Neuronal membrane lipid asymmetry

ATP11B deficiency leads to impairment of hippocampal synaptic plasticity

Synaptic plasticity is known to regulate and support signal transduction between neurons, while synaptic dysfunction contributes to multiple neurological and other brain disorders; however, the specific mechanism underlying this process remains unclear. In the present study, abnormal neural and dendritic morphology was observed in the hippocampus following knockout of Atp11b both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, ATP11B modified synaptic ultrastructure and promoted spine remodeling via the asymmetrical distribution of phosphatidylserine and enhancement of glutamate release, glutamate receptor expression, and intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Furthermore, experimental results also indicate that ATP11B regulated synaptic plasticity in hippocampal neurons through the MAPK14 signaling pathway. In conclusion, our data shed light on the possible mechanisms underlying the regulation of synaptic plasticity and lay the foundation for the exploration of proteins involved in signal transduction during this process.

Mass spectrometry analysis of the phospholipase A(2) activity of snake pre-synaptic neurotoxins in cultured neurons

Snake pre-synaptic phospholipase A(2) neurotoxins paralyse the neuromuscular junction by releasing phospholipid hydrolysis products that alter curvature and permeability of the pre-synaptic membrane. Here, we report results deriving from the first chemical analysis of the action of these neurotoxic phospholipases in neurons, made possible by the use of high sensitivity mass spectrometry. The time-course of the phospholipase A(2) activity (PLA(2)) hydrolysis of notexin, beta-bungarotoxin, taipoxin and textilotoxin acting in cultured neurons was determined. At variance from their enzymatic activities in vitro, these neurotoxins display comparable kinetics of lysophospholipid release in neurons, reconciling the large discrepancy between their in vivo toxicities and their in vitro enzymatic activities. The ratios of the lyso derivatives of phosphatidyl choline, ethanolamine and serine obtained here together with the known distribution of these phospholipids among cell membranes, suggest that most PLA(2) hydrolysis takes place on the cell surface. Although these toxins were recently shown to enter neurons, their intracellular hydrolytic action and the activation of intracellular PLA(2)s appear to contribute little, if any, to the phospholipid hydrolysis measured here.

Differential solubilization of lipids along with membrane proteins by different classes of detergents

Membrane proteins are typically extracted by detergent concentrations of 0.5-2.0%, using detergent/protein ratios of 1:1 to 3:1. We have compared the ability of 14 different detergents from seven different structural and ionic classes, at a concentration of 2.0% and a detergent/protein ratio of 2:1, to extract an integral membrane protein (the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor) in active form and have observed profound differences in both lipids and proteins. All extracts were freed from detergents and dialyzed to form vesicles containing 95-100% of the extracted lipids, prior to [3H]8-hydroxy-2-(N,N-di-n-propylamino)tetralin ([3H]8-OH-DPAT) binding. The most efficient detergents in extracting active 5-HT1A receptor protein were the zwitterionic 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) and 3-[(cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-2-hydroxy-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPSO), followed by the neutral n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside. Zwitterionic detergents also produced the highest solubilized lipid/protein ratio (3.0 and 2.5, respectively) and in general the relative amounts of extracted lipids and proteins followed inverse profiles. Thus, hydrophobic detergents such as Tritons (with critical micelle concentrations similar to CHAPS) and Thesit (structurally similar to Lubrol) extracted the most protein, but relatively little lipid (ratios of less than 0.2) and very little active 5-HT receptor. Dramatic differences were also observed in the ratios of individual lipids extracted by the same concentrations of different detergents and resolved by high-performance thin-layer chromatography. For example, galactosylceramide (GalCer) content ranged from 2.7% (CHAPSO) to 13.4% (sodium cholate) of the total lipid extract and cholesterol ranged from 0% (digitonin) to 17.9% (Triton X-100). The detergent-extractability profile for phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (range 15-40% of total lipid) paralleled that of phosphatidylinositol (PI) (range 4-10%), but was inverse to that for GalCer and cholesterol. Detergent-extractability profiles for phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylserine (PS) also followed inverse profiles, with zwitterionic detergents giving high PS/PC and high PE/PC ratios (approximately 2:1), whereas the Tritons and digitonin gave ratios of 1:2. We believe that differential solubilization of lipids, as well as proteins, by detergents is important for the biological activity of the extracted proteins, and lipid extractability should be taken into account when purifying membrane proteins.

