Structure and transport properties of artificial bipolar lipid membranes

The Main (Glyco) Phospholipid (MPL) of Thermoplasma acidophilum

The main phospholipid (MPL) of Thermoplasma acidophilum DSM 1728 was isolated, purified and physico-chemically characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)/differential thermal analysis (DTA) for its thermotropic behavior, alone and in mixtures with other lipids, cholesterol, hydrophobic peptides and pore-forming ionophores. Model membranes from MPL were investigated; black lipid membrane, Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer, and liposomes. Laboratory results were compared to computer simulation. MPL forms stable and resistant liposomes with highly proton-impermeable membrane and mixes at certain degree with common bilayer-forming lipids. Monomeric bacteriorhodopsin and ATP synthase from Micrococcus luteus were co-reconstituted and light-driven ATP synthesis measured. This review reports about almost four decades of research on Thermoplasma membrane and its MPL as well as transfer of this research to Thermoplasma species recently isolated from Indonesian volcanoes.

Archaeal lipids and their biotechnological applications

The lipids of Archaea, based on glycerol isopranoid ethers, can be used taxonomically to distinguish between phenotypic subgroups of the domain to delineate them clearly from all other organisms. This review is a general survey of the structural features of archaeal lipids and how they relate to survival in the harsh environments in which the Archaea live. The molecular organization of archaeal lipids in monolayers, artificial black membranes and vesicles and the unique properties and possible biotechnological applications of liposomes of the lipids are presented. The results with these liposomes are compared with similar data obtained with synthetic compounds which mimic the structure of archaeal lipids. Studies on computer simulation are also reported.

Formation and characterization of planar lipid bilayer membranes from synthetic phytanyl-chained glycolipids

The formability, current-voltage characteristics and stability of the planar lipid bilayer membranes from the synthetic phytanyl-chained glycolipids, 1, 3-di-O-phytanyl-2-O-(beta-glycosyl)glycerols (Glc(Phyt)(2), Mal(N)(Phyt)(2)) were studied. The single bilayer membranes were successfully formed from the glycolipid bearing a maltotriosyl group (Mal(3)(Phyt)(2)) by the folding method among the synthetic glycolipids examined. The membrane conductance of Mal(3)(Phyt)(2) bilayers in 100 mM KCl solution was significantly lower than that of natural phospholipid, soybean phospholipids (SBPL) bilayers, and comparable to that of 1,2-diphytanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPhPC) bilayers. From the permeation measurements of lipophilic ions through Mal(3)(Phyt)(2) and DPhPC bilayers, it could be presumed that the carbonyl groups in glycerol backbone of the lipid molecule are not necessarily required for the total dipole potential barrier against cations in Mal(3)(Phyt)(2) bilayer. The stability of Mal(3)(Phyt)(2) bilayers against long-term standing and external electric field change was rather high, compared with SBPL bilayers. Furthermore, a preliminary experiment over the functional incorporation of membrane proteins was demonstrated employing the channel proteins derived from octopus retina microvilli vesicles. The channel proteins were functionally incorporated into Mal(3)(Phyt)(2) bilayers in the presence of a negatively charged glycolipid. From these observations, synthetic phytanyl-chained glycolipid bilayers are promising materials for reconstitution and transport studies of membrane proteins.

Reconstitution of bacteriorhodopsin and ATP synthase from Micrococcus luteus into liposomes of the purified main tetraether lipid from Thermoplasma acidophilum: proton conductance and light-driven ATP synthesis

The archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum is cultivated at 59 degrees C in a medium containing sulfuric acid of pH 2. The purified bipolar membrane spanning main phospholipid (MPL) of this organism can be used to produce stable liposomes of 100-500 nm in diameter either using a French pressure cell detergent dialysis or sonication. Despite a potassium diffusion potential of 186 mV very low ionic permeability of sonicated MPL liposomes was measured using the potassium binding fluorescent indicator benzofuran isophthalate PBF1, which measures net K+ uptake. The latter also remained very low, in the presence of the K(+) ionophore valinomycin and palmitic acid. Addition of valinomycin and the potent uncoupler carbonylcyanid-p-trifluormehoxyphenyl-hydrazone (FCCP), led to a stimulation in potassium uptake. The rate of proton flux can be calculated from the net K(+) uptake. Under these conditions MPL liposomes are 1-2 orders of magnitude less permeable than egg yolk lecithin vesicles. The difference in proton permeability becomes even more pronounced with increasing temperature, examined using the fluorescent pH indicator pyranine. Purified bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium halobium was reconstituted into MPL liposomes in order to study the light-driven proton uptake in 150 mM KCl following addition of valinomycin, gramicidin, FCCP and Triton X-100. The light-driven proton transport into the liposomes was increased 30-fold by addition of valinomycin decreased by gramicidin and FCCP, and abolished by Triton X-100. Co-reconstituted MPL proteoliposomes containing bacteriorhodopsin and ATP synthase from Micrococcus luteus were capable of light-driven ATP synthesis demonstrating the functional coupling of proton transport and nucleotide generation in liposomal MPL membranes.

