Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies of the interaction between glycophorin and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine

Ratiometric analysis using Raman spectroscopy as a powerful predictor of structural properties of fatty acids

Raman spectroscopy has been used extensively for the analysis of biological samples in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo. While important progress has been made towards using this analytical technique in clinical applications, there is a limit to how much chemically specific information can be extracted from a spectrum of a biological sample, which consists of multiple overlapping peaks from a large number of species in any particular sample. In an attempt to elucidate more specific information regarding individual biochemical species, as opposed to very broad assignments by species class, we propose a bottom-up approach beginning with a detailed analysis of pure biochemical components. Here, we demonstrate a simple ratiometric approach applied to fatty acids, a subsection of the lipid class, to allow the key structural features, in particular degree of saturation and chain length, to be predicted. This is proposed as a starting point for allowing more chemically and species-specific information to be elucidated from the highly multiplexed spectrum of multiple overlapping signals found in a real biological sample. The power of simple ratiometric analysis is also demonstrated by comparing the prediction of degree of unsaturation in food oil samples using ratiometric and multivariate analysis techniques which could be used for food oil authentication.

IR spectroscopy analysis of pancreatic lipase-related protein 2 interaction with phospholipids: 2. Discriminative recognition of various micellar systems and characterization of PLRP2-DPPC-bile salt complexes

The interaction of pancreatic lipase-related protein 2 (PLRP2) with various micelles containing phospholipids was investigated using pHstat enzyme activity measurements, differential light scattering, size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and transmission IR spectroscopy. Various micelles of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and lysophosphatidylcholine were prepared with either bile salts (sodium taurodeoxycholate or glycodeoxycholate) or Triton X-100, which are substrate-dispersing agents commonly used for measuring phospholipase activities. PLRP2 displayed a high activity on all phospholipid-bile salt micelles, but was totally inactive on phospholipid-Triton X-100 micelles. These findings clearly differentiate PLRP2 from secreted pancreatic phospholipase A2 which is highly active on both types of micelles. Using an inactive variant of PLRP2, SEC experiments allowed identifying two populations of PLRP2-DPPC-bile salt complexes corresponding to a high molecular weight 1:1 PLRP2-micelle association and to a low molecular weight association of PLRP2 with few monomers of DPPC/bile salts. IR spectroscopy analysis showed how DPPC-bile salt micelles differ from DPPC-Triton X-100 micelles by a higher fluidity of acyl chains and higher hydration/H-bonding of the interfacial carbonyl region. The presence of bile salts allowed observing changes in the IR spectrum of DPPC upon addition of PLRP2 (higher rigidity of acyl chains, dehydration of the interfacial carbonyl region), while no change was observed with Triton X-100. The differences between these surfactants and their impact on substrate recognition by PLRP2 are discussed, as well as the mechanism by which high and low molecular weight PLRP2-DPPC-bile salt complexes may be involved in the overall process of DPPC hydrolysis.

Self-assembled mesoscopic surface domains of fluorocarbon–hydrocarbon diblocks can form at zero surface pressure: tilting of solid-like hydrocarbon moieties compensates for cross-section mismatch with fluorocarbon moieties

Surface domains of C₈F₁₇C₁₆H₃₃ exist at zero surface pressure with solid-like alkyl chains stretched in an all-trans configuration, shown using IRRAS.

Ionic strength and composition govern the elasticity of biological membranes. A study of model DMPC bilayers by force- and transmission IR spectroscopy