Effects of snake venom phospholipase A2 toxins (beta-bungarotoxin, notexin) and enzymes (Naja naja atra, Naja nigricollis) on aminophospholipid asymmetry in rat cerebrocortical synaptosomes

The effects of snake venom phospholipase A2 (PLA2) toxins (beta-bungarotoxin, notexin) and PLA2 enzymes (Naja nigricollis, Naja naja atra) on aminophospholipid asymmetry in rat cerebrocortical synaptic plasma membranes (SPM) were examined. Incubation of intact synaptosomes with 2 mM 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) for 40 min, under non-penetrating conditions, followed by SPM isolation, allowed us to calculate the percentage of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylserine (PS) in the outer leaflet of the SPM, while incubation with disrupted synaptosomes provided total labeling values with the difference representing labeling of the inner leaflet. We found that 30% of the PE and 2% of the PS were in the outer leaflet, with 54% of the PE and 80% of the PS in the inner leaflet; 16% of the PE and 18% of the PS was inaccessible to TNBS. PLA2 toxins and enzymes increased in a concentration-dependent manner the percentage of PS and, to a lesser extent, the percentage of PE in the outer leaflet of the SPM, due to a redistribution from the inner to the outer leaflet. There was no correlation between the PLA2 enzymatic activities and the increased percentage of PS in the outer leaflet of the SPM induced by the PLA2 toxins and enzymes. Alteration of aminophospholipid asymmetry does not explain the greater presynaptic specificity and potencies of the PLA2 toxins as compared to the PLA2 enzymes, but may be associated with the increased acetylcholine release from synaptosomes induced by both the toxins and enzymes.

Unsaturated aminophospholipids are preferentially retained by the fast skeletal muscle CaATPase during detergent solubilization. Evidence for a specific association between aminophospholipids and the calcium pump protein

When fast twitch skeletal muscle vesicles (SR) and purified calcium pump protein are stripped with the nonionic detergent C12E8 (octaethylene glycol dodecyl ether), not all the membrane phospholipids are removed from the calcium pump protein. Maximal extraction produces a remnant of 6-8 mol of phospholipid/mole of calcium ATPase (CaATPase). In contrast to native SR and the prestripped purified CaATPase, the remaining phospholipid is markedly enriched in phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylserine (PS) in both preparations; the remaining lipid is also enriched in phospholipid that is predominantly unsaturated. In addition, virtually all of the associated PE is plasmalogenic (96% as opposed to 63% in the native SR). The amino-specific cross-linking reagent DFDNB (1,5-difluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid) and the amino binding reagent TNBS (2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid) were utilized to identify the monolayer of the native preparation where these phospholipids reside, and to determine which phospholipids are closely associated with the calcium pump protein following detergent treatment. These studies demonstrate that PE and PS are closely associated with the pump protein, PE residing almost exclusively in the outer monolayer of SR, while PS resides in the inner monolayer. Nonspecific phospholipid exchange protein was shown to be capable of exchanging phospholipids from donor vesicles into those phospholipids associated with the CaATPase; stripping of lipid-exchanged vesicles with C12E8 exhibited the same specificity with regard to head-group species (i.e., PE is markedly enriched in the extracted protein associated fraction). The results suggest that specific protein-lipid interactions exist, favoring the association of plasmalogenic aminophospholipids with the calcium pump protein.

Pyrene derivatives as markers of transbilayer effect of lipid peroxidation on neuronal membranes

Two different pyrene derivatives, namely 12-(1-pyrene)dodecanoic acid (P12-FA) and N-(12-(1-pyrene)dodecanoyl)-galactosylsphingosine I3-sulfate (P12-CS) have been used to follow lipid peroxidation both in model and natural membranes. The malondialdehyde (MDA) production in small unilamellar vesicles of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine/arachidonic acid (80:20, molar ratio), symmetrically labelled with both probes determined a progressive decrease of pyrene fluorescence due to an involvement of pyrene in the peroxidative reaction. Nervous membranes are particularly sensitive to lipid oxidation which differentially acts on the two layers of the membrane determining a greater rigidity of the exofacial one. Thus, we consider the possibility to asymmetrically introduce the pyrene ring, as P12-FA or P12-CS, in synaptosomes for monitoring lipid peroxidation in each layer of the membrane. The amount of the two probes incorporated in the membrane was 20 +/- 3 and 10 +/- 2 nmol/mg of protein for P12-FA and P12-CS, respectively. P12-FA was symmetrically distributed in the two layers, whereas 95% of P12-CS was incorporated in the exofacial layer of the membrane as determined by TNBS measurements. The decrease in fluorescence of synaptosome associated pyrene was, in the early stages of lipid peroxidation, greater for P12-CS than for P12-FA labelled membranes, indicating a greater susceptibility of the exofacial layer to iron-induced peroxidation.

