Activation of sphingomyelinase in lipid monolayer is related to interfacial water activity

Beyond the hydrophobic effect: Critical function of water at biological phase boundaries--A hypothesis

Many life-sustaining processes in living cells occur at the membrane-water interface. The pertinent questions that need to be asked are what is the evolutionary reason for biology to choose the membrane-water interface as the site for performing and/or controlling crucial biological reactions and what is the key physical principle that is singular to the membrane-water interface that biology exploits for regulating metabolic processes in cells? In this review, a hypothesis is developed, which espouses that cells control activities of membrane-bound enzymes and receptor activated processes via manipulating the thermodynamic activity of water at the membrane-water interfacial region. In support of this hypothesis, first we establish that the surface pressure of a lipid monolayer is a direct measure of a reduction in the thermodynamic activity of interfacial water. Second, we show that the surface pressure-dependent activation/inactivation of interfacial enzymes is fundamentally related to their dependence on interfacial water activity. We extend this argument to infer that cells might manipulate activities of membrane-associated biological processes via manipulating the activity of interfacial water via localized compression or expansion of the interface. In this paper, we critically analyze literature data on mechano-activation of large pore ion channels in Escherichia coli spheroplasts and G-proteins in reconstituted lipid vesicles, and show that these pressure-induced activation processes are fundamentally and quantitatively related to changes in the thermodynamic state of interfacial water, caused by mechanical stretching of the bilayer.

Water-binding phospholipid nanodomains and phase-separated diacylglycerol nanodomains regulate enzyme reactions in lipid monolayers

Phospholipid 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) nanodomains covered with bound water as well as diacylglycerol 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycerol (POG) nanodomains separated from a lipid membrane were studied, using monolayer surfaces of POPC hydrolyzed by phospholipase C (PLC). The investigation was based on the analysis of compression isotherms and on atomic force microscope (AFM) observations of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films and Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) films. The results included reaction rate constants obtained by kinetic analysis of phosphocholine at surface pressures from 0.1 to 31 mN/m and determined by a luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence method. Monolayer elastic modulus values and fluorescence microscopic images confirmed that hydrolysis by PLC progressed in the intermediate monolayer between a liquid-expanded (L1) film and a liquid-condensed (L2) film at 2-17 mN/m. Furthermore, the intermediate film was confirmed to consist of L1 film and the POPC nanodomains in the L2 state are covered with bound water, conclusions based on the following AFM results: (1) nanodomains in POPC LS films were catalyzed by PLC, (2) POG nanodomains extended out from LB films of mixed POPC/POG 9/1 (mol/mol) monolayers, and (3) POPC LS films were covered with bound water, as indicated by cross-sectional analysis. At the optimal surface pressure of 10 mN/m, when POPC nanodomains (L2), with internal diameters of ∼75 nm, were hydrolyzed by PLC, they shrank down into pockets of the same size as those that appeared with POG. The resulting pocket sizes on LS films were in agreement with POG nanodomain sizes on LB films. This study demonstrated that PLC reacted with POPC nanodomains (L2) dispersed in L1/L2 mixed phase monolayers selectively and that POG nanodomains were phase-separated from the monolayer as hydrolysis proceeded.

Hydration in Lipid Monolayers: Correlation of Water Activity and Surface Pressure

In order to give a physical meaning to each region of the membrane we define the interphase as the region in a lipid membrane corresponding to the polar head groups imbibed in water with net different properties than the hydrocarbon region and the water phase. The interphase region is analyzed under the scope of thermodynamics of surface and solutions based on the definition of Defay-Prigogine of an interphase and the derivation that it has in the understanding of membrane processeses in the context of biological response. In the view of this approach, the complete monolayer is considered as the lipid layer one molecule thick plus the bidimensional solution of the polar head groups inherent to it (the interphase region). Surface water activity appears as a common factor for the interaction of several aqueous soluble and surface active proteins with lipid membranes of different composition. Protein perturbation can be measured by changes in the surface pressure of lipid monolayers at different initial water surface activities. As predicted by solution chemistry, the increase of surface pressure is independent of the particle nature that dissolves. Therefore, membranes give a similar response in terms of the determined surface states given by water activity independent of the protein or peptide.

Water at Biological Phase Boundaries: Its Role in Interfacial Activation of Enzymes and Metabolic Pathways

Many life-sustaining activities in living cells occur at the membrane-water interface. The pertinent questions that we need to ask are, what are the evolutionary reasons in biology for choosing the membrane-water interface as the site for performing and/or controlling crucial biological reactions, and what is the key physical principle that is very singular to the membrane-water interface that biology exploits for regulating metabolic processes in cells? In this chapter, a hypothesis is developed, which espouses that cells control activities of membrane-bound enzymes through manipulation of the thermodynamic activity of water in the lipid-water interfacial region. The hypothesis is based on the fact that the surface pressure of a lipid monolayer is a direct measure of the thermodynamic activity of water at the lipid-water interface. Accordingly, the surface pressure-dependent activation or inactivation of interfacial enzymes is directly related to changes in the thermodynamic activity of interfacial water. Extension of this argument suggests that cells may manipulate conformations (and activities) of membrane-bound enzymes by manipulating the (re)activity of interfacial water at various locations in the membrane by localized compression or expansion of the interface. In this respect, cells may use the membrane-bound hormone receptors, lipid phase transition, and local variations in membrane lipid composition as effectors of local compression and/or expansion of membrane, and thereby local water activity. Several experimental data in the literature will be reexamined in the light of this hypothesis.