Coupled Na+ -K+ transport in vesicles containing a purified (NaK)-ATPase and only phosphatidyl choline

Magnetic resonance of membranes

Images

Reconstitution of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor using a lipid substitution technique

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was purified by affinity chromatography in the presence of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC). A method for replacing the DOPC with other lipids was developed by using detergent solubilization with a large excess of the new lipid followed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation in detergent-free buffers to separate receptor-lipid complexes from excess lipid and detergent. Homogenous complexes of defined lipid composition could be easily prepared and the efficiency of substitution was independent of lipid type. However, the functional properties of the resulting lipid complexes depended on the lipid composition.

Selectivity of lipid-protein interactions

The spin label ESR and intrinsic fluorescence quenching methods of determining the selectivity of interactions of lipids with integral membrane proteins are summarized. The selectivity patterns of phospholipids, fatty acids, and steroids are reviewed for a variety of integral proteins. Where appropriate, correlations are established with biochemical assays of the effects of specific lipids on enzymatic activity and transport function.

Difference in phospholipid dependence between two isozymes of brain (Na+ + K+)-ATPase

The effect of phospholipase C on two isozymes (alpha (+) and alpha forms) of rat brain (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and the temperature-dependence of their activities were investigated. Phospholipase C from Clostridium welchii inhibited the activities of the enzymes treated with and without pyrithiamin or N-ethylmaleimide, a preferential inhibitor of the alpha (+) form, but the extent of the inhibition was higher in the control enzyme than in the treated enzymes. The treatment of the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase with phospholipase C altered a ratio between high- and low-affinity components for ouabain inhibition. It also caused the similar change in a ratio between the alpha (+) and alpha forms of Na+-stimulated phosphorylation from [gamma-32P]ATP. These findings indicate that the alpha (+) form of rat brain (Na+ + K+)-ATPase is more sensitive to phospholipase C than the alpha form. Analysis of Arrhenius plots of the activities of the control and pyrithiamin-treated enzymes showed that there was a difference between the two enzymes in a break point. We suggest that two isozymes of rat brain (Na+ + K+)-ATPase differ in the interaction with phospholipids or in the lipid-environment.

Spin-label studies of lipid-protein interactions in (Na+,K+)-ATPase membranes from rectal glands of Squalus acanthias

Lipid-protein interactions in (Na+,K+)-ATPase-rich membranes from the rectal gland of Squalus acanthias have been studied by using spin-labeled lipids in conjunction with electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. Lipid-protein associations are revealed by the presence of a second component in the ESR spectra of the membranes in addition to a component which corresponds very closely to the ESR spectra obtained from dispersions of the extracted membrane lipids. This second component corresponds to spin-labeled lipids whose motion is very significantly restricted relative to that of the fluid lipids in the membrane or the lipid extract. A stoichiometry of approximately 66 lipids per 265 000-dalton protein is found for the motionally restricted component of those spin-labeled lipids (e.g., phosphatidylcholine) which show least specificity for the protein. This corresponds approximately to the number of lipids which may be accommodated within the first shell around the alpha 2 beta 2 protein dimer. A selectivity of the various spin-labeled lipids for the motionally restricted component associated with the protein is found in the following order: cardiolipin greater than phosphatidylserine approximately stearic acid greater than or equal to phosphatidic acid greater than phosphatidylglycerol approximately phosphatidylcholine approximately phosphatidylethanolamine approximately androstanol.

Large unilamellar lipid vesicles for use in therapeutic and diagnostic medicine

Large unilamellar lipid vesicles are prepared by a detergent dialysis procedure using beta-D-octylglucoside as the detergent. This procedure is nondenaturing and allows for the encapsulation of sensitive biological molecules. Vesicles prepared with the composition of 2 mol phosphatidylcholine and 1 mol cholesterol have a mean diameter of 200 nm and allow for the encapsulation of 150 molecules of alkaline phosphatase per vesicle without loss of activity. Stability studies show that less than 4 per cent of the original enzyme leaks from the vesicles over a 250 day period upon storage at 4 degrees C. A mechanistic model for vesicle formation is described to provide a clear understanding of the events occurring during the encapsulation stages.