Phospholipid transverse diffusion in synaptosomes: evidence for the involvement of the aminophospholipid translocase

We have studied in Torpedo marmorata electric organ synaptosomes the equilibration kinetics of spin-labeled phospholipid analogues initially incorporated into the outer plasma membrane monolayer. As assayed by evoked releases of both ATP and acetylcholine, the nerve endings were closed vesicles containing an energy source. The aminophospholipids (phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine) were translocated toward the inner membrane leaflet faster and to a higher extent than their choline-containing counterparts (phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin). This difference was abolished by incubation of synaptosomal membranes with N-ethylmaleimide, suggesting that the accumulation of aminophospholipids in the inner layer was driven by a protein. This phenomenon is comparable with what was described in plasma membranes of other eucaryotic cells (erythrocyte, lymphocyte, platelet, fibroblast), and thus we would suggest that an aminophospholipid translocase, capable of moving the aminophospholipids from the outer to the inner layer at the expense of ATP, is also present in the synaptosomal plasma membrane.

Asymmetric extraction of membrane lipids by CHAPS

We have characterized and quantitated the lipids which are cosolubilized with serotonin 5-HT1A sites from sheep brain using 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS). Dialysis of the CHAPS extract produced a [3H]8-hydroxy(2-di-n-propylamino)tetralin [( 3H]8-OH-DPAT) binding vesicular preparation of the protein. Quantitative analysis of the lipids present in the CHAPS extract by HPTLC and transmittance-densitometry revealed extraction of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidyl serine (PS) and phosphatidic acid (PA) in striking preference over cholesterol, galactosylceramides, sulfatides and sphingomyelin. All lipids present in the clear CHAPS-extract were coeluted with the [3H]8-OH-DPAT binding preparation were separated by centrifugation, 95-100% of the [3H]8-OH-DPAT binding protein was retained in the vesicle-containing pellet. The supernatant contained small amounts of cholesterol, PE and PC, but virtually no PS, PI, or PA, whereas the vesicular pellet contained all the lipids mentioned, indicating that PS, PI and PA are more tightly bound to the vesicles than PE, PC and cholesterol. SDS-PAGE analysis of the pellet revealed two major protein bands, at 58 kDa and 33.5 kDa, respectively. Our report outlines a simple and improved densitometric assay used for the first detailed analysis of lipids cosolubilized with an active, membrane protein, and also, a simple assay for CHAPS.

Role of polyunsaturated fatty acids and lipid peroxidation in LM fibroblast plasma membrane transbilayer structure

The effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids and lipid peroxidation on LM fibroblast plasma membrane individual leaflet sterol distribution and structural order were examined. The cytofacial (inner) leaflet was more rigid and contained more sterol than the exofacial (outer) leaflet. The static (limiting anisotropy) and dynamic (rotational relaxation time) structural components of diphenylhexatriene (DPH) motion in each leaflet were determined by phase and modulation fluorometry measurements combined with leaflet-specific quenching by trinitrophenyl groups. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, incorporated into the membrane phospholipids by culture medium supplementation, decreased the limiting anisotrophy of DPH in the cytofacial but not the exofacial leaflet thereby abolishing the transbilayer difference in fluidity. Peroxidation by Fe(II) + H2O2 resulted in a rigidification (increase in limiting anisotropy and rotational relaxation time) of the plasma membrane exofacial leaflet, regardless of whether the membranes contained saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids or were enriched in either linoleate or linolenate. The structure of the cytofacial leaflet reported by DPH was unaffected. Plasma membrane transbilayer sterol distribution, measured by leaflet-specific quenching of dehydroergosterol fluorescence, indicated that 20-28% of the sterol was localized in the exofacial leaflet. Polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation of LM fibroblasts resulted in a complete reversal of plasma membrane transbilayer sterol distribution (72-76% exofacial leaflet). Sterol transbilayer distribution between the membrane leaflets was completely resistant to alteration by exposure to crosslinking agents and peroxidation in control plasma membranes and by peroxidation in linoleate- or linolenate-supplemented membranes.