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy was used to quantify the ion mixture effect of seawater (SW), particularly the contribution of Mg(2+) and Ca(2+) as dominant divalent cations, on the thermotropic phase behaviour of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-posphocholine (DMPC) bilayers. The changed character of the main transition at 24 °C from sharp to gradual in films and the 1 °C shift of the main transition temperature in dispersions reflect the interactions of lipid headgroups with the ions in SW. Force spectroscopy was used to quantify the nanomechanical hardness of a DMPC supported lipid bilayer (SLB). Considering the electrostatic and ion binding equilibrium contributions while systematically probing the SLB in various salt solutions, we showed that ionic strength had a decisive influence on its nanomechanics. The mechanical hardness of DMPC SLBs in the liquid crystalline phase linearly increases with the increasing fraction of all ion-bound lipids in a series of monovalent salt solutions. It also linearly increases in the gel phase but almost three times faster (the corresponding slopes are 4.9 nN/100 mM and 13.32 nN/100 mM, respectively). We also showed that in the presence of divalent ions (Ca(2+) and Mg(2+)) the bilayer mechanical hardness was unproportionally increased, and that was accompanied with the decrease of Na(+) ion and increase of Cl(-) ion bound lipids. The underlying process is a cooperative and competitive ion binding in both the gel and the liquid crystalline phase. Bilayer hardness thus turned out to be very sensitive to ionic strength as well as to ionic composition of the surrounding medium. In particular, the indicated correlation helped us to emphasize the colligative properties of SW as a naturally occurring complex ion mixture.

Membrane insertion stabilizes the structure of TrwB, the R388 conjugative plasmid coupling protein

TrwB is an integral membrane protein that plays a crucial role in the conjugative process of plasmid R388. We have recently shown [Vecino et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1798(11), 2160-2169 (2010)] that TrwB can be reconstituted into liposomes, and that bilayer incorporation increases its affinity for nucleotides and its specificity for ATP. In the present contribution we examine the structural effects of membrane insertion on TrwB, by comparing the protein in reconstituted form and in the form of protein/lipid/detergent mixed micelles. TrwB was reconstituted in PE:PG:CL (76.3:19.6:4.1mol ratio) with a final 99:1 lipid:protein mol ratio. This lipid mixture is intended to mimic the bacterial inner membrane composition, and allows a more efficient reconstitution than other lipid mixtures tested. The studies have been carried out mainly using infrared spectroscopy, because this technique provides simultaneously information on both the lipid and protein membrane components. Membrane reconstitution of TrwB is accompanied by a decrease in β-sheet contents and an increase in β-strand structures, probably related to protein-protein contacts in the bilayer. The predominant α-helical component remains unchanged. The bilayer-embedded protein becomes thermally more stable, and also more resistant to trypsin digestion. The properties of the bilayer lipids are also modified in the presence of TrwB, the phospholipid acyl chains are slightly ordered, and the phosphate groups at the interface become more accessible to water. In addition, we observe that the protein thermal denaturation affects the lipid thermal transition profile.

Melatonin strongly interacts with zwitterionic model membranes—evidence from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry

Interactions of melatonin with zwitterionic dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) multilamellar liposomes (MLVs) were investigated as a function of temperature and melatonin concentration (1-30 mol%) by using two noninvasive techniques, namely Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The investigation of the C-H, CO, and PO2- antisymmetric double stretching modes in FTIR spectra and DSC studies reveal that melatonin changes the physical properties of the DPPC bilayers by decreasing the main phase transition temperature, abolishing the pretransition, ordering the system in the gel phase, and increasing the dynamics of the system both in the gel and liquid crystalline phases. It also causes significant decrease in the wavenumber for the CO stretching and PO2- antisymmetric double bond stretching bands, which indicates strong hydrogen bonding The results imply that melatonin locates in the interfacial region of the membrane. Furthermore, in the DSC curve, more than one signal is observed at high melatonin concentrations (24 and 30 mol%), which indicates melatonin-induced phase separation in DPPC membranes.

Competitive effect of vitamin D2 and Ca2+ on phospholipid model membranes: an FTIR study

The interaction of Ca(2+), with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) model membranes was studied in the presence and absence of vitamin D(2) by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Addition of vitamin D(2) and/or Ca(2+) into pure DPPC liposomes shifts the phase transition to higher temperature, orders and decreases the dynamics of the acyl chains in both phases and does not induce hydrogen bond formation in the interfacial region. Moreover, the dynamics of the head group of the phospholipid decreases in both phases. The addition of vitamin D(2) into DPPC liposomes containing Ca(2+), decreases the effect of Ca(2+) at all the functional groups under investigation. Similarly, the effect of vitamin D(2) also decreases in the presence of Ca(2+). This behavior is dominant at high Ca(2+) concentrations. Our results show how simultaneous presence of vitamin D(2) and Ca(2+) alter the behavior of each other, which is reflected as a decrease in the interactions between the ions and vitamin D(2) within the membrane.

