Iodide penetration into lipid bilayers as a probe of membrane lipid organization

The Effect of the Osmotically Active Compound Concentration Difference on the Passive Water and Proton Fluxes across a Lipid Bilayer

The molecular details of the passive water flux across the hydrophobic membrane interior are still a matter of debate. One of the postulated mechanisms is the spontaneous, water-filled pore opening, which facilitates the hydrophilic connection between aqueous phases separated by the membrane. In the paper, we provide experimental evidence showing that the spontaneous lipid pore formation correlates with the membrane mechanics; hence, it depends on the composition of the lipid bilayer and the concentration of the osmotically active compound. Using liposomes as an experimental membrane model, osmotically induced water efflux was measured with the stopped-flow technique. Shapes of kinetic curves obtained at low osmotic pressure differences are interpreted in terms of two events: the lipid pore opening and water flow across the aqueous channel. The biological significance of the dependence of the lipid pore formation on the concentration difference of an osmotically active compound was illustrated by the demonstration that osmotically driven water flow can be accompanied by the dissipation of the pH gradient. The application of the Helfrich model to describe the probability of lipid pore opening was validated by demonstrating that the probability of pore opening correlates with the membrane bending rigidity. The correlation was determined by experimentally derived bending rigidity coefficients and probabilities of lipid pores opening.

Interactions of linear dicationic molecules with lipid A: structural requisites for optimal binding affinity

The structural determinants of the binding affinity of linear dicationic molecules toward lipid A have been examined with respect to the distance between the terminal cationic functions, the basicity, and the type of cationic moieties using a series of spermidine derivatives and pentamidine analogs by fluorescence spectroscopic methods. The presence of two terminal cationic groups corresponds to enhanced affinity. A distinct sigmoidal relationship between the intercationic distance and affinity was observed with a sharp increase at 11 Å, levelling off at about 13 Å. The basicity (pK) and nature of the cationic functions are poor correlates of binding potency, since molecules bearing primary amino, imidazolino, or guanido termini are equipotent. The interaction of pentamidine, a bisamidine drug, with lipid A, characterized in considerable detail employing the putative intermolecular excimerization of the drug, suggests a stoichiometry of 1:1 in the resultant complex. The binding is driven almost exclusively by electrostatic forces, and is dependent on the ionization states of both lipid A and the drug. Under conditions when lipid A is highly disaggregated, pentamidine binds specifically to bis-phosphoryl- but not to monophosphoryl-lipid A indicating that both phosphate groups of lipid A are necessary for electrostatic interactions by the terminal amidininium groups of the drug. Based on these data, a structural model is proposed for the pentamidine-lipid A complex, which may be of value in designing endotoxin antagonists from first principles.

Selective and ATP-driven transport of ions across supported membranes into nanoporous carriers using gramicidin A and ATP synthase

We report a robust and versatile membrane protein based system for selective uptake and release of ions from nanoporous particles sealed with ion-tight lipid bilayers of various compositions that is driven by the addition of ATP or a chemical potential gradient. We have successfully incorporated both a passive ion channel-type peptide (gramicidin A) and a more complex primary sodium ion transporter (ATP synthase) into the supported lipid bilayers on solid nanoporous silica particles. Protein-mediated controlled release/uptake of sodium ions across the ion-tight lipid bilayer seal from or into the nanoporous silica carrier was imaged in real time using a confocal laser scanning microscope and the intensity changes were quantified. ATP-driven transport of sodium ions across the supported lipid bilayer against a chemical gradient was demonstrated. The possibility of designing durable carriers with tight lipid membranes, containing membrane proteins for selective ion uptake and release, offers new possibilities for functional studies of single or cascading membrane protein systems and could also be used as biomimetic microreactors for controlled synthesis of inorganic multicomponent materials.

