Electrostriction around colloid molecules and interfacial action of inhalation anesthetic: Volume function

Volumetric study on the protein-anesthetic binding

Thermodynamic equations describing the volume behavior of protein-ligand mixtures in water were derived. In order to estimate the volume and binding parameters, the equations were combined with a Langmuir-type binding isotherm. Densities of aqueous solutions of mixtures of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and octanol (C8OH) were measured as a function of total BSA molality, m(M)(T), at constant total C8OH molalities, m(X)(T). The data were analyzed by the equations. The partial molar volumes at infinite dilution of BSA and C8OH, V(M)(T,0) and V(X)(T,0), respectively, were estimated. It was seen that V(M)(T,0) decreases by the addition of C8OH to the solution and that V(X)(T,0) decreases gradually with increasing m(M)(T) and approaches asymptotically to a certain value at high m(M)(T). From the concentration dependence of V(M)(T,0) and V(X)(T,0), the values of the association constant K=392 kg mol(-1), the maximum binding number b(max)=1.9, and the volume change DeltaV=-109 cm(3) mol(-1) were obtained for BSA-C8OH interaction in water. The negative value of DeltaV indicates that the hydrophobic interaction reduces the protein volume and elevation of pressure promotes BSA-C8OH binding. These results is inconsistent with the pressure reversal of anesthesia.

Effects of high pressure on the channel gated by the quisqualate-sensitive glutamate receptor of locust muscle and its blockade by ketamine; a single-channel analysis

The effects of high pressure on the channel gating kinetics of the quisqualate-sensitive L-glutamate receptor (qGluR) of locust muscle have been investigated using a megaohm seal patch-clamp technique. Pressure was applied with helium gas and recordings were carried out at 20.5 degrees C with Rb+ as the main charge-carrying cation in the patch pipette. The mean open time of the qGluR channel was unaffected by 10 and 30 MPa, but it was significantly reduced at 50 MPa. A high proportion of brief openings (mean 0.808 ms) was seen at 50 MPa but not at lesser pressures. Also, in contrast to lesser pressures, 50 MPa prolonged the mean closed time and reduced both the frequency and probability of channel opening. 10(-6) M ketamine significantly reduced the mean channel open time, as previously reported. A pressure of 10 MPa which alone had no effect on the qGluR channel, restored the mean open time in the presence of 10(-6) M ketamine to the value obtained in the absence of the anaesthetic. This implies the shortening of qGluR channel open time by ketamine involves a large + delta V and, therefore, probably conformational changes in the channel. However 10 MPa did not restore the distribution of open times to normal.

Biphasic effects of alcohols on the phase transition of poly(L-lysine) between alpha-helix and beta-sheet conformations

Poly(L-lysine) exists as a random-coil at neutral pH, an alpha-helix at alkaline pH, and a beta-sheet when the alpha-helix poly(L-lysine) is heated. The present Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) study showed that short-chain alcohols (methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol) partially transformed alpha-helix poly(L-lysine) to beta-sheet when their concentrations were low. At higher concentrations, however, these alcohols reversed the reaction, and the alcohol-induced beta-sheet was transformed back to alpha-helix structure. The reversal occurred at 1.40 M methanol, 0.96 M ethanol, and 0.55 M 2-propanol. The alcohol effects on the secondary structure were further investigated by circular dichroism (CD) on the thermally induced beta-sheet poly(L-lysine). Methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol, but not 1-butanol, shifted the negative mean-residue ellipticity at 217 nm of the beta-sheet poly(L-lysine) to the positive side at low concentrations of the alcohols and to the negative side at high concentrations. With 1-butanol, only the positive-side shift was observed. The positive-side shift at low concentrations of alcohols indicates enhancement of the hydrophobic interactions among the side chains of the polypeptide in the beta-sheet conformation. The negative-side shift indicates a partial transformation to alpha-helix. The shift from the positive to negative side occurred at 7.1 M methanol, 4.6 M ethanol, and 3.1 M 1-propanol. The alcohol concentrations for the beta-to-alpha transition were higher in the CD study than in the IR study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The alpha-helix to beta-sheet transition in poly(L-lysine): effects of anesthetics and high pressure

Poly(L-lysine) exists in a random-coil formation at a low pH, alpha-helix at a pH above 10.6, and transforms into beta-sheet when the alpha-helix polylysine is heated. Each conformation is clearly distinguishable in the amide-I band of the infrared spectrum. The thermotropic alpha-to-beta transition was studied by using differential scanning calorimetry. At pH 10.6, the transition temperature was 43.5 degrees C and the transition enthalpy was 170 cal/mol residue. At pH 11.85, the measurements were 36.7 degrees C and 910 cal/mol residue, respectively. Volatile anesthetics (chloroform, halothane, isoflurane and enflurane) partially transformed alpha-helix polylysine into beta-sheet. The transformation was reversed by the application of hydrostatic pressure in the range of 100-350 atm. Apparently, the alpha-to-beta transition was induced by anesthetics through partial dehydration of the peptide side-chains (beta-sheet surface is less hydrated than alpha-helix). High pressure reversed this process by re-hydrating the peptide. Because the membrane spanning domains of channel and receptor proteins are predominantly in the alpha-helix conformation, anesthetics may suppress the activity of excitable cells by transforming them into a less than optimal structure for electrogenic ion transport and neurotransmission. Proteins and lipid membranes maintain their structural integrity by interaction with water. That which attenuates the interaction will destabilize the structure. These data suggest that anesthetics alter macromolecular conformations essentially by a solvent effect, thereby destroying the solvation water shell surrounding macromolecules.

