organized character of biological water, which modulates the conformation of membrane surface molecules, particularly receptor protein. Any alcohol-induced displacement of biological water on or inside of membrane proteins creates the opportunity for allosteric change in membrane receptors. This interaction may also prevail in organelles, such as the Golgi apparatus, which have relatively low concentrations of bulk water. Target molecules of particular interest in neuronal membrane are zwitteronic phospholipids, gangliosides, and membrane proteins, including glycoproteins. FTIR and NMR spectroscopic evidence from model membrane systems shows that alcohol has a nonstereospecific binding capability for membrane surface molecules and that such binding occurs at sites that are otherwise occupied by hydrogen-bonded water. The significance of these effects seems to lie in the need to learn more about biological water as an active participant in biochemical actions. Proposed herein is a new working hypothesis that the molecular targets of ethanol action most deserving of study are those where water is trapped and there is little bulk water. Proteins (enzymes and receptors) certainly differ in this regard, as do organelles.

Increased permeability of phase-separated liposomal membranes with mixtures of ethanol-induced interdigitated and non-interdigitated structures

It has been suggested by many workers using model membranes that the interdigitated structure formation, in which the acyl chains fully interpenetrate the hydrocarbon chains of the opposing monolayer, plays an important role in regulating many functions of biomembranes. In the present study the control of permeability was focused on as one of the biomembrane functions, and the effects of ethanol on the permeability of large unilamellar vesicles made by the extrusion technique (LUVET) (average diameter: about 250 nm), composed of dipalmitoyl or egg yolk phosphatidylcholines, were studied by monitoring the leakage of fluorescent dye, calcein, entrapped in the inner aqueous phase of the LUVET. The permeability was estimated from the apparent rate constant of calcein leakage at 25 degrees C. Large permeabilities were observed in the region of 0.6 M to 1.3 M ethanol, with a concentration dependence. In this range of ethanol concentrations the normal bilayer and interdigitated structure coexist and the membrane is in a phase-separated state. The large permeability is due to the instability of the boundary regions, the interdigitated membrane being characterized by a thinner structure and more rigid hydrocarbon regions in the layer than its non-interdigitated counter part. These results suggest the possibility of biomembrane-permeability regulation by interdigitated membrane formation.

Ethanol-induced aggregation and fusion of small phosphatidylcholine liposome: participation of interdigitated membrane formation in their processes

The mechanism for the ethanol-induced aggregation/fusion of uniform-sized small liposomes comprised of dipalmitoyl (DPPC) or egg yolk (eggPC) phosphatidylcholines was studied by measuring the average size using a photon correlation spectroscopy, by observing directly the states in the liposomal solutions using freeze-fracture electron microscopy and by attempting resonance energy transfer using flurophore-labeled phospholipids. Abrupt increases in the apparent size of DPPC liposomes were observed in the presence of above 44 mg/ml ethanol, where microscopically plateau membranes form interdigitated structure, in which the acyl chains fully interpenetrate the hydrocarbon chains of the apposing monolayer. On the contrary, in the eggPC liposome, where the membranes cannot form interdigitated structures even in the presence of high concentration of ethanol, such intense aggregation and fusion were not observed, suggesting their intimate relation to the interdigitated structure formation. The formation of interdigitated structures in the adhering region leads to an increase in the interfacial area and an exposure of hydrophobic acyl chain terminal on the surface area, and enhances hydrophobic interactions between two interdigitated bilayers. Thus, the resultant interdigitated structure makes the aggregated state stable and partially initiates the bilayer mixing between the two apposed membranes, leading to fusion.