Acute and chronic effects of ethanol on transbilayer membrane domains

Alcohols, including ethanol, have a specific effect on transbilayer and lateral membrane domains. Recent evidence has shown that alcohols in vitro have a greater effect on fluidity of one leaflet as compared to the other. The present study examined effects of chronic ethanol consumption on fluidity of synaptic plasma membrane (SPM) exofacial and cytofacial leaflets using trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) labeling and differential polarized fluorometry of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH). Mice were administered ethanol or a control liquid diet for 3 weeks. Animals were killed and SPM prepared. The exofacial leaflet of SPM was significantly more fluid than the cytofacial leaflet in both groups, as indicated by limiting anisotropy of DPH. However, differences between the two leaflets were much smaller in the ethanol-treated group. Ethanol at concentrations seen clinically had a greater effect in vitro on the more fluid exofacial leaflet. This asymmetric effect of ethanol was significantly diminished in the exofacial leaflet of the ethanol-treated mice. Chronic ethanol consumption has a specific effect on membranes. Membrane functions that may be regulated by asymmetry of fluidity and lipid distribution may be altered by chronic ethanol consumption.

Role of membrane lipid asymmetry in aging

Recent advances in our understanding of the asymmetric distribution of lipids across nervous system membranes coupled with the application of biophysical techniques to examine transbilayer structure and function have led to the formulation of a new hypothesis. The author hopes that the insights presented herein will stimulate investigation into this developing new field. The theory provides an approach to correlation the accumulation of nervous tissue membrane peroxidative and cross-linking damage, the loss of transbilayer lipid asymmetry, and loss of transbilayer neuroendocrine, transport, secretory and immunoregulatory functions. Central to this scheme is the role of membrane lipid asymmetry in regulation to and/or coupling of transbilayer functions.

Phagosomal membrane lipids of LM fibroblasts

Murine fibroblasts, LM cells, were cultured in suspension or monolayer in a chemically defined medium without serum and exposed to polystyrene beads. The LM cells endocytized the beads in direct proportion to the bead/cell ratio and the bead surface area. However, equal volumes of beads irrespective of size or surface area were internalized. The lipid composition of the phagosome membrane differed significantly from the parent primary membrane in having higher contents of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, and sterol but lower contents of sphingomyelin and lysophosphatidylcholine. When phagosomes isolated from suspension-cultured LM fibroblasts were exposed to trinitrobenzene-sulfonic acid at 4 degrees C, 55 +/- 1.6% of the phagosomal membrane phosphatidylethanolamine was trinitrophenylated. The asymmetric distribution of phosphatidylethanolamine across the phagosomal membrane was not affected by the bead/cell ratio, bead diameter, or exposure time of LM fibroblasts to the beads. When cells were reacted with trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid at 4 degrees C prior to phagocytosis, the amount of trinitrophenylphosphatidylethanolamine was greater in the isolated phagosomes than in the parent primary plasma membrane. Culturing LM fibroblasts in suspension or monolayer had no effect on the asymmetric distribution of phosphatidylethanolamine across primary plasma membrane bilayers. The data are consistent with the observation that LM fibroblasts grown either in suspension or monolayer internalize polystyrene beads at selective sites in the surface membrane.

LM fibroblast plasma membrane subfractionation by affinity chromatography on con A-sepharose

Affinity chromatography was used to determine the heterogeneity and orientation of plasma membrane vesicles isolated from LM fibroblasts subjected to Dounce homogenization. Two plasma membrane subfractions were obtained by Con A-Sepharose affinity chromatography of LM fibroblast plasma membranes prepared by Dounce homogenization. The desmosterol-phospholipid molar ratio, the phospholipid composition, and the phospholipid fatty acid composition were almost identical between the two fractions. However, the lipid to protein ratio was almost 2-fold greater in the nonadherent fraction A. The binding of fluorescein-concanavalin A was the same in both fractions indicating a right-sided-out orientation of the vesicles. Similarly and asymmetric distribution of phosphatidylethanolamine in both membrane fractions was the same. In contrast, sialic acid content, 5'-nucleotidase activity, and (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity were 47%, 3.7-fold, and 2.5-fold greater, respectively, in the nonadherent, lipid-rich fraction A. Structural properties of the two membrane fractions determined by fluorescence polarization and arrhenius plots of trans-parinaric acid fluorescence were similar. These results indicate that concanavalin-A affinity chromatography separates two membrane fractions differing in sialic acid content, lipid content, and enzyme profile but having the same right-side-out orientation.