New BODIPY lipid probes for fluorescence studies of membranes

Many fluorescent lipid probes tend to loop back to the membrane interface when attached to a lipid acyl chain rather than embedding deeply into the bilayer. To achieve maximum embedding of BODIPY (4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene) fluorophore into the bilayer apolar region, a series of sn-2 acyl-labeled phosphatidylcholines was synthesized bearing 4,4-difluoro-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-8-yl (Me(4)-BODIPY-8) at the end of C(3)-, C(5)-, C(7)-, or C(9)-acyl. A strategy was used of symmetrically dispersing the methyl groups at BODIPY ring positions 1, 3, 5, and 7 to decrease fluorophore polarity. Iodide quenching of the phosphatidylcholine probes in bilayer vesicles confirmed that the Me(4)-BODIPY-8 fluorophore was embedded in the bilayer. Parallax analysis of Me(4)-BODIPY-8 fluorescence quenching by phosphatidylcholines containing iodide at different positions along the sn-2 acyl chain indicated that the penetration depth of Me(4)-BODIPY-8 into the bilayer was determined by the length of the linking acyl chain. Evaluation using monolayers showed minimal perturbation of <10 mol% probe in fluid-phase and cholesterol-enriched phosphatidylcholine. Spectral characterization in monolayers and bilayers confirmed the retention of many features of other BODIPY derivatives (i.e., absorption and emission wavelength maxima near 498 nm and approximately 506-515 nm) but also showed the absence of the 620-630 nm peak associated with BODIPY dimer fluorescence and the presence of a 570 nm emission shoulder at high Me(4)-BODIPY-8 surface concentrations. We conclude that the new probes should have versatile utility in membrane studies, especially when precise location of the reporter group is needed.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Experimental Studies of Binding and Mobility of 7-tert-Butyldimethylsilyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin and Its 20(S)-4-Aminobutyrate Ester in DMPC Membranes

The enhanced permeability and retention of liposomes in solid tumors makes liposomal formulations attractive for the targeting of various antitumor agents. This study explores the binding, orientation, and dynamic properties of a potent topoisomerase I inhibitor, 7-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (DB-67), and its 20(S)-4-aminobutyrate ester prodrug (DB-67-AB) in DMPC liposomes by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experimental studies. MD simulations of an all-atom and fully hydrated liquid-crystalline bilayer (2 x 36 DMPC lipids) containing single molecules of DB-67 and DB-67-AB were conducted for up to 50 ns. Membrane/water partition coefficients for DB-67 and DB-67-AB vs pH were determined by ultracentrifugation. Fluorescence spectra and/or steady-state anisotropies were measured in various solvents and in DMPC liposomes. Kinetics for the reversible DB-67 lactone ring-opening in the presence and absence of DMPC liposomes were determined by HPLC with fluorescence detection. During the entire simulation time both DB-67 and DB-67-AB were located on the bilayer membrane near the polar ester groups of DMPC. The average depth of penetration for DB-67 and DB-67-AB was similar (12.4-13.2 A) with the prodrug's protonated amino group strongly solvated by surface water and lipid phosphate groups. Binding and fluorescence experiments revealed only a modest reduction in the binding affinity upon attachment of the ionized 4-aminobutyrate group onto DB-67. The binding microenvironment polarity resembles that of a polar solvent such as EtOH and DMSO. Kinetics experiments confirmed that DB-67 lactone hydrolysis is inhibited in the presence of DMPC liposomes, consistent with the reduced exposure of its lactone ring to water, as observed in the simulations. Both bound DB-67 and bound DB-67-AB have nonrandom orientations and reduced mobility in the membrane, especially for diffusion normal to the bilayer surface, and rotational relaxation, both of which are > or =2 orders of magnitude slower than in bulk water. MD simulations correctly predicted the high binding affinities for DB-67-AB to DMPC bilayers, protection of bound DB-67 toward lactone hydrolysis, and the lack of a substantial reduction in binding for the 20(S)-4-aminobutyrate prodrug of DB-67.

Lipid diffusion compared in outer and inner leaflets of planar supported bilayers

The translational diffusion coefficient (D) of lipids located in the outer and inner leaflets of planar supported DLPC (1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) bilayers in the fluid phase was measured using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy of dye-labeled lipids at the low concentration of 0.001% and using iodide quenching of dyes in the outer leaflet to distinguish diffusion in the inner leaflet from that in the outer leaflet. To confirm the generality of these findings, the bilayers were prepared not only by vesicle fusion but also by Langmuir-Blodgett deposition. We conclude that regardless of whether the bilayers were supported on quartz or on a polymer cushion, D in the inner and outer leaflets was the same within an experimental uncertainty of +/-10% but with a small systematic tendency to be slower (by <5%) within the inner leaflet.