Partitioning behaviour of 1-hexanol into lipid membranes as studied by deuterium NMR spectroscopy

Deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to study the partitioning behaviour of 1-hexanol specifically deuterated in the alpha-position into model lipid bilayers. In all systems studied, the observed deuterium NMR lineshapes were time-dependent. Initially, 1-hexanol-d2 gave rise to an isotropic deuterium resonance with a different chemical shift from that of aqueous 1-hexanol-d2. After equilibration over a period of days, a broader spectral component characteristic of a spherically-averaged powder-pattern was observed. The quadrupole anisotropy of the 1-hexanol-d2 giving rise to the broad spectrum depended upon the cholesterol content of the membrane. From quantitation of the anisotropic to isotropic deuterium NMR spectra, the partition coefficients of 1-hexanol-d2 in a number of bilayer systems (asolectin and phosphatidylcholine bilayers (the latter with and without cholesterol] were determined. The partitioning of 1-hexanol-d2 into red blood cell membranes, and a suspension of lipids extracted from red blood cell membranes, was also examined. It is suggested that 1-hexanol, and probably other lipophiles, can partition to either the bilayer surface or the bilayer interior in a time-dependent manner.

Dehydration: a new alcohol theory

A central belief about ethanol is that it acts mainly by partitioning into the lipid bilayer of membranes. Newer ideas focus on the neuronal synapse and suggest that ethanol can allosterically change protein conformation, as is suggested by studies on GABA-receptor-mediated chloride uptake and on (Na(+)-K+)-ATPase. Several studies from my laboratory suggest that ethanol enhances enzymatic cleavage of sialic acid (SA) from gangliosides, and perhaps also glycoproteins, but does so without stimulating enzyme activity, suggesting conformational changes that affect accessibility. I propose a new model for the cell membrane in the synaptic region, which features gangliosides surrounding membrane proteins, with an interspersed film of water creating hydrogen bonds that anchor SA moieties to membrane protein. I believe that we should consider the possibility that an important action of ethanol, and polar anesthetics, is due to hydrophilic, not hydrophobic, properties and the ability to dehydrate the cell-surface microdomain. Our laboratory has recently advanced the theory that ethanol dehydrates a "solvent regulatory site" of membrane (Na(+)-K+)-ATPase. This principle might be extended to other enzymes and receptor proteins, as well as to the accessibility of sialoglycoconjugates to sialidase (neuraminidase). Hydrogen bonding between SA and polar regions of receptor protein, and the conformation on both imposed by it, would surely be changed by minor degrees of dehydration and substitution of alcohol molecules for water. Ethanol, unlike water, can only hydrogen bond "at one end." Displacement of water by ethanol would not only "free" the SA groups and make them more vulnerable to enzymatic cleavage but also could simultaneously change the conformation of receptor protein. Similarly, ethanol may displace water that links the polar heads of phospholipids to polar portions of receptors proteins. Ethanol may have an even more important and direct effect of substituting for hydrogen-bonded water within protein itself.

The effect of n-alcohols on vesicular permeability induced at the lipid phase transition temperature: a 1H-NMR study

The effect of a series of n-alcohols on the permeability of small, unilamellar dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC), dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and distearoyl phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) vesicles at the gel-to-liquid crystal phase transition temperature was investigated. It was found that the permeability took the form of the transient lysis of a fraction of the population of vesicles. The effect on this lysis of the n-alcohols was seen to be very chain-length dependent, with a minimum at n = 8 (octan-1-ol) for DPPC vesicles. A similar minimum was observed in the presence of 0.1 mM Triton X-100, but the detergent could then interact with certain of the alcohols to produce permanent channels. The results are discussed in terms of the semi-empirical model of Brasseur et al. (1985) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 814, 227-236, for the interaction of the n-alcohols with a DPPC membrane. The effect of various n-alcohols on the outer and inner monolayers of DPPC vesicles was also studied and the results related to their fluidising effect, allowing channels to open at the phase transition temperature.

