Long-range order in biomembranes

Breakdown of classical paradigms in relation to membrane structure and functions

Updates of the mosaic fluid membrane model implicitly sustain the paradigms that bilayers are closed systems conserving a state of fluidity and behaving as a dielectric slab. All of them are a consequence of disregarding water as part of the membrane structure and its essential role in the thermodynamics and kinetics of membrane response to bioeffectors. A correlation of the thermodynamic properties with the structural features of water makes possible to introduce the lipid membrane as a responsive structure due to the relaxation of water rearrangements in the kinetics of bioeffectors' interactions. This analysis concludes that the lipid membranes are open systems and, according to thermodynamic of irreversible formalism, bilayers and monolayers can be reasonable compared under controlled conditions. The inclusion of water in the complex structure makes feasible to reconsider the concept of dielectric slab and fluidity.

From Dynamics to Membrane Organization: Experimental Breakthroughs Occasion a "Modeling Manifesto"

New experimental techniques, especially in the context of observing molecular dynamics, reveal the plasma membrane to be heterogeneous and "scale rich," from nanometers to microns and from microseconds to seconds. This is critical information, which shows that scale-dependent transport governs the molecular encounters that underlie cellular signaling. The data are rich and reaffirm the importance of the cortical cytoskeleton, protein aggregates, and lipidomic complexity on the statistics of molecular encounters. Moreover, the data demand simulation approaches with a particular set of features, hence the "manifesto." Together with the experimental data, simulations that satisfy these requirements hold the promise of a deeper understanding of membrane spatiotemporal organization. Several experimental breakthroughs in measuring molecular membrane dynamics are reviewed, the constraints that they place on simulations are discussed, and the status of simulation approaches that aim to meet them are detailed.

Dynamic Reorganization and Correlation among Lipid Raft Components

Lipid rafts are widely believed to be an essential organizational motif in cell membranes. However, direct evidence for interactions among lipid and/or protein components believed to be associated with rafts is quite limited owing, in part, to the small size and intrinsically dynamic interactions that lead to raft formation. Here, we exploit the single negative charge on the monosialoganglioside GM1, commonly associated with rafts, to create a gradient of GM1 in response to an electric field applied parallel to a patterned supported lipid bilayer. The composition of this gradient is visualized by imaging mass spectrometry using a NanoSIMS. Using this analytical method, added cholesterol and sphingomyelin, both neutral and not themselves displaced by the electric field, are observed to reorganize with GM1. This dynamic reorganization provides direct evidence for an attractive interaction among these raft components into some sort of cluster. At steady state we obtain an estimate for the composition of this cluster.

Hexagonal Substructure and Hydrogen Bonding in Liquid-Ordered Phases Containing Palmitoyl Sphingomyelin

All-atom simulation data are presented for ternary mixtures of palmitoyl sphingomyelin (PSM), cholesterol, and either palmitoyl oleoyl phosphatidyl choline or dioleoyl phosphatidyl choline (DOPC). For comparison, data for a mixture of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC), cholesterol, and DOPC are also presented. Compositions corresponding to the liquid-ordered phase, the liquid-disordered phase, and coexistence of the two phases are simulated for each mixture. Within the liquid-ordered phase, cholesterol is preferentially solvated by DOPC if it is available, but if DOPC is replaced by POPC, cholesterol is preferentially solvated by PSM. In the DPPC mixtures, cholesterol interacts preferentially with the saturated chains via its smooth face, whereas in the PSM mixtures, cholesterol interacts preferentially with PSM via its rough face. Interactions between cholesterol and PSM have a very particular character: hydrogen bonding between cholesterol and the amide of PSM rotates the tilt of the amide plane, which primes it for more robust hydrogen bonding with other PSM. Cholesterol-PSM hydrogen bonding also locally modifies the hexagonal packing of hydrocarbon chains in the liquid-ordered phase of PSM mixtures.

Analytical use of multi-protein Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer to demonstrate membrane-facilitated interactions within cytokine receptor complexes

Experiments measuring Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) between cytokine receptor chains and their associated proteins led to hypotheses describing their organization in intact cells. These interactions occur within a larger protein complex or within a given nano-environment. To illustrate this complexity empirically, we developed a protocol to analyze FRET among more than two fluorescent proteins (multi-FRET). In multi-FRET, we model FRET among more than two fluorophores as the sum of all possible pairwise interactions within the complex. We validated our assumption by demonstrating that FRET among pairs within a fluorescent triplet resembled FRET between each pair measured in the absence of the third fluorophore. FRET between two receptor chains increases with increasing FRET between the ligand-binding chain (e.g., IFN-γR1, IL-10R1 and IFN-λR1) and an acylated fluorescent protein that preferentially resides within subsections of the plasma membrane. The interaction of IL-10R2 with IFN-λR1 or IL-10R1 results in decreased FRET between IL-10R2 and the acylated fluorescent protein. Finally, we analyzed FRET among four fluorescent proteins to demonstrate that as FRET between IFN-γR1 and IFN-γR2 or between IFN-αR1 and IFN-αR2c increases, FRET among other pairs of proteins changes within each complex.

Evaluation of steroidal amines as lipid raft modulators and potential anti-influenza agents

The influenza A virus (IFV) possesses a highly ordered cholesterol-rich lipid envelope. A specific composition and structure of this membrane raft envelope are essential for viral entry into cells and virus budding. Several steroidal amines were investigated for antiviral activity against IFV. Both, a positively charged amino function and the highly hydrophobic (ClogP≥5.9) ring system are required for IC50 values in the low μM range. An amino substituent is preferential to an azacyclic A-ring. We showed that these compounds either disrupt or augment membrane rafts and in some cases inactivate the free virus. Some of the compounds also interfere with virus budding. The antiviral selectivity improved in the series 3-amino, 3-aminomethyl, 3-aminoethyl, or by introducing an OH function in the A-ring. Steroidal amines show a new mode of antiviral action in directly targeting the virus envelope and its biological functions.