Membrane association and activity of 15/16-membered peptide antibiotics: zervamicin IIB, ampullosporin A and antiamoebin I

Permeabilization of the phospholipid membrane, induced by the antibiotic peptides zervamicin IIB (ZER), ampullosporin A (AMP) and antiamoebin I (ANT) was investigated in a vesicular model system. Membrane-perturbing properties of these 15/16 residue peptides were examined by measuring the K(+) transport across phosphatidyl choline (PC) membrane and by dissipation of the transmembrane potential. The membrane activities are found to decrease in the order ZER>AMP>>ANT, which correlates with the sequence of their binding affinities. To follow the insertion of the N-terminal Trp residue of ZER and AMP, the environmental sensitivity of its fluorescence was explored as well as the fluorescence quenching by water-soluble (iodide) and membrane-bound (5- and 16-doxyl stearic acids) quenchers. In contrast to AMP, the binding affinity of ZER as well as the depth of its Trp penetration is strongly influenced by the thickness of the membrane (diC(16:1)PC, diC(18:1)PC, C(16:0)/C(18:1)PC, diC(20:1)PC). In thin membranes, ZER shows a higher tendency to transmembrane alignment. In thick membranes, the in-plane surface association of these peptaibols results in a deeper insertion of the Trp residue of AMP which is in agreement with model calculations on the localization of both peptide molecules at the hydrophilic-hydrophobic interface. The observed differences between the membrane affinities/activities of the studied peptaibols are discussed in relation to their hydrophobic and amphipathic properties.

Slaved diffusion in phospholipid bilayers

The translational diffusion of phospholipids in supported fluid bilayers splits into two populations when polyelectrolytes adsorb at incomplete surface coverage. Spatially resolved measurements using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy show that a slow mode, whose magnitude scales inversely with the degree of polymerization of the adsorbate, coexists with a fast mode characteristic of naked lipid diffusion. Inner and outer leaflets of the bilayer are affected nearly equally. Mobility may vary from spot to spot on the membrane surface, despite the lipid composition being the same. This work offers a mechanism to explain how nanosized domains with reduced mobility arise in lipid membranes.

Pyrene-labeled lipids as tools in membrane biophysics and cell biology

Pyrene is one of the most frequently used lipid-linked fluorophores. Its most characteristic features are a long excited state lifetime and (local) concentration-dependent formation of excimers. Pyrene is also hydrophobic and thus does not significantly distort the conformation of the labeled lipid molecule. These characteristics make pyrene lipids well-suited for studies on a variety of biophysical phenomena like lateral diffusion, inter- or transbilayer movement of lipids and lateral organization of membranes. Pyrene lipids have also been widely employed to determine protein binding to membranes, lipid conformation and the activity of lipolytic enzymes. In cell biology, pyrene lipids are promising tools for studies on lipid trafficking and metabolism, as well as for microscopic mapping of membrane properties. The main disadvantage of pyrene lipids is the relatively large size of the fluorophore. Another disadvantage is that they require UV-excitation, which is not feasible with all microscopes.

The depth of porphyrin in a membrane and the membrane's physical properties affect the photosensitizing efficiency

Photosensitized biological processes, as applied in photodynamic therapy, are based on light-triggered generation of molecular singlet oxygen by a membrane-residing sensitizer. Most of the sensitizers currently used are hydrophobic or amphiphilic porphyrins and their analogs. The possible activity of the short-lived singlet oxygen is limited to the time it is diffusing in the membrane, before it emerges into the aqueous environment. In this paper we demonstrate the enhancement of the photosensitization process that is obtained by newly synthesized protoporphyrin derivatives, which insert their tetrapyrrole chromophore deeper into the lipid bilayer of liposomes. The insertion was measured by fluorescence quenching by iodide and the photosensitization efficiency was measured with 9,10-dimethylanthracene, a fluorescent chemical target for singlet oxygen. We also show that when the bilayer undergoes a melting phase transition, or when it is fluidized by benzyl alcohol, the sensitization efficiency decreases because of the enhanced diffusion of singlet oxygen. The addition of cholesterol or of dimyristoyl phosphatydilcholine to the bilayer moves the porphyrin deeper into the bilayer; however, the ensuing effect on the sensitization efficiency is different in these two cases. These results could possibly define an additional criterion for the choice and design of hydrophobic, membrane-bound photosensitizers.

Anion binding to lipid bilayers: determination using fluorescent membrane probe by direct quenching or by competitive displacement approaches

An approach is described that enables anion binding to liposomal membranes to be assessed from the resulting quenching of fluorescent lipid probes included in the membranes. Lipid derivatives such as anthrylvinyl-labeled phosphatidylcholine (ApPC) and methyl 4-pyrenylbutyrate (MPB) were used because they bear nonpolar fluorophores that localize in the bilayer close to polar heads. Association constants (K(a)) of iodide binding to bilayers of different composition were determined on the basis of direct quenching experiments. For anions that are non-quenchers or weak quenchers (thiocyanate, perchlorate and trichloroacetate), K(a) values were obtained from the data of competitive displacement of iodide by these anions. This approach increases possibilities of fluorescence studies of ion-membrane interactions.