Effect of ethanol on synaptosomal (Na+ + K+)-ATPase in control and ethanol-dependent rats

Rats were made dependent upon ethanol by feeding them liquid diets containing ethanol. Synaptosomal plasma membranes (SPM) were isolated from cerebral cortex and midbrain regions of isocaloric-fed control and ethanol-dependent rats. No major alcohol-induced alteration in in vitro (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity was found in SPM of either brain area. At 37 degrees C, ethanol (0.10 to 0.98 M) added to incubations caused a dose-dependent inhibition of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity. The degree of inhibition found was independent of the diet administered or whether ethanol was present in the diet. At temperatures between 14 and 22 degrees C, 0.48 M ethanol caused a temperature-dependent decrease in activity. Arrhenius plots for SPM (Na+ + K+)-ATPase showed that in control and ethanol-dependent rats fed the Lieber de Carli diet, 0.48 M ethanol did not alter the transition temperature of this enzyme. Activation energies both above and below the transition temperature were decreased by the addition of ethanol to incubations. These results indicate that (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, a membrane-bound enzyme that is sensitive to its lipid environment and to the presence of ethanol, is not altered by the chronic administration of ethanol to rats.

Studies on (Na+ + K+)-activated ATPase. XLIX. Content and role of cholesterol and other neutral lipids in highly purified rabbit kidney enzyme preparation

(1) The neutral lipids and the free and bound fatty acids of a highly purified (Na+ + K+)-ATPase preparation from rabbit kidney outer medulla have been analysed. (2) On a dry weight basis, the total lipid content is nearly the same as the total protein content, and consists for 66% of phospholipids and for 34% of neutral lipids and free fatty acids. In the latter category cholesterol is the main component (71%). (3) On a molar basis the enzyme preparation contains 382 mol phospholipids, 67 mol free fatty acids, 9, 16 and 12 mol mono-, di- and triacylglycerols, 249 and 19 mol free and esterified cholesterol per mol enzyme. (4) The fatty acid composition of each lipid and of the free fatty acid fraction, present in the enzyme preparation, is reported. (5) All cholesterol and part of the phospholipids can be removed by hexane extraction, leaving 66% of the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity. Oxidation of all cholesterol to cholest-4-en-3-one by cholesterol oxidase leaves 85% of the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity. These results indicate that cholesterol is not essential for (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity.

Partial purification and characterization of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase from garfish olfactory nerve axon plasma membrane

The (Na+ + K+)-ATPase of garfish olfactory nerve axon plasma membrane was purified about sixfold by treatment of the membrane with sodium dodecyl sulfate followed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The estimated molecular weights of the two major polypeptide components of the enzyme preparation on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels were 110,000 and 42,000 daltons, which were different from those of the corresponding peptides of rabbit kidney (Na+ + K+)-ATPase. No carbohydrate was detected in the 42,000-dalton component either by the periodic acid-Schiff reagent or by the more sensitive concanavalin A-peroxidase staining procedure. The molecular properties of the garfish (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, such as the Km for ATP, pH optimum, energies of activation, Na and K ion dependence and vanadium inhibition, were, however, similar to those of the kidney enzyme. The partially purified garfish (Na+ + K+)-ATPase was reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles by a freeze-thaw-sonication procedure. The reconstituted enzyme was found to catalyze a time and ATP dependent 22Na+ transport. The ratio of 22Na+ pumped to ATP hydrolyzed was about 1; under the same reconstitution and assay conditions, eel electroplax (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, however, gave a 22Na+ pumped to ATP hydrolyzed ratio of nearly 3.