Lipid raft redox signaling: molecular mechanisms in health and disease

Lipid rafts, the sphingolipid and cholesterol-enriched membrane microdomains, are able to form different membrane macrodomains or platforms upon stimulations, including redox signaling platforms, which serve as a critical signaling mechanism to mediate or regulate cellular activities or functions. In particular, this raft platform formation provides an important driving force for the assembling of NADPH oxidase subunits and the recruitment of other related receptors, effectors, and regulatory components, resulting, in turn, in the activation of NADPH oxidase and downstream redox regulation of cell functions. This comprehensive review attempts to summarize all basic and advanced information about the formation, regulation, and functions of lipid raft redox signaling platforms as well as their physiological and pathophysiological relevance. Several molecular mechanisms involving the formation of lipid raft redox signaling platforms and the related therapeutic strategies targeting them are discussed. It is hoped that all information and thoughts included in this review could provide more comprehensive insights into the understanding of lipid raft redox signaling, in particular, of their molecular mechanisms, spatial-temporal regulations, and physiological, pathophysiological relevances to human health and diseases.

Spatial organization of transmembrane receptor signalling

The spatial organization of transmembrane receptors is a critical step in signal transduction and receptor trafficking in cells. Transmembrane receptors engage in lateral homotypic and heterotypic cis-interactions as well as intercellular trans-interactions that result in the formation of signalling foci for the initiation of different signalling networks. Several aspects of ligand-induced receptor clustering and association with signalling proteins are also influenced by the lipid composition of membranes. Thus, lipid microdomains have a function in tuning the activity of many transmembrane receptors by positively or negatively affecting receptor clustering and signal transduction. We review the current knowledge about the functions of clustering of transmembrane receptors and lipid-protein interactions important for the spatial organization of signalling at the membrane.

Phase separation in biological membranes: integration of theory and experiment

Lipid bilayer model membranes that contain a single lipid species can undergo transitions between ordered and disordered phases, and membranes that contain a mixture of lipid species can undergo phase separations. Studies of these transformations are of interest for what they can tell us about the interaction energies of lipid molecules of different species and conformations. Nanoscopic phases (<200 nm) can provide a model for membrane rafts, specialized membrane domains enriched in cholesterol and sphingomyelin, which are believed to have essential biological functions in cell membranes. Crucial questions are whether lipid nanodomains can exist in stable equilibrium in membranes and what is the distribution of their sizes and lifetimes in membranes of different composition. Theoretical methods have supplied much information on these questions, but better experimental methods are needed to detect and characterize nanodomains under normal membrane conditions. This review summarizes linkages between theoretical and experimental studies of phase separation in lipid bilayer model membranes.

Mechanical requirements for membrane fission: common facts from various examples

Membrane fission is the last step of membrane carrier formation. As fusion, it is a very common process in eukaryotic cells, and participates in the integrity and specificity of organelles. Although many proteins have been isolated to participate in the various membrane fission reactions, we are far from understanding how membrane fission is mechanically triggered. Here we aim at reviewing the well-described examples of dynamin and lipid phase separation, and try to extract the essential requirements for fission. Then, we survey the recent knowledge obtained on other fission reactions, analyzing the similarities and differences with previous examples.

The multiple faces of self-assembled lipidic systems

Lipids, the building blocks of cells, common to every living organisms, have the propensity to self-assemble into well-defined structures over short and long-range spatial scales. The driving forces have their roots mainly in the hydrophobic effect and electrostatic interactions. Membranes in lamellar phase are ubiquitous in cellular compartments and can phase-separate upon mixing lipids in different liquid-crystalline states. Hexagonal phases and especially cubic phases can be synthesized and observed in vivo as well. Membrane often closes up into a vesicle whose shape is determined by the interplay of curvature, area difference elasticity and line tension energies, and can adopt the form of a sphere, a tube, a prolate, a starfish and many more. Complexes made of lipids and polyelectrolytes or inorganic materials exhibit a rich diversity of structural morphologies due to additional interactions which become increasingly hard to track without the aid of suitable computer models. From the plasma membrane of archaebacteria to gene delivery, self-assembled lipidic systems have left their mark in cell biology and nanobiotechnology; however, the underlying physics is yet to be fully unraveled.PACS Codes: 87.14.Cc, 82.70.Uv.

The superlattice model of lateral organization of membranes and its implications on membrane lipid homeostasis

Most biological membranes are extremely complex structures consisting of hundreds of different lipid and protein molecules. According to the famous fluid-mosaic model lipids and many proteins are free to diffuse very rapidly in the plane of the membrane. While such fast diffusion implies that different membrane lipids would be laterally randomly distributed, accumulating evidence indicates that in model and natural membranes the lipid components tend to adopt regular (superlattice-like) distributions. The superlattice model, put forward based on such evidence, is intriguing because it predicts that 1) there is a limited number of allowed compositions representing local minima in membrane free energy and 2) those energy minima could provide set-points for enzymes regulating membrane lipid compositions. Furthermore, the existence of a discrete number of allowed compositions could help to maintain organelle identity in the face of rapid inter-organelle membrane traffic.

Phase diagrams of lipid mixtures relevant to the study of membrane rafts

The present paper reviews the phase properties of phosphatidylcholine-sphingomyelin-cholesterol mixtures, that are often used as models for membrane "raft" microdomains. The available data based on X-ray, microscopic and spectroscopic observations, surface pressure and calorimetric measurements, and detergent solubilization assays, are critically evaluated and rationalized in terms of triangular phase diagrams. The remaining uncertainties are discussed specifically and separately from the data on which a consensus appears to exist.