Asymmetric transbilayer distribution of sterol across plasma membranes determined by fluorescence quenching of dehydroergosterol

A new method for measurement of transbilayer distribution of sterol in plasma membranes is reported. The procedure utilized a fluorescent sterol, dehydroergosterol, and a chemical quenching agent, trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. Dehydroergosterol was useful as a probe molecule for sterols for the following reasons, (a) Dehydroergosterol contained no bulky side chains as reporter groups. (b) Dehydroergosterol structurally resembled cholesterol and desmosterol, the primary sterol synthesized by LM fibroblasts. (c) Dehydroergosterol interacted with digitonin, filipin, and served as a substrate for cholesterol oxidase. (d) The phase transition of dipalmitoylglycerophosphocholine was completely abolished by dehydroergosterol. (e) The native sterol of LM fibroblasts, desmosterol, was completely replaced by dehydroergosterol without effect on LM cell growth, cell doubling time, plasma membrane (Na+, K+)-ATPase and 5'-nucleotidase activity, microsomal NADPH-dependent cytochrome c reductase activity, and mitochondrial succinate-dependent cytochrome c reductase activity. (f) Neither the phospholipid composition nor the sterol/phospholipid ratio of LM fibroblasts were altered by supplementation with dehydroergosterol. The trinitrophenyl group of trinitrophenylglycine or of surface membranes of LM fibroblasts or red blood cells treated with trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid was an excellent quencher of dehydroergosterol fluorescence. Fluorescence in mouse very-low-density lipoproteins, LM fibroblasts plasma membranes, red blood cell surface membranes, and in rat red blood cell membranes was quenched 95 +/- 3%, 20 +/- 2%, 75 +/- 4%, and 69 +/- 4% respectively when the quenching agent was present on only the extracellular site of the membrane. Trinitrophenyl residues effectively quenched the dehydroergosterol fluorescence in the plasma membrane of LM cells by 20% when dehydroergosterol was present from 1-85 mol/100 ml of the membrane sterol. When both sides of the plasma membrane were trinitrophenylated, greater than 95% of the dehydroergosterol fluorescence was quenched. In addition, when LM cells were cultured with dehydroergosterol, exposed latex beads, and the endocytosed particles isolated as phagosomes and treated with trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid under non-penetrating conditions, the fluorescence of the dehydroergosterol was quenched nearly 64%. From these and other results we deduced that the inner monlayer of the LM fibroblasts plasma membrane was enriched with dehydroergosterol. In contrast, the distribution of the sterol in red blood cell membranes indicated an enrichment in the outer monolayer.

Altered phospholipid composition affects endocytosis in cultured LM fibroblasts

The phospholipid polar head group composition of LM fibroblast membranes was altered by growing the cells in a chemically defined, serum-free medium containing choline, N,N'-dimethylethanolamine, N-monomethylethanolamine, or ethanolamine. The cells incorporated these bases into their membrane phospholipid such that 29-40% of the total plasma membrane phospholipids contained these polar head groups. Alteration of the phospholipid composition correlated with a depression of polystyrene bead phagocytosis by 36, 55 and 85% when the cells had been supplemented with N,N'-dimethylethanolamine, N-monoethylethanolamine, or ethanolamine, respectively. Pinocytotic uptake of horseradish peroxidase was depressed 44, 39, and 32%, respectively. The phagosomal membrane phospholipid composition qualitatively resembled that of the primary plasma membrane from which it was derived. However, enrichment of phosphatidylcholine, and other quantitative differences were noted in the phagosomal membranes as compared to the parent primary plasma membrane. Approx. 50% of the phagosomal membrane's phosphatidylethanolamine was accessible to the chemical labelling reagent trinitrobenzenesulfonate at 4 degrees C. The asymmetric distribution of phosphatidylethanolamine across the phagosomal membrane did not appear to be altered by base analogues except in the case of phagosomes from cells supplemented with ethanolamine. The data were consistent with a nonrandom site for endocytosis with regard to phospholipid composition.