Membrane dynamics as seen by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in a cyanobacterium, Synechocystis PCC 6803. The effects of lipid unsaturation and the protein-to-lipid ratio

The roles of lipid unsaturation and lipid-protein interactions in maintaining the physiologically required membrane dynamics were investigated in a cyanobacterium strain, Synechocystis PCC 6803. The specific effects of lipid unsaturation on the membrane structure were addressed by the use of desaturase-deficient (desA(-)/desD(-)) mutant cells (which contain only oleic acid as unsaturated fatty acid species) of Synechocystis PCC 6803. The dynamic properties of the membranes were determined from the temperature dependence of the symmetric CH(2) stretching vibration frequency, which is indicative of the lipid fatty acyl chain disorder. It was found that a similar membrane dynamics is maintained at any growth temperature, in both the wild-type and the mutant cell membranes, with the exception of mutant cells grown at the lower physiological temperature limit. It seems that in the physiological temperature range the desaturase system of the cells can modulate the level of lipid desaturation sufficiently to maintain similar membrane dynamics. Below the range of normal growth temperatures, however, the extent of lipid disorder was always higher in the thylakoid than in the cytoplasmic membranes prepared from the same cells. This difference was attributed to the considerable difference in protein-to-lipid ratio in the two kinds of membranes, as determined from the ratio of the intensities of the protein amide I band and the lipid ester C&z.dbnd6;O vibration. The contributions to the membrane dynamics of an ab ovo present 'structural' lipid disorder due to the protein-lipid interactions and of a thermally induced 'dynamic' lipid disorder could be distinguished.

Infrared studies of protein-induced perturbation of lipids in lipoproteins and membranes

The paper reviews the main recent publications concerning infrared (IR) spectroscopy as applied to the study of lipid-protein interactions in model and cell membranes, lipoproteins, and related systems (e.g. lung surfactant). The review focuses mainly on transmission IR. Based on the available data, a number of general conclusions are presented on the perturbations caused by proteins on either the hydrocarbon chains, the polar headgroups or the interface region. Lipid-protein interactions in native cell membranes do not reveal significant differences from what is observed in semisynthetic model systems.

Effects of distearoylphosphatidylglycerol and lysozyme on the structure of the monoolein-water cubic phase: X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering studies

X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering spectroscopy have been used to study phase transitions and changes in molecular organization of the cubic Pn3m monoolein (MO)-H2O phase upon introducing low amounts of distearoylphosphatidylglycerol (DSPG) and lysozyme (LSZ). X-ray diffraction measurements indicated a phase transition Pn3m-Im3m brought about by DSPG and LSZ, however DSPG also induced formation of the lamellar phase. Raman spectra have demonstrated that incorporation of DSPG into the lipid bilayer decreases the mobility of acyl chains and increases the number of hydrogen-bonded C=O groups of MO. On the other hand, LSZ exerts identical effect on the latter parameter, while no effect on the state of acyl chains order was observed. This result and differential scanning calorimetric measurements indicate that LSZ is located in the water channel system of the cubic phase. The results are discussed on the basis of an infinite periodical lipid bilayer structure and lipid parameter concepts.

Infrared reflection-absorption of melittin interaction with phospholipid monolayers at the air/water interface

The interaction of melittin with monolayers of 1,2-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and 1,2-dipalmitoylphosphatidylserine has been investigated with infrared external reflection-absorption spectroscopy. Improved instrumentation permits determination of acyl chain conformation and peptide secondary structure in situ at the air/water interface. The IR frequency of the 1,2-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine antisymmetric acyl chain CH2 stretching vibration decreases by 1.3 cm-1 upon melittin insertion, consistent with acyl chain ordering, whereas the same vibrational mode increases by 0.5 cm-1 upon peptide interaction with the 1,2-dipalmitoylphosphatidylserine monolayer, indicative of chain disordering. Thus the peptide interacts quite differently with zwitterionic compared with negatively charged monolayer surfaces. Melittin in the monolayer adopted a secondary structure with an amide l(l') frequency (1635 cm-1) dramatically different from the alpha-helical motif (amide l frequency 1656 cm-1 in a dry or H2O hydrated environment, amide l' frequency 1645 cm-1 in an H-->D exchanged alpha-helix) assumed in bilayer or multibilayer environments. This work represents the first direct in situ spectroscopic indication that peptide secondary structure in lipid monolayers may differ from that in bilayers.