Effects of ceramide and other simple sphingolipids on membrane lateral structure

The available data concerning the ability of ceramide and other simple sphingolipids to segregate laterally into rigid, gel-like domains in a fluid bilayer has been reviewed. Ceramides give rise to rigid ceramide-enriched domains when their N-acyl chain is longer than C12. The high melting temperature of hydrated ceramides, revealing a tight intermolecular interaction, is probably responsible for their lateral segregation. Ceramides compete with cholesterol for the formation of domains with lipids such as sphingomyelin or saturated phosphatidylcholines; under these conditions displacement of cholesterol by ceramide involves a transition from a liquid-ordered to a gel-like phase in the domains involved. When ceramide is generated in situ by a sphingomyelinase, instead of being premixed with the other lipids, gel-like domain formation occurs as well, although the topology of the domains may not be the same, the enzyme causing clustering of domains that is not detected with premixed ceramide. Ceramide-1-phosphate is not likely to form domains in fluid bilayers, and the same is true of sphingosine and of sphingosine-1-phosphate. However, sphingosine does rigidify pre-existing gel domains in mixed bilayers.

Cholesterol effectively blocks entry of flavivirus

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and dengue virus serotype 2 (DEN-2) are enveloped flaviviruses that enter cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis and low pH-triggered membrane fusion and then replicate in intracellular membrane structures. Lipid rafts, cholesterol-enriched lipid-ordered membrane domains, are platforms for a variety of cellular functions. In this study, we found that disruption of lipid raft formation by cholesterol depletion with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin or cholesterol chelation with filipin III reduces JEV and DEN-2 infection, mainly at the intracellular replication steps and, to a lesser extent, at viral entry. Using a membrane flotation assay, we found that several flaviviral nonstructural proteins are associated with detergent-resistant membrane structures, indicating that the replication complex of JEV and DEN-2 localizes to the membranes that possess the lipid raft property. Interestingly, we also found that addition of cholesterol readily blocks flaviviral infection, a result that contrasts with previous reports of other viruses, such as Sindbis virus, whose infectivity is enhanced by cholesterol. Cholesterol mainly affected the early step of the flavivirus life cycle, because the presence of cholesterol during viral adsorption greatly blocked JEV and DEN-2 infectivity. Flavirial entry, probably at fusion and RNA uncoating steps, was hindered by cholesterol. Our results thus suggest a stringent requirement for membrane components, especially with respect to the amount of cholesterol, in various steps of the flavivirus life cycle.

Functional role of glycosphingolipids and gangliosides in control of cell adhesion, motility, and growth, through glycosynaptic microdomains

At cell surface microdomains, glycosyl epitopes, carried either by glycosphingolipids, N- or O-linked oligosaccharides, are recognized by carbohydrate-binding proteins or complementary carbohydrates. In both cases, the carbohydrate epitopes may be clustered with specific signal transducers, tetraspanins, adhesion receptors or growth factor receptors. Through this framework, carbohydrates can mediate cell signaling leading to changes in cellular phenotype. Microdomains involved in carbohydrate-dependent cell adhesion inducing cell activation, motility, and growth are termed "glycosynapse". In this review a historical synopsis of glycosphingolipids-enriched microdomains study leading to the concept of glycosynapse is presented. Examples of glycosynapse as signaling unit controlling the tumor cell phenotype are discussed in three contexts: (i) Cell-to-cell adhesion mediated by glycosphingolipids-to-glycosphingolipids interaction between interfacing glycosynaptic domains, through head-to-head (trans) carbohydrate-to-carbohydrate interaction. (ii) Functional role of GM3 complexed with tetraspanin CD9, and interaction of such complex with integrins, or with fibroblast growth factor receptor, to control tumor cell phenotype and its reversion to normal cell phenotype. (iii) Inhibition of integrin-dependent Met kinase activity by GM2/tetraspanin CD82 complex in glycosynaptic microdomain. Data present here suggest that the organizational status of glycosynapse strongly affects cellular phenotype influencing tumor cell malignancy.

Introduction to the membrane protein reviews: the interplay of structure, dynamics, and environment in membrane protein function

In our review, we introduce an organizational scheme for membrane protein function. It is the relationship between structure, dynamics, and environment that endows the membrane and its constituents with remarkable sensitivity and robustness. Our understanding begins with landmark advances like those presented in the following chapters. Membrane proteins are notoriously difficult to study, and so the work presented here on the ADP/ATP carrier [Nury et al. ( 2 )], rhodopsin [Palczewski ( 24 )], and the cytochrome b6f complex [Cramer et al. ( 35 )] represents incredible progress in this now blossoming field.

Rafts in oligodendrocytes: Evidence and structure–function relationship

The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells exhibits lateral inhomogeneities, mainly containing cholesterol and sphingomyelin, which provide liquid-ordered microdomains (lipid "rafts") that segregate membrane components. Rafts are thought to modulate the biological functions of molecules that become associated with them, and as such, they appear to be involved in a variety of processes, including signal transduction, membrane sorting, cell adhesion and pathogen entry. Although still a matter of ongoing debate, evidence in favor of the presence of these microdomains is gradually accumulating but a consensus on issues like their size, lifetime, composition, and biological significance has yet to be reached. Here, we provide an overview of the evidence supporting the presence of rafts in oligodendrocytes, the myelin-producing cells of the central nervous system, and discuss their functional significance. The myelin membrane differs fundamentally from the plasma membrane, both in lipid and protein composition. Moreover, since myelin membranes are unusually enriched in glycosphingolipids, questions concerning the biogenesis and functional relevance of microdomains thus appear of special interest in oligodendrocytes. The current picture of rafts in oligodendrocytes is mainly based on detergent methods. The robustness of such data is discussed and alternative methods that may provide complementary data are indicated.

