The behavior of the adsorption of cytochrome C on lipid monolayers: A study by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique and theoretical analysis

Effect of Cytochrome C on the Conductance of Asolectin Membranes and the Occurrence of Through Pores at Different pHs

The study of the electrical parameters of asolectin bilayer lipid membranes in the presence of cytochrome c (cyt c) at various concentrations showed that an increase in the concentration of cyt c leads to an increase in the membrane conductance and the appearance of through pores. The studied membranes did not contain cardiolipin, which is commonly used in studying the effect of cyt c on membrane permeability. In the presence of cyt c, discrete current fluctuations were recorded. The occurrence of these fluctuations may be associated with the formation of through pores. The diameter of these pores was ~0.8 nm, which is smaller than the size of the cyt c globule (~3 nm). Measurements carried out at pH values from 6.4 to 8.4 showed that the concentration dependence of the membrane conductance increases with increasing pH. To assess the binding of cyt c to the bilayer, we measured the concentration and pH dependences of the difference in surface potentials induced by the unilateral addition of cyt c. The amount of bound cyt c at the same concentrations decreased with increasing pH, which did not correspond to the conductance trend. An analysis of conductance traces leads to the conclusion that an increase in the integral conductance of membranes is associated with an increase in the lifetime of pores. The formation of "long-lived" pores, of which the residence time in the open state is longer than in the closed state, was achieved at various combinations of pHs and cyt c concentrations: the higher the pH, the lower the concentration at which the long-lived pores appeared and, accordingly, a higher conductance was observed. The increase in conductance and the formation of transmembrane pores are not due to the electrostatic interaction between cyt c and the membrane. We hypothesize that an increase in pH leads to a weakening of hydrogen bonds between lipid heads, which allows cyt c molecules to penetrate into the membrane. This disrupts the order of the bilayer and leads to the occurrence of through pores.

1,3 Dialkylated Imidazolium Ionic Liquid Causes Interdigitated Domains in a Phospholipid Membrane

Amphiphilic imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) have proven their efficacy in altering the membrane integrity and dynamics. The present article investigates the phase-separated domains in a 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) membrane induced by 1,3 dialkylated imidazolium IL. Isotherm measurements on DPPC monolayers formed at the air-water interface have shown a decrease in the mean molecular area with the addition of this IL. The positive value of the excess Gibbs free energy of mixing indicates an unfavorable mixing of the IL into the lipid. This leads to IL-induced phase-separated domains in the multilayer of the lipid confirmed by the occurrence of two sets of equidistance peaks in the X-ray reflectivity data. The electron density profile along the surface normal obtained by the swelling method shows the bilayer thickness of the newly formed IL-rich phase to be substantially lower (∼34 Å) than the DPPC phase (∼45.8 Å). This IL-rich phase has been confirmed to be interdigitated, showing an enhanced electron density in the tail region due to the overlapping hydrocarbon chains. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements showed that the incorporation of IL enhances the fluidity of the lipid bilayer. Therefore, the study indicates the formation of an interdigitated phase with a lower order compared to the gel phase in the DPPC membrane supplemented with the IL.

Interaction of cyclotide Kalata B1 protein with model cellular membranes of varied electrostatics

A uni-molecular layer of lipids at air-water interface mimicking one of the leaflets of the cellular membrane provides a simple model to understand the interaction of any foreign molecules with the membrane. Here, the interactions of protein Kalata B1 (KB1) of cyclotide family with the phospholipids 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-rac-(1-glycerol) sodium salt (DPPG), and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-ethylphosphocholine chloride salt (DSEPC) have been investigated. The addition of KB1 induces a change in pressure of the lipid monolayers. The characteristic time of the change in pressure is found to be dependent on the electrostatic nature of the lipid. Even though the protein is weakly surface active, it is capable of modifying the phase behavior and elastic properties of lipid monolayers with differences in their strength and nature making the layers more floppy. The KB1-lipid interaction has been quantified by calculating the excess Gibb's free energy of interaction and the 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) binding studies. The interaction with zwitterionic DPPC and negatively charged DPPG lipids are found to be thermodynamically favorable whereas the protein shows a weaker response to positively charged DSEPC lipid. Therefore, the long ranged electrostatic is the initial driving force for the KB1 to recognize and subsequently attach to a cellular membrane. Thereafter, the hydrophobic region of the protein may penetrate into the hydrophobic core of the membrane via specific amino acid residues.