Effect of free fatty acids on the permeability of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine bilayer at the main phase transition

We measured the influence of saturated and unsaturated free fatty acids on the permeability and partition of ions into 1, 2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) bilayers. The bilayer permeability was measured using the depletion of N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)-1, 2-dihexadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (N-NBD-PE) fluorescence as a result of its reduction by dithionite. We observed a distinct increase of dithionite permeability at the main gel-fluid phase transition of DMPC. When vesicles were formed from a mixture of DMPC and oleic acid, the membrane permeability at the phase transition was reduced drastically. Stearic acid and methyl ester of oleic acid have little effect. Similar results in the quenching of pyrene-PC in DMPC vesicles by iodide were obtained. Again, the increase of iodide partition into the lipid phase at the main phase transition of DMPC was abolished by the addition of unsaturated free fatty acids. Free fatty acids, in concentrations up to 5 mol%, do not abolish DMPC phase transition when measured by differential scanning calorimetry. It seems that unsaturated, but not saturated, free fatty acids reduce the lipid bilayer permeability to dithionite and iodide ions at the main phase transition of DMPC, without altering the thermodynamic properties of the bilayer.

Adventures in membrane protein topology. A study of the membrane-bound state of colicin E1

The molecular aggregate size of the closed state of the colicin E1 channel was determined by fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments involving a fluorescence donor (three tryptophans, wild-type protein) and a fluorescence acceptor (5-(((acetyl)amino)ethyl)aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (AEDANS), Trp-deficient protein). There was no evidence of energy transfer between the donor and acceptor species when bound to membrane large unilamellar vesicles. These experiments led to the conclusion that the colicin E1 channel is monomeric in the membrane-bound closed channel state. Experiments were also conducted to study the membrane topology of the closed colicin channel in membrane large unilamellar vesicles using acrylamide as the membrane-impermeant, nonionic quencher of tryptophan fluorescence in a battery of single tryptophan mutant proteins. Furthermore, additional fluorescence parameters, including fluorescence emission maximum, fluorescence quantum yield, and fluorescence decay times, were used to assist in mapping the topology of the closed channel. Results suggest that the closed channel comprises most of the polypeptide of the channel domain and that the hydrophobic anchor domain does not transverse the membrane bilayer but nonetheless is deeply embedded within the hydrocarbon core of the membrane. Finally, a model is proposed which features at least two states that are in rapid equilibrium with each other and in which one state is more heavily populated than the other.

Structural characterisation of the natural membrane-bound state of melittin: a fluorescence study of a dansylated analogue

The binding of a dansylated analogue of melittin (DNC-melittin) to natural membranes is described. The cytolytic peptide from honey bee venom melittin was enzymatically labelled in its glutamine-25 with the fluorescent probe monodansylcadaverine using guinea pig liver transglutaminase. The labelled peptide was characterised functionally in cytolytic assays, and spectroscopically by circular dichroism and fluorescence. The behaviour of DNC-melittin was, in all respects, indistinguishable from that of the naturally occurring peptide. We used resonance energy transfer to measure the state of aggregation of melittin on the membrane plane in synthetic and natural lipid bilayers. When bound to erythrocyte ghost membranes, the extent of energy transfer was found to be equivalent to when bound to small unilamellar vesicles of phosphatidylcholine. Our results correlate best with a proposed model in which the initial interaction between melittin and the red blood cells could be merely electrostatic and the peptide remains in a low alpha-helical conformation. The next step would be a peptide stabilisation in the membrane in a monomeric alpha-helical conformation that would imply the collapse of the membrane structure and liberation of the cell contents.

The influence of an electric field on ion and water accessibility to stratum corneum lipid lamellae

PURPOSE

To study ion transport through stratum corneum (SC) lipid lamellae under passive and iontophoretic conditions.

METHODS

Iodide ion transport was measured by fluorescence quenching. Since the process involves diffusion of an iodide ion to the fluorophore located within the SC lamellae, the accessibility of iodide ions was measured. Moreover, the use of anthroyloxy fatty acid probes, provided information as a function of depth within the lamellae.