Diffusion of sphingomyelin and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein in the membrane of OLN-93 oligodendroglial cells studied by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Evidence has been accumulated that the plasma membrane of various mammalian cell types is heterogeneous in structure and may contain lipid microdomains (lipid rafts). This study focuses on the membrane organization of living oligodendrocytes, which are the myelin-producing cells of the central nervous system. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) was used to monitor the lateral diffusion of a lipid and of a protein in the oligodendroglial cell line OLN-93. The lipid was fluorescently labelled sphingomyelin (Bodipy FL-C5 SM). The protein was the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). In order to monitor the lateral diffusion of MOG, OLN-93 cells were transfected with a MOG-EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein) fusion plasmid. The measurements were performed at room temperature. FCS data were analyzed for two-dimensional (2D) diffusion according to three models which all included a triplet fraction: (a) 2D 1 component (2D1C), (b) 2D anomalous diffusion (2D1Calpha), and (c) 2D 2 components (2D2C). Preliminary results indicate that for the lipid case, the best fits are obtained with 2D2C. In the case of MOG-EGFP, 2D2C and 2D1Calpha give fits of similar quality. The parameter estimates obtained with 2D1Calpha, however, have a lower standard deviation. The anomaly parameter for MOG-EGFP is 0.59+/-0.01.

Chronic L-arginine supplementation improves endothelial cell vasoactive functions in hypercholesterolemic and atherosclerotic monkeys

Chronic exposure to L-arginine results in regression of atherosclerotic lesions and reversal of endothelial dysfunction. We investigated whether chronic L-arginine supplementation induces regression of atherosclerotic lesions and reversal of endothelial dysfunction in atherogenic rhesus monkeys and the mechanism which leads to these effects. About 12 male rhesus monkeys were fed 1% cholesterol and 18 g butter for 6 months to create an experimental model of hypercholesterolaemia and atherosclerosis (Group I) and 12 monkeys were fed standard stock diet for 6 months (Group II). After, 6 months these two groups were further divided into 2 sub-groups which in addition to their respective diets were fed 2.5% L-arginine in drinking water for additional 6 months (Group III and Group IV). Systemic nitric oxide (NO) formation was assessed as plasma nitrite and cGMP formation every 3 months. Oxygen free radical (OFR) generation and malondialdehyde production as an index of lipid peroxidation were determined. Changes in isometric tension were compared in isolated ring segments of thoracic aorta from normal and hypercholesterolemic animals. Cholesterol feeding progressively reduced plasma nitrite and cGMP generation (p < 0.05). Dietary L-arginine partly restored the levels of plasma nitrite and cGMP (p < 0.05) but did not change plasma cholesterol levels. L-arginine significantly reduced aortic intimal thickening, blocked the production of carotid and coronary intimal plaques and completely preserved endothelium-dependent vasodilator function. Further, L-arginine significantly inhibited generation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and lipid peroxidation. Chronic oral supplementation with L-arginine blocks the progression of plaques via restoration of nitric oxide synthase substrate availability and reduction of vascular oxidative stress.

Impedance Analysis of Phosphatidylcholine/α-Tocopherol System in Bilayer Lipid Membranes

The effect of alpha-tocopherol on the electrochemical features of the phosphatidylcholine membrane was investigated by impedance spectroscopy. Phosphatidylcholine and alpha-tocopherol were chosen for the study because they are present in biological membranes and they fulfill essential functions in living organisms. The experimental impedance values obtained in the presence of different amounts of alpha-tocopherol showed evidence of domain structures within the bilayer containing less than 0.048 molar fraction of alpha-tocopherol. Based on derived mathematical equations, the surface area of phospholipid/alpha-tocopherol domain was calculated; it amounts to 832 A(2). This value is consistent, taking into consideration ordering and condensation effects of alpha-tocopherol, with the acknowledged, well documented, stoichiometry of such a domain of 10:1. The result of the investigation is the proposal of a new method for the determination of the surface area and description of the stoichiometry of domains formed in any two-component system.

Temperature dependence of the surface topography in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/distearoylphosphatidylcholine multibilayers

Simple lipid binary systems are intensively used to understand the formation of domains in biological membranes. The size of individual domains present in the gel/fluid coexistence region of single supported bilayers, determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), generally exceeds by two to three orders of magnitude that estimated from multibilayers membranes by indirect spectroscopic methods. In this article, the topography of equimolar dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC/DSPC) multibilayers, made of two superimposed bilayers supported on mica surface, was studied by AFM in a temperature range from room temperature to 45 degrees C. In the gel/fluid phase coexistence region the size of domains, between approximately 100 nm and a few micrometers, was of the same order for the first bilayer facing the mica and the top bilayer facing the buffer. The gel to fluid phase separation temperature of the first bilayer, however, could be increased by up to 8 degrees C, most likely as a function of the buffer layer thickness that separated it from the mica. Topography of the top bilayer revealed the presence of lipids in ripple phase up to 38-40 degrees C. Above this temperature, a pattern characteristic of the coexistence of fluid and gel domains was observed. These data show that difference in the size of lipid domains given by AFM and spectroscopy can hardly be attributed to the use of multibilayers models in spectroscopy experiments. They also provide a direct evidence for metastable ripple phase transformation into a gel/fluid phase separated structure upon heating.