The effects of inhalation anesthetics on calcium-stimulated exocytosis in a natural membrane model system

Sea urchin egg cortices were used as an in vitro natural membrane model system to determine the effects of inhalation anesthetics on the Ca2+-regulated exocytotic fusion of cortical vesicles with the egg plasma membrane. When Ca2+ was either absent or present in amounts below the threshold for exocytosis, methoxyflurane, halothane, enflurane, isoflurane, chloroform and fluoroxene, at concentrations up to 5 mM, had no effect on the fusion of cortical vesicles with the plasma membrane. However, when Ca2+ was present at or above threshold levels for exocytosis, each of the tested anesthetics caused an inhibition of cortical vesicle fusion. Exocytosis was inhibited most effectively by methoxyflurane (55%), followed by halothane (30%), while fluoroxene consistently had the least effect (less than 5%). These observations support the view that volatile anesthetics can impair the Ca2+-regulated fusogenic activities of natural membranes and are consistent with other data showing that inhalational agents inhibit secretory processes in intact cells.

Properties of a GTP sensitive microdomain in rough microsomes

Stripped rough microsomes (SRM) fuse when incubated with physiological concentrations of GTP and MgCl2. In order to examine further to what extent such fusions are associated with other membrane functions of rough endoplasmic reticulum, we have evaluated the role of cytosolically exposed peptide constituents of SRM in fusion, and the possible relationship of GTP/MgCl2-induced fusion in protein transport across endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, and in ER-Golgi interactions. Controlled proteolytic digestion of SRM led to the loss of fusion capability at 15 micrograms/ml trypsin--a concentration which maintained the latency of intraluminal mannose-6-phosphatase. Hence, a cytosolically exposed protein(s) regulated fusion. Based on ribonuclease-induced ribosome capping experiments, it was further concluded that the cytosolic oriented protein(s) was sequestered beneath the ribosome. As co-translational cell free translocation of placental lactogen across SRM was similar in control membranes compared to those rendered incapable of fusing, it was concluded that the fusion phenomenon may not be related to translocation. Under conditions promoting homologous fusion of SRM or Golgi membranes, mixtures of the two membranes showed no heterologous membrane fusion as assessed morphologically or by the transport of newly synthesized membrane glycoprotein. These experiments attest to the specificity of cytosolically exposed protein(s) in regulating nucleotide/divalent cation-induced membrane fusion.

Effects of the volatile anesthetic halothane on fertilization and early development in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus: evidence that abnormal development is due to polyspermy

The volatile anesthetic halothane, when present at fertilization, dose-dependently increases the incidence of abnormally developing sea urchin embryos at the first cell division. Microscopic examinations of eggs stained with aceto-orcein or the DNA fluorochrome bisbenzimide and direct observations on isolated sperm aster complexes show that halothane induces polyspermy (multiple sperm entry) when present at fertilization. Experimental evidence suggests that anesthetic-induced polyspermy involves impairment of both the fast (electrically mediated) and slow (morphological) blocks to multiple sperm entry. These observations clearly show that relatively brief exposures to halothane at fertilization cause polyspermy and that this effect is almost certainly responsible for the ensuing abnormal development observed at the first cell division.

Reduced sensitivity of red blood cell (Na+,K+)-ATPase to ethanol in vitro in male alcoholic patients: relationship to clinical characteristics

We examined red blood cell (Na+,K+)-ATPase, its sensitivity to inhibition by ethanol in vitro, and its relationship to clinical characteristics and history in 41 newly admitted alcoholic patients and 14 age-matched healthy controls. Sensitivity to ethanol was significantly lower in the alcoholic patients and correlated negatively with ethanol intake. In addition, sensitivity of enzyme to ethanol was lower in patients with high agitation-anxiety ratings and correlated negatively with agitation and anxiety scores on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. There were no relationships between (Na+,K+)-ATPase measures and depressive symptoms, history of treatment for depression, or family history of depression. These data suggest that tolerance to the effects of ethanol on (Na+,K+)-ATPase occurs in man and may be related to the severity of ethanol dependence or withdrawal.