An infrared investigation of palmitoyl-coenzyme A and palmitoylcarnitine interaction with perdeuterated-chain phospholipid bilayers

Mixtures of di-(perdeuteropalmitoyl)-sn-glycero-3 choline ([2H62]Pam2GroPCho) with palmitoylcarnitine or palmitoyl-CoA in aqueous suspension have been examined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The C-H (or C-D) region of the spectrum shows that an order-disorder transition exists in pure aqueous palmitoylcarnitine at 45 degrees C; palmitoylcarnitine mixes with [2H62]Pam2GroPCho without perturbing the gel-fluid transition of the phospholipid even at [2H62]Pam2GroPCho/palmitoylcarnitine 1:2 molar ratios; and palmitoyl-CoA, however, at similar proportions, smears out the [2H62]Pam2GroPCho transition as detected from C-D stretching vibrations. Relevant data from the carbonyl region include; the high-frequency (non-hydrogen bound) carbonyl subpopulation, but not the low frequency one, detects the gel-to-fluid transition of the phospholipid; the carbonyl region detects the thermotropic transition over a wider temperature range than the methylene stretching region, i.e. detects changes starting well below and ending several degrees above the methylene transition temperature, and a significant interaction may occur between some coenzyme A group and the carbonyl groups of the phospholipid. The latter interaction may contribute to explain the coenzyme A/carnitine exchange during mitochondrial fatty acid import.

Poly(ethylene glycol)-induced and temperature-dependent phase separation in fluid binary phospholipid membranes

Exclusion of the strongly hygroscopic polymer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), from the surface of phosphatidylcholine liposomes results in an osmotic imbalance between the hydration layer of the liposome surface and the bulk polymer solution, thus causing a partial dehydration of the phospholipid polar headgroups. PEG (average molecular weight of 6000 and in concentrations ranging from 5 to 20%, w/w) was added to the outside of large unilamellar liposomes (LUVs). This leads to, in addition to the dehydration of the outer monolayer, an osmotically driven water outflow and shrinkage of liposomes. Under these conditions phase separation of the fluorescent lipid 1-palmitoyl-2[6-(pyren-1-yl)]decanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PPDPC) embedded in various phosphatidylcholine matrices was observed, evident as an increase in the excimer-to-monomer fluorescence intensity ratio (IE/IM). Enhanced segregation of the fluorescent lipid was seen upon increasing and equal concentrations of PEG both inside and outside of the LUVs, revealing that osmotic gradient across the membrane is not required, and phase separation results from the dehydration of the lipid. Importantly, phase separation of PPDPC could be induced by PEG also in binary mixtures with 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC), 1-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (SOPC), and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), for which temperature-induced phase segregation of the fluorescent lipid below Tm was otherwise not achieved. In the different lipid matrices the segregation of PPDPC caused by PEG was abolished above characteristic temperatures T0 well above their respective main phase transition temperatures Tm. For 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), DMPC, SOPC, and POPC, T0 was observed at approximately 50, 32, 24, and 20 degrees C, respectively. Notably, the observed phase separation of PPDPC cannot be accounted for the 1 degree C increase in Tm for DMPC or for the increase by 0.5 degrees C for DPPC observed in the presence of 20% (w/w) PEG. At a given PEG concentration maximal increase in IE/IM (correlating to the extent of segregation of PPDPC in the different lipid matrices) decreased in the sequence 1,2-dihexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DHPC) > DPPC > DMPC > SOPC > POPC, whereas no evidence for phase separation in 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) LUV was observed (Lehtonen and Kinnunen, 1994, Biophys. J. 66: 1981-1990). Our results indicate that PEG-induced dehydration of liposomal membranes provides the driving force for the segregation of the pyrene lipid. In brief, phase separation of PPDPC from the matrix lipid could be attributed to the diminishing effective size of the phosphatidylcholine polar headgroup resulting from its partial dehydration by PEG. This in turn would allow for enhanced van der Waals interactions between the acyl chains of the matrix lipid, which then caused the exclusion of PPDPC due to the perturbing bulky pyrene moiety. Phase separation in DMPC/PPDPC liposomes was abolished by the inclusion of 25 mol % cholesterol and to a lesser extent by epicholesterol.