Glycosynapses: microdomains controlling carbohydrate-dependent cell adhesion and signaling

The concept of microdomains in plasma membranes was developed over two decades, following observation of polarity of membrane based on clustering of specific membrane components. Microdomains involved in carbohydrate-dependent cell adhesion with concurrent signal transduction that affect cellular phenotype are termed "glycosynapse". Three types of glycosynapse have been distinguished: "type 1" having glycosphingolipid associated with signal transducers (small G-proteins, cSrc, Src family kinases) and proteolipids; "type 2" having O-linked mucin-type glycoprotein associated with Src family kinases; and "type 3" having N-linked integrin receptor complexed with tetraspanin and ganglioside. Different cell types are characterized by presence of specific types of glycosynapse or their combinations, whose adhesion induces signal transduction to either facilitate or inhibit signaling. E.g., signaling through type 3 glycosynapse inhibits cell motility and differentiation. Glycosynapses are distinct from classically-known microdomains termed "caveolae", "caveolar membrane", or more recently "lipid raft", which are not involved in carbohydrate-dependent cell adhesion. Type 1 and type 3 glycosynapses are resistant to cholesterol-binding reagents, whereas structure and function of "caveolar membrane" or "lipid raft" are disrupted by these reagents. Various data indicate a functional role of glycosynapses during differentiation, development, and oncogenic transformation.

Model Systems, Lipid Rafts, and Cell Membranes

Views of how cell membranes are organized are presently changing. The lipid bilayer that constitutes these membranes is no longer understood to be a homogeneous fluid. Instead, lipid assemblies, termed rafts, have been introduced to provide fluid platforms that segregate membrane components and dynamically compartmentalize membranes. These assemblies are thought to be composed mainly of sphingolipids and cholesterol in the outer leaflet, somehow connected to domains of unknown composition in the inner leaflet. Specific classes of proteins are associated with the rafts. This review critically analyzes what is known of phase behavior and liquid-liquid immiscibility in model systems and compares these data with what is known of domain formation in cell membranes.

Lipid rafts: elusive or illusive?

There has been considerable recent interest in the possibility that the plasma membrane contains lipid "rafts," microdomains enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids. It has been suggested that such rafts could play an important role in many cellular processes including signal transduction, membrane trafficking, cytoskeletal organization, and pathogen entry. However, rafts have proven difficult to visualize in living cells. Most of the evidence for their existence and function relies on indirect methods such as detergent extraction, and a number of recent studies have revealed possible problems with these methods. Direct studies of the distribution of raft components in living cells have not yet reached a consensus on the size or even the presence of these microdomains, and hence it seems that a definitive proof of raft existence has yet to be obtained.

Sphingomyelin and cholesterol: from membrane biophysics and rafts to potential medical applications

The preferential sphingomyelin-cholesterol interaction which results from the structure and the molecular properties of these two lipids seems to be the physicochemical basis for the formation and maintenance of cholesterol/sphingolipid-enriched nano- and micro-domains (referred to as membrane "rafts") in the plane of plasma and other organelle (i.e., Golgi) membranes. This claim is supported by much experimental evidence and also by theoretical considerations. However, although there is a large volume of information about these rafts regarding their lipid and protein composition, their size, and their dynamics, there is still much to be clarified on these issues, as well as on how rafts are formed and maintained. It is well accepted now that the lipid phase of the rafts is the liquid ordered (LO) phase. However, other (non-raft) parts of the membrane may also be in the LO phase. There are indications that the raft LO phase domains are more tightly packed than the non-raft LO phase, possibly due to intermolecular hydrogen bonding involving sphingolipid and cholesterol. This also explains why the former are detergent-resistant membranes (DRM), while the non-raft LO phase domains are detergent-soluble (sensitive) membranes (DSM). Recent findings suggest that protein-protein interactions such as cross-linking can be controlled by protein distribution between raft and non-raft domains, and, as well, these interactions affect raft size distribution. The cholesterol/sphingomyelin-enriched rafts seem to be involved in many biological processes, mediated by various receptors, as exemplified by various lipidated glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)- and acyl chain-anchored proteins that reside in the rafts. The rafts serve as signaling platforms in the cell. Various pathogens (viruses and toxins) utilize the raft domains on the host cell membrane as a port of entry, site of assembly (viruses), and port of exit (viral budding). Existence and maintenance of cholesterol-sphingomyelin rafts are dependent on the level of membrane cholesterol and sphingomyelin. This explains why reduction of cholesterol level--either through reverse cholesterol transport, using cholesterol acceptors such as beta-cyclodextrin, or through cholesterol biosynthesis inhibition using statins--interferes with many processes which involve rafts and can be applied to treating raft-related infections and diseases. Detailed elucidation of raft structure and function will improve understanding of biological membrane composition-structure-function relationships and also may serve as a new avenue for the development of novel treatments for major diseases, including viral infections, neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's), atherosclerosis, and tumors.

The state of lipid rafts: from model membranes to cells

Lipid raft microdomains were conceived as part of a mechanism for the intracellular trafficking of lipids and lipid-anchored proteins. The raft hypothesis is based on the behavior of defined lipid mixtures in liposomes and other model membranes. Experiments in these well-characterized systems led to operational definitions for lipid rafts in cell membranes. These definitions, detergent solubility to define components of rafts, and sensitivity to cholesterol deprivation to define raft functions implicated sphingolipid- and cholesterol-rich lipid rafts in many cell functions. Despite extensive work, the basis for raft formation in cell membranes and the size of rafts and their stability are all uncertain. Recent work converges on very small rafts <10 nm in diameter that may enlarge and stabilize when their constituents are cross-linked.

Lipids on the frontier: a century of cell-membrane bilayers

Our present picture of cell membranes as lipid bilayers is the legacy of a century's study that concentrated on the lipids and proteins of cell-surface membranes. Recent work is changing the picture and is turning the snapshot into a video.

