Anilinonaphthalenesulfonate as a fluorescent probe of the energized membrane state in Escherichia coli cells and sonicated membrane particles

Use of lipophilic cation-permeable mutants for measurement of transmembrane electrical potential in metabolizing cells of Escherichia coli

Some lipopolysaccharide-defective mutants of Escherichia coli showed, without ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid treatment, a quick and high uptake of lipophilic cations such as triphenylmethylphosphonium and tetraphenylphosphonium. The rate and amount of uptake were comparable to those of an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-treated wild type. Transmembrane electrical potential, which was calculated from the distribution of these lipophilic cations between the inside and outside of the mutant cells, was about -150 mV at pH 7.5 and showed a strong dependency on the external pH. One of the E. coli mutants, the acrA mutant, was found to be also permeable to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, an H+-adenosine triphosphatase inhibitor, and 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate, a fluorescent dye. The acrA mutant was vigorously motile and highly sensitive to many bacteriophages and colicins. Thus, the acrA mutant is quite useful for the quantitative measurement of transmembrane electrical potential by lipophilic cations in intact and metabolizing cells especially in relation to motility and actions of colicins and bacteriophages.

Fast responses of bacterial membranes to virus adsorption: a fluorescence study

After collision with their host cells, virus particles may remain mobile on cell surfaces until they become attached at firm binding sites. We propose that a virion will arrive within a typical median time at such a site, generating a membrane signal such as an increased membrane fluorescence in cells labeled with the voltage-sensitive dyes 8-anilino-1-naphthalene-sulfonate (Mg-salt) (ANS), N-phenylnaphthylamine (NPA), or 3,3'-dipentyl-2,2'-oxacarbocyanine (di-O-C5[3]). We found that the time span between virus adsorption and fluorescence response varies widely among phages and also depends on bacterial strain, metabolic state, and type of dye. di-O-C5[3]-labeled cells react within 1 sec to uncouplers such as carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). Cells labeled with ANS and NPA react to CCCP in 4-6 sec. Bacteriophages T4, T5, chi, and BF23, added to ANS-labeled cells, change the fluorescence in 9-15 sec. T-even ghosts cause a response at identical times. Baseplate-defective phage mutant T412- and isolated adsorption organelles of smaller viruses fail to cause an effect. di-O-C5[3]-labeled cells respond to T4 at a multiplicity of infection greater than or equal to 40 within 1 sec. A longer time (8 sec) is required at lower multiplicities. The receptor-degrading phages epsilon 15, epsilon 34, c 341, and K29 need the longest time (1 min for ANS) to cause a fluorescence increase. We suggest that the delayed fluorescence response is concomitant with the surface "walk" of the virion, which is terminated at an injection site. T4 tail sheath contraction coincides with the onset of the membrane fluorescence response.

Relationship between steps in 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) fluorescence and changes in the energized membrane state and in intracellular and extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) levels following bacteriophage T5 infection of Escherichia coli

The addition of bacteriophage T5 to anaerobic, fermenting cells of Escherichia coli B or K-12 in the presence of 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS), N-phenylnaphthyl-1-amine (NPN), or dansyl ethylamine causes the fluorescence of these probes to rise in two steps, the first occurring immediately upon addition, the second delayed by 6 min. The conditions necessary for observing this phenomenon are defined (cell density, probe concentration, substrate, absence of an electron acceptor, multiplicity of infection, growth, and harvesting conditions). The magnitudes of the first and second steps in fluorescence are dependent upon the multiplicity of infection; the timing of the steps is not. The first step correlates with a breakdown in the potassium or rubidium permeability barrier of the cells, and it occurs either aerobically or anaerobically, with fermentable or nonfermentable substrates. The second step occurs only with cells that are without an available electron acceptor, are fermenting, and which have a functional membrane-bound, Ca2+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase). The results are consistent with disturbance of energization of the cell membrane by the membrane-bound ATPase at the time of the second step in fluorescence. No changes in the intracellular level of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) was seen, whereas the extracellular level increased sharply, starting 3--6 min after phage addition. The quantity of ATP found in the medium by 30 min after infection amounted to about four times the amount present inside the cells at the time of infection. The quantity and rate of efflux of ATP was similar under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

Use of dyes to estimate the electrical potential of the mitochondrial membrane

A number of cationic or anionic fluorescent dyes were investigated as possible monitors of the membrane potential of rat liver mitochondria, and giant mitochondria isolated from the liver of mice maintained on a diet containing cuprizone. The fluorescence of four dyes (8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid, merocyanine 540, 3,3'-dipropyl-thiocarbocyanine, and bis[1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid-(5)]-pentamethine oxonol) was found to respond appropriately to changes in an apparent K+ diffusion potential. Generally, valinomycin-induced K+ diffusion potentials as calculated using the Nernst equation were used to calibrate the dependence of the fluorescence on the membrane potential. The appropriateness of this approach was verified for two dyes using microelectrodes in giant mitochondria. The apparent membrane potential change induced by the addition of succinate was variable but was very low and generally less than 60 mV in magnitude. The results are consistent with the notion that a large membrane potential is not established upon the initiation of metabolism and that the membrane potential does not play a significant role in the observed ADP phosphorylation.