FTIR study of lamellar and reversed micellar phases in the mono-oleoylglycerol/water system

The lamellar liquid crystalline (L alpha) and the reversed micellar (L2) phases of mono-oleoylglycerol (MO) in water were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. From polarized infrared spectra of aligned bilayers of MO/water, order parameters (S) were determined for vibrational modes in the hydrocarbon chain region (symmetric CH2 stretch and olefinic CH=CH stretch) and the aggregate surface region (C=O stretch and asymmetric CO-O-C stretch). The phase transition between L alpha and L2 (10 wt% water) occurs in the temperature range 43-46 degrees C. Already at about 32 degrees C the LD value for the C-OH stretching vibration has decreased to 50% of its value at 25 degrees C. A similar relative decrease in LD is obtained for the C=O stretch and the asymmetric CO-O-C stretch at about 38 degrees C and for the CH=CH stretch at about 43 degrees C. It is concluded that the molecular ordering in the region of the aggregate surface starts to decrease at a lower temperature than for the acyl chain region. Infrared spectra show a significant decrease in the conformational order of the hydrocarbon chains at the L alpha/L2 phase transition.

An electron spin resonance study of interactions between gramicidin A' and phosphatidylcholine bilayers

The model of microscopic order and macroscopic disorder was used to stimulate electron spin resonance spectra of spin-labeled lipids, 5-PC, 10-PC, and 16-PC in multilamellar vesicles of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) containing gramicidin A' (GA) at temperatures above the gel-to-liquid crystal transition of DPPC. The simulations show that at a lower concentration of GA (i.e., molar ratios of DPPC/GA greater than 3), GA has only a slight effect on the acyl chain dynamics. The rotational diffusion rate around the axis parallel to the long hydrocarbon chain remains unchanged or increases slightly, while the rate around the perpendicular axes decreases slightly. These spectra from DPPC/GA mixtures could only be fit successfully with two or more components consistent with the well-known concept of "boundary lipids," that is, the peptide induces structural inhomogeneity in lipid bilayers. However, the spectra were significantly better fit with additional components that exhibit increased local ordering, implying decreased amplitude of rotational motion, rather than immobilized components with sharply a reduced rotational rate. The largest relative effects occur at the end of the acyl chains, where the average local order parameter St of 16-PC increases from 0.06 for pure lipid to 0.66 for 1:1 DPPC/GA. The inhomogeneity in ordering in DPPC bilayers due to GA decreases with increasing temperature. The hyperfine tensor component Azz increases for 10-PC and 16-PC when GA is incorporated into DPPC bilayers, indicating that water has deeply penetrated into the DPPC bilayers. Simulations of published electron spin resonance spectra of 14-PC in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/cytochrome oxidase complexes were also better fit by additional components that were more ordered, rather than immobilized. The average local order parameter in this case is found to increase from 0.11 for pure dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine to 0.61 for a lipid/protein ratio of 50. These spectra and their simulations are similar to the results obtained with 16-PC in the DPPC/GA mixtures. The relevance to studies of lipid-protein interactions for other proteins is briefly discussed.

Evidence that oleic acid exists in a separate phase within stratum corneum lipids