Processive interfacial catalytic turnover by Bacillus cereus sphingomyelinase on sphingomyelin vesicles

Sphingomyelinase (SMase), a water-soluble enzyme from Bacillus cereus, is shown to bind with high affinity to vesicles of sphingomyelin (SM) but not to vesicles of phosphatidylcholine (PC). The reaction progress by SMase bound to SM vesicles occurs in the scooting mode with virtually infinite processivity of the successive interfacial turnover cycles. Three conditions for the microscopic steady state during the reaction progress at the interface are satisfied: the bound SMase does not leave the interface even after all the SM in the outer layer is converted to ceramide; the SMase-treated vesicles remain intact; and the ceramide product does not exchange with SM present in excess vesicles or in the inner layer of the hydrolyzed vesicle. Within these constraints, on accessibility and replenishment of the substrate, the extent of hydrolysis in the scooting mode reaction progress is a measure of the number of vesicles containing enzyme. The slope of the Poisson distribution plot, for the enzyme per vesicle versus the logarithm of the fraction of the total accessible substrate remaining unhydrolyzed in excess vesicles, shows that a single 32 kDa subunit of SMase is fully catalytically active. The maximum initial rate of hydrolysis, at the limit of the maximum possible substrate mol fraction, X(S)*=1, is 400 s(-1) in H(2)O and 220 s(-1) in D(2)O, which is consistent with the rate-limiting chemical step. The integrated reaction progress suggests that the ceramide product does not codisperse ideally on the hydrolyzed vesicles. Furthermore, complex reaction progress seen with covesicles of SM+PC are attributed to slow secondary changes in the partially hydrolyzed SM vesicles.

The organizing potential of sphingolipids in intracellular membrane transport

Eukaryotes are characterized by endomembranes that are connected by vesicular transport along secretory and endocytic pathways. The compositional differences between the various cellular membranes are maintained by sorting events, and it has long been believed that sorting is based solely on protein-protein interactions. However, the central sorting station along the secretory pathway is the Golgi apparatus, and this is the site of synthesis of the sphingolipids. Sphingolipids are essential for eukaryotic life, and this review ascribes the sorting power of the Golgi to its capability to act as a distillation apparatus for sphingolipids and cholesterol. As Golgi cisternae mature, ongoing sphingolipid synthesis attracts endoplasmic reticulum-derived cholesterol and drives a fluid-fluid lipid phase separation that segregates sphingolipids and sterols from unsaturated glycerolipids into lateral domains. While sphingolipid domains move forward, unsaturated glycerolipids are retrieved by recycling vesicles budding from the sphingolipid-poor environment. We hypothesize that by this mechanism, the composition of the sphingolipid domains, and the surrounding membrane changes along the cis-trans axis. At the same time the membrane thickens. These features are recognized by a number of membrane proteins that as a consequence of partitioning between domain and environment follow the domains but can enter recycling vesicles at any stage of the pathway. The interplay between protein- and lipid-mediated sorting is discussed.

Vesicle trafficking and cell surface membrane patchiness

Membrane proteins and lipids often appear to be distributed in patches on the cell surface. These patches are often assumed to be membrane domains, arising from specific molecular associations. However, a computer simulation (Gheber and Edidin, 1999) shows that membrane patchiness may result from a combination of vesicle trafficking and dynamic barriers to lateral mobility. The simulation predicts that the steady-state patches of proteins and lipids seen on the cell surface will decay if vesicle trafficking is inhibited. To test this prediction, we compared the apparent sizes and intensities of patches of class I HLA molecules, integral membrane proteins, before and after inhibiting endocytic vesicle traffic from the cell surface, either by incubation in hypertonic medium or by expression of a dominant-negative mutant dynamin. As predicted by the simulation, the apparent sizes of HLA patches increased, whereas their intensities decreased after endocytosis and vesicle trafficking were inhibited.

Domain formation in models of the renal brush border membrane outer leaflet

The plasma membrane outer leaflet plays a key role in determining the existence of rafts and detergent-resistant membrane domains. Monolayers with lipid composition mimicking that of the outer leaflet of renal brush border membranes (BBM) have been deposited on mica and studied by atomic force microscopy. Sphingomyelin (SM) and palmitoyloleoyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC) mixtures, at molar ratios varying from 2:1 to 4:1, were phase-separated into liquid condensed (LC) SM-enriched phase and liquid expanded (LE) POPC-enriched phase. The LC phase accounted for 33 and 58% of the monolayers surface for 2:1 and 4:1 mixtures, respectively. Addition of 20-50 mol % cholesterol (Chl) to the SM/POPC (3:1) mixtures induced marked changes in the topology of monolayers. Whereas Chl promoted the connection between SM domains at 20 mol %, increasing Chl concentration progressively reduced the size of domains and the height differences between the phases. Lateral heterogeneity was, however, still present at 33 mol % Chl. The results indicate that the lipid composition of the outer leaflet is most likely responsible for the BBM thermotropic transition properties. They also strongly suggest that the common maneuver that consists of depleting membrane cholesterol to suppress rafts does not abolish the lateral heterogeneity of BBM membranes.

Segregation of gangliosides GM1 and GD3 on cell membranes, isolated membrane rafts, and defined supported lipid monolayers

Lateral assemblies of sphingolipids, glycosphingolipids and cholesterol, termed rafts, are postulated to be present in biological membranes and to function in important cellular phenomena. We probed whether rafts are heterogeneous by determining the relative distribution of two gangliosides, GM1 and GD3, in artificial supported monolayers, in intact rat primary cerebellar granule neurones, and in membrane rafts isolated from rat cerebellum. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) using fluorophore-labelled cholera toxin B subunit (which binds GM1) and mAb R24 (which binds GD3) revealed that GM1 spontaneously self-associates but does not co-cluster with GD3 in supported monolayers and on intact neurones. Cholera toxin and immunocytochemical labelling of isolated membrane rafts from rat cerebellum further demonstrated that GM1 does not co-localise with GD3. Furthermore, whereas the membrane raft resident proteins Lyn and caveolin both co-localise with GD3 in isolated membrane rafts, GM1 appears in separate and distinct aggregates. These data support prior reports that membrane rafts are heterogeneous, although the mechanisms for establishing and maintaining such heterogeneity remain to be determined.