Detergent removal during membrane reconstitution

Efficiency of detergent removal during the course of several different procedures for membrane protein reconstitution was examined. Reconstitution methods studied include ethanol injection-dialysis, detergent dialysis and detergent-gel filtration. In the ethanol injection-dialysis method, approx. 70 molecules of ethanol per 1000 molecules of phospholipid are retained even after extensive (150 h) dialysis. Efficiency of detergent removal by dialysis depends on the detergent. However, even for sodium deoxycholate, a detergent possessing a large critical micelle concentration, there are approx. 7 molecules of deoxycholate per 1000 molecules of phospholipid retained by the bilayer even after extensive (310 h) dialysis. Detergent removal by gel filtration (Sephadex G-200 or G-50) of deoxycholate, cholic acid and Triton X-100 is more efficient than removal by dialysis; as few as 10 molecules of deoxycholate are retained per 100 molecules of phospholipid after one column passage, taking only a few hours. Ethanol was less efficiently removed by one passage over a Sephadex column than by extensive dialysis. Removal of Triton X-100 by passage over, or dialysis against, Biobeads SM-2 resulted in a similar level of detergent retention to that found by passage over Sephadex G-200 or G-50. Utilizing gel-filtration techniques, we have examined the competition for the hydrophobic peptide of glycophorin, T(is), between sodium deoxycholate and a series of phospholipids as a possible means of obtaining a quantitative measure of protein-lipid affinity. On the basis of these preliminary studies we conclude that the T(is) peptide has a relative lipid affinity of phosphatidylinositol > phosphatidylcholine > phosphatidylserine.

Phosphatidylinositol as the endogenous activator of the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase in microsomes of rabbit kidney

Incubation of rabbit kidney microsomes with pig pancreatic phospholipase A2 produced residual membrane preparations with very low (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity. The activity could be restored by recombination with lipid vesicles of negatively-charged glycerophospholipids. Vesicles of pure phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine were virtually inactive in this respect, but could reactivate in the presence of cholate. Incubation of the microsomes with a combination of phospholipase C (Bacillus cereus) and spingomyelinase C (Staphylococcus aureus) resulted in 90--95% release of the phospholipids. The residual membrane contained only phosphatidylinositol and still showed 50--100% of the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity.

Role of negatively charged phospholipids in highly purified (Na+ + K+)-ATPase from rabbit kidney outer medulla studies on (Na+ + K+)-activated ATPase, XXXIX

1. The requirement for specific polar head groups of phospholipids for activity of purified (Na+ + K+)ATPase from rabbit kidney outer medulla has been investigated. 2. Comparison of content and composition of phospholipids in microsomes and the purified enzyme indicates that purification leads to an increase in the phospholipid/protein ratio and in phosphatidylserine content. 3. The purified preparation contains 267 molecules phospholipid per molecule (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, viz. 95 phosphatidylcholine, 74 phosphatidylethanolamine, 48 spingomyelin, 35 phosphatidylserine and 15 phosphatidylinositol. 4. Complete conversion of phosphatidylserine into phosphatidylethanolamine by the enzyme phosphatidylserine decarboxylase has no effect on the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity of the purified preparation. 5. Complete hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol by a phospholipase C from Staphylococcus aureus, which is specific for this phospholipid, has no effect on the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity. 6. Hydrolysis of 95% of the phosphatidylcholine and 60--70% of the spingomyelin and phosphatidylethanolamine by another phospholipase C (Clostridium welchii) lowers the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity by about 20%. 7. Combination of the phospholipid-converting enzymes has the same effect as can be calculated from the effects of the enzymes separately. Only complete conversion of both phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol results in a loss of 44% of the (NA+ + K+)-ATPase activity and 36% of the potassium 4-nitrophenylphosphatase activity. 8. These experiments indicate that there is no absolute requirement for one of the polar head groups, although in the absence of negative charges the activity is lower than in their presence.

Variations in (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and Mg2+-ATPase activity of the ground squirrel brain during hibernation

1. The specific activity of brain (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and Mg2+ -ATPase of the ground squirrel (Spermophilus richardsonii) is significantly increased after long-term hibernation. 2. The markedly non-linear thermal dependence of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase is unchanged during hibernation whereas the near linear thermal dependence of Mg2+-ATPase undergoes minor alteration after prolonged hibernation. 3. The sensitivity of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase to inhibition by ouabain is significantly decreased after 100 days of hibernation as is both the rate and amount of [3H]-ouabain binding. 4. These changes may be related to alteration in the phospholipid matrix of the membrane rather than alteration in the protein structure of the enzyme.