Unraveling cardiolipin-induced conformational change of cytochrome c through H/D exchange mass spectrometry and quartz crystal microbalance

Cardiolipin (CL), a crucial component in inner mitochondrial membranes, interacts with cytochrome c (cyt c) to form a peroxidase complex for the catalysis of CL oxidation. Such interaction is pivotal to the mitochondrial regulation of apoptosis and is affected by the redox state of cyt c. In the present study, the redox-dependent interaction of cyt c with CL was investigated through amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange coupled with mass spectrometry (HDXMS) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). Ferrous cyt c exhibited a more compact conformation compared with its ferric form, which was supported by the lower number of deuterons accumulated and the greater amplitude reduction on dissipation. Upon association with CL, ferrous cyt c resulted in a moderate increase in deuteration, whereas the ferric form caused a drastic increase of deuteration, which indicated that CL-bound ferric cyt c formed an extended conformation. These results were consistent with those of the frequency (f) − dissipation (D) experiments, which revealed that ferric cyt c yielded greater values of |ΔD/Δf| within the first minute. Further fragmentation analysis based on HDXMS indicated that the effect of CL binding was considerably different on ferric and ferrous cyt c in the C-helix and the Loop 9–24. In ferric cyt c, CL binding affected Met80 and destabilized His18 interaction with heme, which was not observed with ferrous cyt c. An interaction model was proposed to explain the aforementioned results.

The interaction between BSA and DOTAP at the air-buffer interface

In this article, the interaction between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the cationic 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) at the air-buffer interface was investigated at different subphase's pH values (pH = 3, 5 and 10). Surface pressure measurements (π - A) and penetration kinetics process (π - t) were carried out to reveal the interaction mechanism and the dynamical behavior. The data showed that π - A isotherms moved towards larger mean molecular area when the concentration of BSA ([BSA]) increased, the amount of BSA adsorbed onto DOTAP monolayer reached a threshold value at a [BSA] of 5 × 10^-8 M, and BSA desorbed from the lipid monolayer as time goes by. The results revealed that the association of BSA with DOTAP at the air-buffer interface was affected by the subphase's pH value. When pH = 10, the interaction mechanism between them was a combination of hydrophobic interaction and electrostatic attraction, so BSA molecules could be well separated and purified from complex mixtures. AFM images demonstrated that pH value and [BSA] could affect the morphology feature of DOTAP monolayer and the adsorption and desorption processes of BSA. So the study provides an important experimental basis and theoretical support for learning the interaction mechanism among biomolecules in separation and purification of biomolecules and biosensor.

Differences in Interactions of Benzoic Acid and Benzoate with Interfaces

The interaction of benzoic acid and benzoate with model membrane systems was characterized to understand the molecular interactions of the two forms of a simple aromatic acid with the components of the membrane. The microemulsion system based on bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) allowed determination of the molecular positioning using 1D NMR and 2D NMR spectroscopic methods. Benzoic acid and benzoate were both found to penetrate the membrane/water interfaces; however, the benzoic acid was able to penetrate much deeper and thus is more readily able to traverse a membrane. The Langmuir monolayer model system, using dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, was used as a generic membrane lipid for a cell. Compression isotherms of monolayers demonstrated a pH dependent interaction with a lipid monolayer and confirming the pH dependent observations shown in the reverse micellar model system. These studies provide an explanation for the antimicrobial activity of benzoic acid while benzoate is inactive. Furthermore, these studies form the framework upon which we are investigating the mode of bacterial uptake of pyrazinoic acid, the active form of pyrazinamide, a front line drug used to combat tuberculosis.