Universal behavior of lipid acyl chain order: chain length scaling

Self-consistent field theory of two-component phospholipid membranes

This paper extends and applies a self-consistent field theory of compressible, fully hydrated phospholipid bilayers to binary mixtures. The mixtures contain two kinds of lipids, which have identical head groups but different acyl chain lengths. The formalism we develop allows for the calculation of a range of thermodynamic and structural properties for systems at equilibrium, including the compatibility of the two components, the equilibrium phase, the bilayer thickness, the orientational order parameter profiles, and the ordering environment as a function of depth within the layer. Our focus in this paper is on the mutual effects of the different chains on each other, and the effects of the local environment on the order parameter of each segment in the chains, for systems in the fluid phase. We include an analysis of a feature of the order parameter profile identified as a "second plateau" by Morrow and co-workers [Biochemistry 32, 290 (1993)].

Universal behavior of membranes with sterols

Lanosterol is the biosynthetic precursor of cholesterol and ergosterol, sterols that predominate in the membranes of mammals and lower eukaryotes, respectively. These three sterols are structurally quite similar, yet their relative effects on membranes have been shown to differ. Here we study the effects of cholesterol, lanosterol, and ergosterol on 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine lipid bilayers at room temperature. Micropipette aspiration is used to determine membrane material properties (area compressibility modulus), and information about lipid chain order (first moments) is obtained from deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance. We compare these results, along with data for membrane-bending rigidity, to explore the relationship between membrane hydrophobic thickness and elastic properties. Together, such diverse approaches demonstrate that membrane properties are affected to different degrees by these structurally distinct sterols, yet nonetheless exhibit universal behavior.

Investigating the structural and dynamic properties of n-doxylstearic acid in magnetically-aligned phospholipid bilayers by X-band EPR spectroscopy

X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy has been employed to investigate the dynamic properties of magnetically-aligned phospholipid bilayers (bicelles) based on the molecular order parameters (S(mol)), the hyperfine splitting values and the line shapes of the EPR spectra. For the first time, a series of EPR spectra of n-doxylstearic acid spin-labels (n = 5, 7, 12, and 16) incorporated into Tm3+-doped parallel-aligned, Dy3+-doped perpendicular-aligned, and randomly dispersed 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC/DHPC) bicelles with respect to the direction of the static magnetic field have been investigated as a function of cholesterol content and temperature variation to characterize the orientational aspects along the hydrocarbon acyl chains. Important general observations are that under conditions for which the bicelle is poised in the liquid crystalline phase, the degree of ordering decreases as the nitroxide moiety is transferred toward the end of the stearic acid acyl chains. The addition of cholesterol increases the phase transition temperature and alignment temperature of the DMPC/DHPC phospholipid bilayers and increases the chain order. However, increasing the temperature of the bicelle system decreases the chain order. This report reveals that the dynamic properties of DMPC/DHPC bicelles agree well with other biological and model membrane systems. The results indicate that magnetically-aligned phospholipid bilayers are an excellent model membrane system.

Pulmonary surfactant protein SP-B interacts similarly with dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine in phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylglycerol mixtures

Porcine pulmonary surfactant-associated protein SP-B was incorporated into bilayers of chain-perdeuterated dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG-d62) and into bilayers containing 70 mol % dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and 30 mol % DPPG-d62 or 70 mol % chain-perdeuterated DPPC (DPPC-d62) and 30 mol % DPPG. The effect of SP-B on the phase behavior, lipid chain order, and dynamics in these bilayers was examined using deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (2H-NMR). In both DPPG-d62 and the mixed lipid system, SP-B is found to have little effect on chain order in the liquid crystalline phase. With 11% (w/w) SP-B present, both bilayer systems display a continuous change from liquid crystal to gel with no evidence of two-phase coexistence near the transition. Despite its limited effect on chain order in these bilayers, SP-B is found to strongly perturb chain deuteron transverse relaxation in the liquid crystal and gel phases of DPPG-d62 and the DPPC/DPPG (7:3) mixtures. The observation that SP-B associates with the bilayer in a way which substantially alters the slow motions responsible for transverse relaxation without significantly affecting chain order in either the liquid crystal or gel phases may place some constraints on possible models for that association.

Glycosphingolipid acyl chain order profiles: substituent effects

Fatty acid order parameter profiles were determined by 2H-NMR in order to characterize the arrangement and behaviour of the hydrophobic region of glycosphingolipids (GSLs) dispersed as minor components in phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol membranes. Direct comparison was made amongst species with important fatty acid structural features found in natural glycosphingolipids. Galactosyl ceramides (GalCer) were prepared by partial synthesis having 18:0[d35], D-alpha-OH 18:0[d34], 18:1[d33], and 24:0[d47] fatty acids. Unsonicated multilamellar liposomes of the common natural phospholipid, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC), containing 23% cholesterol, were employed as host matrix. Smoothed profiles of the order parameter, SCD, for 18:0[d35] GalCer proved to be very similar to profiles known for 16:0 and 18:0 fatty acids of glycerolipids in cholesterol-containing bilayers. In general, order along the GSL chain was slightly higher than anticipated for equivalent chain segments in phospholipids. Order parameter profiles for the GSL 18-carbon saturated fatty acids were strikingly similar. However, small quantitative differences were found for glycolipids having D- and L-alpha-hydroxylation at C-2 - the D-stereoisomer being marginally more ordered in the plateau region. Although order profiles have not been reported for unsaturated glycerolipid fatty acids in cholesterol-rich membranes, spectra of 18:1[d33] GalCer appeared to be assignable by applying known ordering effects of cholesterol to existing data for unsaturated glycerolipids. The unsaturated chain was found to be less ordered than saturated 18-carbon chains toward the membrane surface, but more ordered in the region of the bilayer midplane. The ordering may result from cholesterol-induced restriction of isomerisation at the cis-double bond, and represents an apparent exaggeration of a phenomenon known for glycerolipids. Addition of an 'extra' 6 carbons to the fatty acid (24:0[d47] GalCer) produced no significant effect on the order profile to a membrane depth of C-12-C-13. These results suggest that fluid membrane area requirements for GSLs with saturated fatty acids are not strongly influenced by the nature of that fatty acid when the GSL is a minor component. Order parameter profiles for the very long chain GSL deviated to higher order below this point, and formed a second 'plateau' of reduced negative slope toward the methyl terminus: this is characteristic of profiles for very long chain GSLs. These features were essentially unchanged over a range of temperatures providing different degrees of spatial constraint.