Anesthetic-protein interaction: effects of volatile anesthetics on the secondary structure of poly(L-lysine)

Effects of volatile anesthetics (chloroform, halothane, and enflurane) on the secondary structure of poly(L-lysine) were analyzed by circular dichroism (CD). The relative proportions among alpha-helix, beta-sheet, and random-coil conformations were calculated by the curve-fitting method on the CD data. Volatile anesthetics partially transformed alpha-helix to beta-sheet but not to random-coil under the present experimental condition. When expressed by the anesthetic partial pressures in the gas phase in equilibrium with the solution, the values that partially transformed alpha to beta conformation by 10% were 1.1 x 10(-2), 4.7 x 10(-2), and 7.9 x 10(-2) atm for chloroform, halothane, and enflurane, respectively. The order of potency is in reasonable agreement with the order of the anesthetic potencies of the agents. The alpha-to-beta transition was completely reversible when anesthetics were purged by nitrogen gas. Volatile anesthetics disrupted the hydrogen bonds of alpha-helix backbones and rearranged them to form the beta-sheet conformation. The beta-sheet conformation is stabilized mainly by the hydrophobic interaction among methylene side groups of poly(L-lysine). Volatile anesthetics promoted the transition by enhancing the hydrophobic interaction among side-chains and by rearranging the hydrogen bonds in the peptide backbone.

Interfacial dehydration by anesthetics: an electrocapillary study of surface charge density of adsorbed monolayer

We have proposed that anesthetics destruct the hydration shell of macromolecules irrespective of lipid membranes or proteins. These macromolecular structures are supported by the hydrogen-bonded matrix of water molecules. A loss of this support destabilizes the membranes and proteins. The disordered structures are suboptimal for the assigned biological functions, and anesthesia may ensue. We postulated that the dehydration is prompted mainly by the decrease in the interactions of the surface charges with the water dipole. To prove or disprove the above hypothesis, this study measured the effect of volatile anesthetics (chloroform, halothane, and enflurane) on the surface charge density in adsorbed monolayers by an electrocapillary method. The oil phase was methylisobutylketone (MIBK) with cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC). The aqueous phase was 0.1 M NaCl. The anesthetics decreased the surface charge density, and the effect paralleled the clinical anesthetic potency. At concentrations that induce surgical stage anesthesia in 50% of the population, these anesthetics reduced the surface charge density by 5%.

Anesthesia cutoff phenomenon: interfacial hydrogen bonding

Anesthesia "cutoff" refers to the phenomenon of loss of anesthetic potency in a homologous series of alkanes and their derivatives when their sizes become too large. In this study, hydrogen bonding of 1-alkanol series (ethanol to eicosanol) to dipalmitoyl-L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in DPPC-D2O-in-CCl4 reversed micelles. The alkanols formed hydrogen bonds with the phosphate moiety of DPPC and released the DPPC-bound deuterated water, evidenced by increases in the bound O-H stretching signal of the alkanol-DPPC complex and also in the free O-D stretching band of unbound D2O. These effects increased according to the elongation of the carbon chain of 1-alkanols from ethanol (C2) to 1-decanol (C10), but suddenly almost disappeared at 1-tetradecanol (C14). Anesthetic potencies of these alkanols, estimated by the activity of brine shrimps, were linearly related to hydrogen bond-breaking activities below C10 and agreed with the FTIR data in the cutoff at C10.

A proton nuclear magnetic resonance study on the release of bound water by inhalation anesthetic in water-in-oil emulsion

Water-in-oil emulsion was prepared from glycerol-alpha-monooleate, n-decane and water, and was used to analyze the behavior of bound water molecules in response to the addition of an inhalation anesthetic, enflurane. The motion of water molecules is monitored by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. To the first approximation, the half-height width of the proton signal of dispersed water is related to the spin-spin relaxation time and represents the motion of the water molecule. It appears that one of the two OH moieties of glycerol-alpha-monooleate forms a hydrogen bond with the water molecule in average. The half-height width of the dispersed water proton showed a maximal value when the glycerol alpha-monooleate/n-decane mole ratio was 4 X 10(-2). The cause of this maximum is not immediately clear, but it is suggested that the assembly mode of glycerol-alpha-monooleate may be different between the lower and higher concentration range. Enflurane decreased the half-height width of the dispersed water, indicating an increase in the motion of water molecules. This results demonstrates that the anesthetic weakened the hydrogen bond between water and glycerol-alpha-monooleate molecules, and released bound interfacial water. It is postulated that dehydration of the interface, as shown by the release of bound water, would interfere with the transport of current-carrying hydrated ions through membranes and may constitute a molecular mechanism of anesthesia.