RESULTS

Fluorescence quenching by iodide ions increased with iontophoretic current density, suggesting increased ion accessibility within the SC lamellae. In addition, at constant current, quenching decreased as the fluorophore was located deeper within the lamellae. This gradient in ion accessibility suggests that more iodide is found near the head-group than near the core of the SC lipid lamellae. Results obtained in the absence of iodide also show increased water accessibility during iontophoresis.

CONCLUSIONS

These results show that in the presence of an applied electric field the SC lipid lamellae interior becomes more accessible to water and ions. These results imply that during iontophoresis, ion and water transport through human skin is associated, at least in part, with the SC lipid lamellae.

Encapsulation of a quinolone in liposomes. Location and effect on lipid bilayers

The effect of a new fluoroquinolone on the distearoyl phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) bilayers was examined above and below the phase transition temperature (Tm) of the lipid. It was found by photon correlation spectroscopy that size and polydispersity of the extruded liposomes were unaffected by quinolone. Moreover, fluorescence quenching methods revealed a low fraction (13%) of non-accessible population of drug in the vesicles. This was interpreted in terms of encapsulation efficiency. However, variations in size correlated with decrease in the values of precipitation factor (P). These results reveal the instability of quinoline-DSPC liposomes beyond 5 days.

Fluorescence quenching at interfaces and the permeation of acrylamide and iodide across phospholipid bilayers

Studies of fluorescence quenching in membrane proteins are complicated by the fact that the barrier effect of the bilayer towards the quenchers is not known with precision. Our studies show that (a) both acrylamide and iodide can permeate the membrane at comparable rates, (b) when quenchers are added externally to a vesicle suspension, the apparent Stern-Volmer quenching constants for the same fluorophores are lower in the inner than in the outer aqueous compartments, and (c) at least some non-polar fluorophores embedded in the bilayer are quenched by iodide, but not by acrylamide.

Merocyanine interaction with phosphatidylcholine bilayers

Merocyanine (MC 540) is a fluorescent probe whose optical properties depend on the environmental polarity. In the presence of lipid bilayers, MC 540 binds to the membrane surface while simultaneously changing its fluorescence properties. Previous studies have shown that the fluorescence of merocyanine depends upon the lipid packing in the membrane. We measured the partitioning of MC 540 and its fluorescence properties in the presence of phosphatidylcholine membranes. We found that the fluorescence of MC 540 shows, as expected, a major change around the main phase transition of phosphatidylcholine membranes. However, instead of a step-like increase of fluorescence, the maximum at phase transition was observed. We were able to explain our data by combining two effects; dependence of MC 540 fluorescence on temperature and lipid fluidity. In addition, we established that the increase of the fluorescence intensity in the presence of lipid bilayers in the fluid state is due to the elevated partitioning of the probe into the lipid phase. The partition of MC 540 into the fluid membrane does not depends on the dye concentration in the aqueous phase. When lipid was in the gel phase the partitioning of the dye increased with its bulk concentration, whereas the fluorescence intensity remained unchanged. We conclude, therefore, that MC 540 forms nonfluorescent complexes when in the gel lipid membrane.

Dithionite penetration through phospholipid bilayers as a measure of defects in lipid molecular packing

The permeability of dithionite through bilayers was utilized to probe the structural defects in the bilayers of these lipids through their respective gel-fluid and bilayer-hexagonal phase transitions. The water soluble dithionite ion penetrates intact bilayers very slowly. The rate of irreversible quenching of the fluorescence of NBD-PE labelled liposomes may thus be used as an indicator of the permeability of this ion through bilayers. The quenching rate has a fast and a slow component, the fast one corresponds to the quenching of fluorophores immediately accessible to the quencher, i.e. those on the outer surface of liposomes. The slower component represents the average rate of penetration of the quencher through the bilayer, to quench those fluorophores at the inner shells of the multilamellar vesicles. Both rates may be approximated by a single exponential function. The slow exponent is simply related to the permeability. The permeability of DMPC as a function of temperature shows a peak at the gel-fluid phase transition at 24 degrees C, but returns to about the pre-transition value at temperatures above the phase transition. The permeability of egg PE shows a hump at 45 degrees C before the hexagonal phase transition at 65 degrees C is reached and becomes infinite at the hexagonal phase transition as all fluorophores are immediately accessible to the quencher. We believe that the permeability measured by this method relates more to the molecular packing defects which maximizes at the gel-fluid phase transition temperatures just below the bilayer-hexagonal phase transition, rather than the general packing order which simply changes with structural phases.