Drug-induced surface membrane phospholipid composition in murine fibroblasts

The effects of drug on phospholipid composition of cell surface membranes are not well understood at this time. The effects of membrane-active drugs and membrane depolarization on the phospholipid composition were determined in murine LM fibroblasts. Receptor-aggregating drugs such as concanavalin A and cytoskeleton-disrupting agents such as colchicine, vinblastine, and cytochalasin B decreased phosphatidylserine content of the plasma membrane from 5.4 +/- 1.5% to as low as 1.4 +/- 0.2%. In addition, concanavalin A and colchicine increased the phosphatidylglycerol content from 6.9 +/- 1.6% to 13.1 +/- 0.7% and 10.6 +/-1.7%, respectively, while vinblastine and cytochalasin B had no effect. Pentobarbital decreased the content of phosphatidylinositol+ phosphatidylserine and of phosphatidylglycerol almost 2-fold. Propranolol, ethanol, and depolarization with 120 mM KCl had small or ne effects on plasma membrane phospholipid composition. None of the above drugs or treatments significantly altered the asymmetric distribution of phosphatidylethanolamine across the LM cell plasma membrane under the conditions tested. In addition, energy inhibitors that deplete the proton-motive force of the cell (NaN3 and KCN) and inhibitors of ATP synthesis such as NaAsO4 did not affect the asymmetric distribution of phosphatidylethanolamine. It is concluded that the mechanism of action of membrane-active drugs such as concanavalin A, vinblastine, colchicine and pentobarbital may involve alterations in plasma membrane composition. It also appears that microfilaments, microtubules, beta-adrenergic receptors, membrane fluidity, and membrane potential are not critical for the regulation of the asymmetric distribution of membrane phosphatidylethanolamine.

Membrane asymmetry. A survey and critical appraisal of the methodology. II. Methods for assessing the unequal distribution of lipids

In the companion paper, I have reviewed the techniques employed for assessment of the asymmetric distribution and orientation of membrane proteins. This article deals with methods applicable to the investigation of the unequal distribution of lipids between the two membrane leaflets. Among the techniques I will discuss are the use of immunological techniques and lectins, chemical reagents, enzymatic isotopic labeling and degradation of membrane lipids, exchange proteins and physical techniques. Whenever appropriate, problems of crypticity and non-availability of lipids to interact with the appropriate ligands, reagents, modifying enzymes or exchange proteins have been envisaged. It appears that in many case, highly discordant results, sometimes with the same biological material, have been obtained. Some of the difficulties encountered presumably stem from the reported existence of non-bilayer arrangements and isotropic movement of lipids as evidenced by freeze-fracture and NMR studies. Other problems may be related to the induction of such arrangements, especially the inverted micellar arrangement, by the modifying agents, particularly degradation enzymes or exchange proteins when they cause severe unilateral modification of the lipids of the exposed leaflet. In addition, the situation is complicated by the role of the induced increase in the flip-flop rate under different experimental conditions and by modification of the rearrangement of lipid molecules as a result of the metabolic state of the cell or ghost preparation and of the reactivity of lipids as a consequence of temperature changes. Here, more so than with proteins, one must be cautious in interpreting experimental results. Moreover, it would appear that the use of different techniques in conjunction and the consequent comparison of results should be recommended. It has been emphasized that 'general rules' do not hold and that each new material should be assay again. To give one example, it is not pertinent to state that proteins enhance the flip-flop rate in lipid vesicles (and hence in membranes). This holds true for glycophorin from erythrocyte membrane, but could not be proved when mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase was used. There seems to be no rule for the distribution of lipids between the two leaflets of different membranes. For example, even for different strains of the same bacterial species, highly divergent results have been reported. It is generally (and probably under the influence of different studies with erythrocytes) believed that in mammalian plasma membranes, choline phospholipids are enriched in the outer leaflet and aminophospholipids in the inner leaflet. Though this contention may prove to be correct, different instances of contradictory results have been given in the text. This shows that if rules do exist, they remain to be discovered or established...

Opposite polarity of filipin-induced deformations in the membrane of condensing vacuoles and zymogen granules

Filipin binding to membrane sterols induces deformations of the membrane that are detected by freeze-fracture either as 20- to 25-nanometer protuberances or as pits on the fracture faces. By using the filipin probe in pancreatic acinar cells, it was found that the polarity of filipin-induced deformations in the membrane limiting the Golgi condensing vacuoles is opposite that in the membrane limiting the mature zymogen granules. This asymmetry could be due to unequal partitioning of cholesterol between the membrane leaflets in these two compartments during the transformation of the condensing vacuole into the zymogen granule.