Responses in astrocytic C6 glioma cells to ethanol and dibutyryl cyclic AMP

Late passage C-6 glioma cells exhibit astrocytic properties as shown by a characteristic cell morphology and by high levels of the astrocytic cell maker glutamine synthetase (GS). In this study the effects of ethanol (0.2%-1.0% w/v) on the pattern of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dBcAMP, 1 mM)-induced differentiation were examined using cell number and DNA content as indices for proliferation and cell morphology and GS activity to evaluate differentiation. Differences were observed in the susceptibility of cells to dBcAMP alone, ethanol alone, or simultaneous exposure to both drugs, when cultures were compared at logarithmic and postconfluent phases of growth. Exposure to dBcAMP decreased cell proliferation, induced a characteristic change in cell shape and increased GS activity. In logarithmic phase, simultaneous exposure of cells to ethanol and dBcAMP delayed the dBcAMP-induced change in cell shape and attenuated the mitosis-restricting properties of exposure to dBcAMP. Furthermore, GS activity was greater in dually treated cultures than in cultures treated with dBcAMP alone. We interpret this higher enzyme activity to be the consequence of increased cell-cell contact resulting from larger numbers of cells in the dually treated cultures, coupled with a subsequent dBcAMP-induction of this cytosolic enzyme. In postconfluent cultures, ethanol-exposure did not statistically alter DNA content; whereas GS activity was lower, suggesting that synthesis of GS may be impaired by cellular exposure to ethanol. Furthermore, enzyme activity was also lower in cultures treated with dBcAMP in concert with ethanol than in those treated with dBcAMP alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The modulation of ion channels by the inhalation general anaesthetics. A1H-NMR investigation using unilamellar phospholipid membranes

The modulation of a variety of mechanisms of channel-mediated transport across unilamellar phospholipid membranes by a range of halogenated inhalation general anaesthetics (chloroform, enflurane, halothane and methoxyflurane) was investigated using 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Transport of the probe ion Pr3+ across egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (PC) and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicular membranes in the presence of the channel forming polypeptides alamethicin 30 and melittin, and the polyene antibiotic nystatin, as well as the degree of vesicular lysis at the gel to liquid-crystal phase transition of DPPC vesicles was monitored. The observation that the inhalation general anaesthetics inhibit such membrane permeability independently of the channel system or type of lipid used, suggests that hydrogen-bonded water structure and/or hydrogen-bonding centres at dipolar lipid-polypeptide interfaces, can be likely sites of action of the general anaesthetics.

Phosphatidic acid regulates the activity of the channel-forming ionophores alamethicin, melittin, and nystatin: a 1H-NMR study using phospholipid membranes

The regulation of ion channels by phosphatidic acid (a proposed active metabolite in the phosphatidylinositol effect) was investigated using 1H-NMR spectroscopy and small unilamellar phospholipid vesicles. Transport across egg-yolk phosphatidylcholine (egg PC) and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicular membranes in the presence of the channel-forming ionophores alamethicin, melittin, and nystatin was monitored using the lanthanide probe ion Pr3+. In the absence of the ionophores, phosphatidic acid (PA) alone was found to have no ionophore properties, but in the presence of the ionophores the incorporation of 3 mol % phosphatidic acid in the bilayer markedly increased the rate of transport using melittin and nystatin, but decreased the rate using alamethicin, independent of the type of phosphatidylcholine used. The presence of PA in the bilayer also stimulated the production of lytic type channels, the extent of which were both ionophore- and lipid-dependent. These results are discussed in terms of possible molecular interactions between the PA, the individual ionophores, and type of lipid used.

Application of 1H-n.m.r. to the design of liposomes for oral use. Synergistic activity of bile salts and pancreatic phospholipase A2 in the induced permeability of small unilamellar phospholipid vesicles

H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of small unilamellar phospholipid vesicles in the presence of the lanthanide probe ion Dy3+ has been used to study the permeability of these liposomes induced by the bile salts (glycocholate and glycodeoxycholate) and pancreatic phospholipase A2. A marked synergism is demonstrated in the combined effects of these digestive agents in producing permeability of the vesicles to Dy3+. Changes in the 1H-n.m.r. spectrum of the vesicular phospholipid head-groups before permeability is induced, indicate that the products of the enzymic hydrolysis (lyso lipids and fatty acids) and transmembrane lipid exchange are involved in the permeability mechanism. The results are discussed in terms of the advantages of the use of n.m.r. techniques in the future design of liposomes for oral use.