Temperature dependence of the topology of supported dimirystoyl-distearoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayers

Topology of fluid and gel domains in the supported bilayer two-component system formed from equimolar mixtures of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) was determined by AFM, at various temperatures corresponding to the gel and the gel + fluid region of the phase diagram. The data show that, in the disconnected fluid part of the DMPC/DSPC gel-liquid crystal-phase-separation region, the size of fluid domains markedly exceeds that predicted from spectroscopic experiments or from Monte Carlo simulations. They provide a direct evidence for the transition from the disconnected fluid to the disconnected gel region of the phase diagram, again with gel-phase domains much larger than expected. Finally, images of the gel phase at different temperatures suggest that structural rearrangements of the phospholipids can disrupt the continuity of the supported bilayer.

Psychoactive cannabinoids and membrane signaling

THC-like psychoactive cannabinoids permeate the lipid bilayer of the membrane, altering its physicochemical properties and activating phospholipases. As a result, an increased production of arachidonic acid occurs with its cascade of eicosanoids, including prostaglandins. In addition, THC and its psychoactive derivatives bind within the membrane in a stereospecific fashion, to a transmembrane G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) for which THC has a much higher affinity than the natural ligands, arachidonylethanolamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonyglycerol (2-AG). These natural lipid ligands may be considered signaling molecules which are generated in the membrane lipid bilayer. THC alters the physicochemical disposition of the lipid bilayer and interacts with the integral membrane protein receptors through alteration of the boundary lipid. This effect is distinct from the mechanism resulting from its persistent binding to a G protein coupled transmembrane receptor. THC does not interact directly with neurotransmitter receptors but alters their pharmacological response in an allosteric fashion. It is proposed that the binding of AEA and 2-AG to the G protein coupled transmembrane receptor possesses a physiological function which is to regulate the signaling between boundary lipids and membrane receptors in response to extracellular signals. AEA and 2-AG are eicosanoid signaling molecules which modulate the activity of G protein coupled transmembrane receptors. AEA and 2-AG should not be identified with synthetic ligand molecules dubbed 'endogenous cannabinoids' which are 'xenobiotics' with no physiological regulating function. THC deregulates persistently a basic signaling mechanism of the membrane lipid bilayer and of its integrated receptors with resulting impairment of cellular function of brain, heart and male gonads. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A model for membrane patchiness: lateral diffusion in the presence of barriers and vesicle traffic

Patches (lateral heterogeneities) of cell surface membrane proteins and lipids have been imaged by a number of different microscopy techniques. This patchiness has been taken as evidence for the organization of membranes into domains whose composition differs from the average for the entire membrane. However, the mechanism and specificity of patch formation are not understood. Here we show how vesicle traffic to and from a cell surface membrane can create patches of molecules of the size observed experimentally. Our computer model takes into account lateral diffusion, barriers to lateral diffusion, and vesicle traffic to and from the plasma membrane. Neither barriers nor vesicle traffic alone create and maintain patches. Only the combination of these produces a dynamic but persistent patchiness of membrane proteins and lipids.

Lateral organisation of membrane lipids. The superlattice view

Most biological membranes are extremely complex structures consisting of hundreds or even thousands of different lipid and protein molecules. The prevailing view regarding the organisation of these membranes is based on the fluid-mosaic model proposed by Singer and Nicholson in 1972. According to this model, phospholipids together with some other lipids form a fluid bilayer in which these lipids are diffusing very rapidly laterally. The idea of rapid lateral diffusion implies that, in general, the different lipid species would be randomly distributed in the plain of the membrane. However, there are recent data indicating that the components tend to adopt regular (superlattice-like) distributions in fluid, mixed bilayers. Based on this, a superlattice model of membranes has been proposed. This superlattice model is intriguing because it allows only a limited certain number of 'critical' compositions. These critical compositions could play a key role in the regulation of the lipid compositions of biological membranes. Furthermore, such putative critical compositions could explain how compositionally distinct organelles can exist despite of rapid inter-organelle membrane traffic. In this review, these intriguing predictions are discussed along with the basic principles of the model and the evidence supporting it.

Membrane fluidity characteristics of human lung cancer

Membrane fluidity of non-cultured lung cancer tissue was studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). EPR spectra of a lipophilic spin probe in a tissue of resected tumor samples from 51 patients were compared with computer simulated spectra, which were superimpositions of spectra characterizing membrane domains with different fluidity. The membranes of tumor tissues were more fluid, than those of normal lungs; the most fluid domains were enlarged and their order parameter decreased in comparison to normal tissue. An empirical fluidity parameter (H13) was defined as the criterion to correlate EPR and clinical data. The histology of tumor, the quantitative presence of different tumor and non-tumor cells and the pathohisthological stage of the disease had no significant influence on fluidity.