Electroporation in symmetric and asymmetric membranes

We present results of electrical measurements performed both on symmetric and asymmetric membranes in current-clamp conditions. The current-voltage characteristic curve of the membranes shows a reversible conductance transition to a higher level above a critical potential Vc. The experimental results are interpreted in the light of the electroporation theory, which allows estimates of the line tension to be made. These estimates are compared to previous experimental findings or theoretical calculations. The behaviour of symmetric membranes of different chain lengths or consisting of mixtures of short and long chains indicates a strong dependence of Vc on the chain composition and on the presence of charges on the polar head. The electroporation process is also analyzed in asymmetric bilayers consisting of a charged and an uncharged monolayer, a condition which mimics that of natural membranes. Therefore it is possible to analyze the electrical forces acting on the uncharged monolayer due to the presence of charges on the other one, under several ionic-strength conditions. It is shown that the instability arises in the uncharged monolayer, while the coupling between the two monolayers triggers the electroporation process.

Black lipid membranes of tetraether lipids from Thermoplasma acidophilum

Black lipid membranes were formed of tetraether lipids from Thermoplasma acidophilum and compared to the bilayer forming lipids diphytanoylphosphatidylcholine and diphythanylglucosylglycerol. Bilayer-forming lipids varied in thickness of black lipid membranes due to the organic solvent used. Measurements of the specific membrane capacitance (Cm = 0.744 microF/cm2) showed that the membrane-spanning tetraether lipids from Thermoplasma acidophilum form a monolayer of a constant thickness of 2.5-3.0 nm no matter from which solvent. This finding corresponds to the results of Gliozzi et al. for the lipids of another archaebacterium, Sulfolobus solfataricus. Black lipid membranes were formed at room temperature with a torus from bilayer-forming lipids, however, the torus could also be formed by the tetraether-lipid itself at room temperature and at defined concentration. In these stable black lipid membranes, conductance was measured in the presence of valinomycin, nonactin, and gramicidin. At 10(-7) M concentration, valinomycin mediated higher conductance in membranes from tetraether lipids (200-1200 microS/cm2) than from bilayer-forming lipids (125-480 microS/cm2). Nonactin, at 10(-6) M concentration, mediated a 6-fold higher conductance in a tetraether lipid membrane than in a bilayer, whereas conductance, in the presence of 5 x 10(-11) M gramicidin could reach higher values in bilayers than in tetraether lipid monolayers of comparable thickness. Monensin did not increase the conductance of black lipid membranes from tetraether lipids under all conditions applied in our experiments. Poly(L-lysine) destroyed black lipid membranes. Lipopolysaccharides from Thermoplasma acidophilum were not able to form stable black lipid membranes by themselves. The lipopolysaccharide complexes from Thermoplasma acidophilum and from Escherichia coli decreased the valinomycin-mediated conductance of monolayer and bilayer membranes. This influence was stronger than that of the polysaccharide dextran.

Electromechanical stability of planar lipid membranes from bipolar lipids of the thermoacidophilic archebacterium Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Stable planar membranes have been obtained from the bipolar lipid glycerol dialkyl nonitol tetraether (GDNT) extracted from the thermoacidophilic archebacterium Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. The electric capacity Cm, the resistance Rm and tension sigma of these membranes were measured. The dependence of the bipolar lipid membranes mean life time tau 1 on voltage was investigated. It was shown that the irreversible electric breakdown of membranes from GDNT and usual phospholipids is due to the same mechanism, viz., due to formation of a hydrophilic pore with an overcritical radius. Under electric field the GDNT molecules take U-shape, and the polar headgroups of such molecules cover the pore's interior.

Monolayer black membranes from bipolar lipids of archaebacteria and their temperature-induced structural changes

The membrane of Caldariella acidophila, an extreme thermophilic archaebacterium, is characterized by unusual bipolar complex lipids. They consist of two nonequivalent polar heads, linked by a C40 alkylic component. The molecular organization of these lipids in the plasma membrane is still a matter of study. In this paper, we present current-voltage measurements on artificial bipolar lipid membranes, indicating that molecules are indeed organized as a covalently bound bilayer, in which each molecule is completely stretched and spans its entire thickness. Furthermore, conformational transitions of these artificial membranes (which could be formed only above 70 degrees C from a lipid/squalene dispersion) are analyzed in the 80 to 15 degrees C temperature range. Abrupt variations in capacitance and valinomycin-induced conductance seem to indicate the occurrence of at least two structural changes. Measurements are also extended to different solvent systems. Results are consistent with the picture of a monolayer bipolar lipid membrane in which few solvent molecules align themselves parallel to the lipophilic chains. The amount of solvent as well as the temperature at which conformational transitions occur, depend on the solvent system in which the lipid is dispersed.