Metabolic effects of some electrofluorimetric dyes

The effect of five electrofluorimetric dyes on mitochondrial metabolism was examined to determine their suitability for mitochondrial studies and other biological uses. The dyes merocyanine 540, 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid and bis(1,3-dibutyl barbituric acid-(5))-pentamethane oxonol were found to be inhibitors of the respiratory chain. However, the first two exerted their effect only at high concentrations. 3.3'-Dihexyl-2,2'-oxacarbocyanine was found to act as an uncoupler. 3,3'-Dipropyl-thiocarbocyanine inhibited beta-hydroxybutyrate respiration while dissociating succinate supported respiration from the phosphorylation of ADP. Merocyanine 540 and 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid may be the best suited for studies of membrane potentials in mitochondria since their effect on metabolism is negligible

An evaluation of N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine as a probe of membrane energy state in Escherichia coli

Colicin El and the uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation, trifluoromethoxy-carbonylcyanidephenylhydrazone (FCCP), cause an increase in the fluorescence intensity of N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine bound to whole cells of Escherichia coli. It has been shown elsewhere that this fluorescence increase correlates well with de-energization. Addition of glucose causes a large cyanide-sensitive decrease of intensity, tentatively associated with energization, with the emission spectrum almost returning to the original trace with a peak at 417 nm. These data suggest that there may be a measurable competition between de-energization and energization of the cell membrane, and that the probe fluorescence intensity may be a general indicator of membrane energy level. The conclusions reached about cellular energy level from measurements of the probe fluorescence intensity correlate partly (a, b below, not c) with the energy level assayed physiologically through rates of active transport; (a) FCCP is found to be a poor inhibitor of proline transport if cells are first incubated with glucose, showing eutger cinpetition between the processes of energization and de-energization or an increase in the envelope permeability barrier to FCCP caused by glucose addition. (b) Cyanide blocks the fluorescence decrease caused by glucose and inhibits proline and serine transport, consistent with the decrease in probe fluorescence intensity indicating an increase in membrane energization. However, (c) it appears that the amplitude of the fluorescence intensity decrease caused by glucose addition in the presence of FCCP and colicin E1 greatly exaggerates the extent of real membrane energization. Glucose added after uncoupler can cause only a small increase, and after colicin, a negligible increase in the proline transport rate, indicating that the magnitude of the fluorescence intensity decrease after glucose addition is not a true measure of membrane energization, but rather seems to amplify this energization greatly. Glucose addition does not cause a decrease in fluorescence intensity in cells treated with EDTA to remove lipopolysaccharide and an apparent barrier to the probe. The rotational relaxation time of the probe in intact cells appears to correlate somewhat better with the cellular energy level than does intensity.

Membrane changes in Escherichia coli induced by colicin Ia and agents known to disrupt energy transduction

The addition of colicin Ia to a suspension of intact Escherichia coli in the presence of the hydrophobic fluorescent probe N-phenyl-l-naphthylamine causes dramatic changes in the fluorescence of the probe. The fluorescence intensity increases several fold, the emission spectrum shifts to the blue, the fluorescence lifetime approximately doubles, and the polarization increases. These changes do not appear to result from an increase in membrane microviscosity, as has been previously postulated to be the case for the N-phenyl-l-naphthylamine fluorescence changes seen with colicin El-treated cells (Helgerson, S.L., Cramer, W.A., Harris, J.M., and Lytle, F.E. (1974), Biochemistry, 13, 3057); rather, they result from an increased binding of the dye to the cell envelope. A variety of agents have been used to demonstrate that a very similar fluorescence response results whenever the cells are "deenergized." These agents include electron transport inhibitors (malonate, amytal, cyanide) as well as the uncouplers CCCP and azide. In addition, depleting the cells of either endogenous substrates or oxygen results in the same fluorescence response. In these cases, the fluorescence response is reversed upon addition of an oxidizable substrate or oxygen. It is clear that there are significant changes in the Escherichia coli envelope as energy transduction processes are disrupted and restored. The changes reported by the fluorescent probe may prove useful indeciphering structure-function relationships in the Escherichia coli envelope.