Structural mosaicism on the submicron scale in the plasma membrane

The lateral mobility of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) was examined using single particle tracking (SPT). Various isoforms of human NCAM, differing in their ectodomain, their membrane anchorage mode, or the size of their cytoplasmic domain, were expressed in National Institutes of Health 3T3 cells and C2C12 muscle cells. On a 6.6-s time scale, SPT measurements on both transmembrane and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored isoforms of NCAM expressed in 3T3 cells could be classified into mobile (Brownian diffusion), slow diffusion, corralled diffusion, and immobile subpopulations. On a 90-s time scale, SPT studies in C2C12 cells revealed that 40-60% of transfected NCAM was mobile, whereas a smaller fraction (approximately 10-30%) experienced much slower diffusion. In addition, a fraction of approximately 30% of both transfected GPI and transmembrane isoforms and endogenous NCAM isoforms in C2C12 cells experienced transient confinement for approximately 8 s within regions of approximately 300-nm diameter. Diffusion within both these and the slow diffusion regions was anomalous, consistent with movements through a dense field of obstacles, whereas diffusion outside these regions was normal. Thus the membrane appears as a mosaic containing regions that permit free diffusion as well as regions in which NCAM is transiently confined to small or more extended domains. These results, including a large, freely diffusing fraction, similar confinement of transmembrane and GPI isoforms, a significant slowly diffusing fraction, and relatively large interdomain distances, are at some variance with the membrane skeleton fence model (Kusumi and Sako, 1996). Possible revisions to the model that incorporate these data are discussed.

Lipid microdomains in cell surface membranes

Lipid microdomains within cell membranes are detected by a variety of experimental techniques, each of which characterizes microdomains on a different time and spatial scale. The sum of the data on lipid microdomains has yet to be integrated into a single model of cell membrane structure. Indeed, one highlight of the past year is a new analysis of experimental results which yields a model of a cell membrane which need not contain any microdomains. Other highlights are an estimate of the number of phospholipid molecules in a membrane microdomain and the detection of domain formation in cell membranes in real time. Some progress has also been made in visualizing lipid microdomains within cell membranes. We still await, however, a new model of membrane structure that integrates all experimental results.

Topography and thermotropic properties of cannabinoids in brain sphingomyelin bilayers

In our previous publications we compared the locations of the biologically active (-)-delta 8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 8-THC) with that of its inactive analog O-methyl-(-)-delta 8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Me-delta 8-THC) in the liquid crystalline phase of partially hydrated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) bilayers (Mavromoustakos et al. (1990) Biophys. Acta 1024, 336-344; Yang et al. (1993) Life Sci. 53, 117-122). delta 8-THC was shown to localize itself preferentially in the vicinity of the membrane interface with its phenolic hydroxyl group anchored near the carbonyl groups of DMPC while the more lipophilic Me-delta 8-THC is located deeper towards the center of the bilayer. In the present publication we studied and compared the topography of the two analogs in the gel phase of brain sphingomyelin bilayers. Again we found that delta 8-THC is located near the membrane interface approximately 15 A from the center of the bilayer while its inactive analog localizes deeper in the bilayer at an average site only 8 A from the center of the membrane bilayer. It thus, appears that both analogs preferentially localize in distinct sites within the membrane bilayer which are independent of the mesomorphic state and the nature of the phospholipid. Our results suggest that in the more complex environment of biological membrane which is composed of different phospholipids and proteins the two analogs are expected to prefer different average locations within the bilayer, a property which may in part explain the observed differences in their biological activities.

Studies on the thermotropic effects of cannabinoids on phosphatidylcholine bilayers using differential scanning calorimetry and small angle X-ray diffraction

We have studied the thermotropic properties of a wide variety of cannabinoids in DPPC bilayers. The molecules under study were divided into four classes: (a) classical cannabinoids possessing a phenolic hydroxyl group; (b) delta9-THC metabolites with an additional hydroxyl group on the C ring; (c) non-classical cannabinoids, and (d) cannabinoids with a protected phenolic hydroxyl group. The results showed that the first three groups have similar effects on the thermotropic properties of DPPC bilayers up to x = 0.05 (molar ratio) and that these effects do not parallel their biological activity. For concentrations less than x = 0.01, cannabinoids affect mainly the pretransition temperature in a progressive manner until its final abolishment. At x = 0.05, they further affect the main phase transition by lowering its phase transition temperature and broadening its half width. At high concentrations the thermograms have multiple components, indicating that membranes are no longer homogeneous but rather consist of different domains. At these concentrations cannabinoids with more hydroxyl groups give simpler thermograms. Low concentrations of cannabinoids in group d affect significantly the pretransition temperature, while high concentrations affect only marginally the main phase transition by slightly lowering its temperature and broadening its half width. These results point out the importance of the phenolic hydroxyl group in inducing membrane perturbations. The d-spacing data from our small angle X-ray diffraction experiments show that delta8-THC produces significant structural changes in the lipid bilayer, including the gel-phase tilting angle, the intermolecular cooperativity and the gauche:trans conformer ratio. Conversely, the inactive analog Me-delta8-THC does not cause drastic changes to the bilayer structure.

Large-scale co-aggregation of fluorescent lipid probes with cell surface proteins

Large scale aggregation of fluorescein-labeled immunoglobulin E (IgE) receptor complexes on the surface of RBL cells results in the co-aggregation of a large fraction of the lipophilic fluorescent probe 3,3'-dihexadecylindocarbocyanine (diI) that labels the plasma membranes much more uniformly in the absence of receptor aggregation. Most of the diI molecules that are localized in patches of aggregated receptors have lost their lateral mobility as determined by fluorescence photobleaching recovery. The diI outside of patches is mobile, and its mobility is similar to that in control cells without receptor aggregates. It is unlikely that the co-aggregation of diI with IgE receptors is due to specific interactions between these components, as two other lipophilic probes of different structures are also observed to redistribute with aggregated IgE receptors, and aggregation of two other cell surface antigens also results in the coredistribution of diI at the RBL cell surface. Quantitative analysis of CCD images of labeled cells reveals some differences in the spatial distributions of co-aggregated diI and IgE receptors. The results indicate that cross-linking of specific cell surface antigens causes a substantial change in the organization of the plasma membrane by redistributing pre-existing membrane domains or causing their formation.