Phospholipid methyltransferase asymmetry in synaptosomal membranes

The sequential methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine to form phosphatidylcholine is carried out by two methyltransferases in rat brain synaptosomes. The first enzyme methylates phosphatidylethanolamine to form phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine. The second enzyme methylates the monomethylated phospholipid two additional times, forming phosphatidylcholine. Experiments comparing the rate of methylation between intact and lysed synaptosomes indicate that synaptosomes accumulate S-adenosyl-L-methionine and that the first methylation takes place on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. Studies comparing trypsin digestion of proteins in intact and lysed synaptosomes indicate that the first enzyme is localized on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane and the second enzyme faces the external surface. Phospholipase C hydrolyzed phosphatidylcholine formed by methylation, suggesting its localization in the external layer of the phospholipid bilayer. A mechanism for an enzyme-mediated flip-flop of phospholipids from the cytoplasmic side to the outer surface of the synaptosomal plasma membrane is presented.

Regulation of aminophospholipid asymmetry in murine fibroblast plasma membranes by choline and ethanolamine analogues

The regulation of the asymmetric distribution of aminophospholipids in mammalian cell plasma membranes is not understood at this time. One approach to determine the nature of such regulatory mechanisms is to attempt alteration of the plasma membrane phospholipid composition. Choline analogues such as N,N'-dimethylethanolamine and N-monomethylethanolamine lowered the quantity of phosphatidylethanolamine in the plasma membrane of LM fibroblasts grown in defined medium without serum. Ethanolamine supplementation increased the phosphatidylethanolamine content while ethanolamine analogues such as 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol, 2-amino-1-butanol, 1-aminopropanol, and 3-aminopropanol did not alter the aminophospholipid content significantly. The transverse distribution of aminophospholipids in the plasma membrane was determined by use of a chemical labelling reagent trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. The percent phosphatidylethanolamine trinitrophenylated by trinitrobenzenesulfonate in the outer plasma membrane monolayer of LM cells supplemented with choline analogues was not altered. In contrast, ethanolamine analogue supplementation increased the percentage of aminophospholipid in the outer monolayer 2--3-fold. Ethanolamine analogue-containing phospholipids were distributed asymmetrically across the plasma membrane with 85 to 91% being located in the inner monolayer of the plasma membrane, a distribution similar to that of phosphatidylethanolamine. The fatty acyl composition of aminophospholipids in the outer monolayer was in all cases more saturated than in the corresponding phospholipids of the inner monolayer. However, choline analogues and especially the ethanolamine analogues reduced this difference. Thus, base analogues of choline and ethanolamine may alter the aminophospholipid asymmetry, the surface charge, and the acyl chain asymmetry of LM cell plasma membranes.

The effect of halothane on mice selectively bred for differential sensitivity to alcohol

We have investigated the response of mice to halothane that have been selectively bred for either sensitivity (long sleep, LS) or resistance (short sleep, SS) to the anesthetic effects of ethanol. While large differences in the response of the animals to ethanol were observed in sleep time, blood anesthetic concentration at time of awakening, and body temperature, the SS and LS lines did not differ in their response to halothane. We conclude that the mechanism of action of ethanol and halothane differ in a significant way from each other.

Plasma membrane aminophospholipid distribution in transformed murine fibroblasts

The possibility that the asymmetric distribution of aminophospholipids may be an intrinsic property of mammalian plasma membranes was examined in LM cells, a transformed murine fibroblast cell line. The cells were grown in suspension culture in a chemically defined medium without lipid, protein, or serum and then treated with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS). A maximum of 4% of LM cell plasma membrane phosphatidylethanolamine and 5% of the phosphatidylserine was labelled with TNBS. Furthermore, long chain and unsaturated fatty acids were preferentially esterified to the non-derivatized phosphatidylethanolamine (inner monolayer) as compared to phosphatidylethanolamine derivatized with TNBS (outer monolayer). Isethionyl acetimidate, an alternative non-penetrating reagent, confirmed the results obtained with TNBS and provided supportive evidence for the highly asymmetric distribution of phosphatidylethanolamine; 6% of the phosphatidylethanolamine was labelled with isethionyl acetimidate. When the penetrating reagent methylacetimidate was used, more than 80% of the phosphatidylethanolamine was derivatized. Although the growing of the LM cells in 10% calf serum significantly increased plasma membrane phosphatidylcholine while decreasing phosphatidylethanolamine, calf serum had no significant effect on phosphatidylethanolamine or phosphatidylserine asymmetry.