Oleic acid is known to be a penetration enhancer for polar to moderately polar molecules. A mechanism related to lipid phase separation has been previously proposed by this laboratory to explain the increases in skin transport. In the studies presented here, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was utilized to investigate whether or not oleic acid exists in a separate phase within stratum corneum (SC) lipids. Per-deuterated oleic acid was employed allowing the conformational phase behavior of the exogenously added fatty acid and the endogenous SC lipids to be monitored independently of each other. The results indicated that oleic acid exerts a significant effect on the SC lipids, lowering the lipid transition temperature (Tm) in addition to increasing the conformational freedom or flexibility of the endogenous lipid alkyl chains above their Tm. At temperatures lower than Tm, however, oleic acid did not significantly change the chain disorder of the SC lipids. Similar results were obtained with lipids isolated from the SC by chloroform:methanol extraction. Oleic acid, itself, was almost fully disordered at temperatures both above and below the endogenous lipid Tm in the intact SC and extracted lipid samples. This finding suggested that oleic acid does exist as a liquid within the SC lipids. The coexistence of fluid oleic acid and ordered SC lipids, at physiological temperatures, is consistent with the previously proposed phase-separation transport mechanism for enhanced diffusion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Phospholipid phase transitions in model and biological membranes as studied by infrared spectroscopy

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is an extremely powerful yet non-perturbing physical technique for monitoring the conformation and dynamics of all portions of the phospholipid molecule. In this brief review we summarize some recent FT-IR spectroscopic studies of phospholipid phase transitions in model lipid bilayer and in biological membranes which illustrate the great utility of this technique. We show that FT-IR spectroscopy can accurately monitor the gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition and can provide a large amount of detailed information about phospholipid structure and organization in both the gel and liquid-crystalline states of lipid bilayers.

Monte Carlo simulation studies of lipid order parameter profiles near integral membrane proteins

Monte Carlo simulation techniques have been applied to a statistical mechanical lattice model in order to study the coherence length for the spatial fluctuations of the lipid order parameter profiles around integral membrane proteins in dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayers. The model, which provides a detailed description of the pure lipid bilayer main transition, incorporates hydrophobic matching between the lipid and protein hydrophobic thicknesses as a major contribution to the lipid-protein interactions in lipid membranes. The model is studied at low protein-to-lipid ratios. The temperature dependence of the coherence length is found to have a dramatic peak at the phase transition temperature. The dependence on protein circumference as well as hydrophobic length is determined and it is concluded that in some cases the coherence length is much longer than previously anticipated. The long coherence length provides a mechanism for indirect lipid-mediated protein-protein long-range attraction and hence plays an important role in regulating protein segregation.

Infrared spectroscopic study of ethanol-induced changes in rat liver plasma membrane

Vibrational infrared spectroscopy, a noninvasive method for probing the structural and dynamic properties of biological membranes, is used to characterize the in vivo and in vitro perturbations of ethanol on various liver plasma membrane preparations derived from alcohol-treated rats. Spectral frequency shifts of the bilayer lipid chain methylene carbon-hydrogen symmetric stretching modes indicate that the adaptive response of the liver plasma membranes of the alcohol-treated animals results in an increase in membrane order on the vibrational time scale. Additional in vitro ethanol treatment of these membrane preparations leads to further significant increases in bilayer order. The observed membrane ordering effects are consistent with a bilayer model of partial interdigitation, or chain overlap, of the opposing membrane monolayers near the bilayer center.

The effect of loperamide on the thermal behavior of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine large unilamellar vesicles

The effect of loperamide, a drug belonging to the opiate family, on dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine large unilamellar vesicles (DMPC LUV) was investigated by quasielastic light scattering (QLS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Both techniques show that, in the presence of loperamide, DMPC LUV undergoes a two step transition in cooling: one step around the transition point of pure lipid vesicles, the other at a lower temperature. The temperature of the latter step transition is different for the head and tail regions of the drug-containing vesicles: FT-IR spectra demonstrate that the hydrophobic acyl chains transition starts at a temperature well above that of the interfacial region whereas the transition of the entire vesicle, explored by QLS, is broad and covers both temperature ranges. These transitions are thermally reversible in the FT-IR which measures local order but aggregation effects prevent the thermal reversibility of the QLS results. The nature of the drug-lipid interaction is also discussed.

Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared studies of the interaction of melittin, two fragments of melittin, and delta-hemolysin with phosphatidylcholines

Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) has been used to monitor alterations in phospholipid organization in thin layers of 1,2-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC), induced by the membrane lytic peptide melittin, its fragments 1-15 (hydrophobic fragment) and 16-26 (hydrophilic fragment), and delta-hemolysin. In addition, the secondary structures of the peptides and the orientation of helical fragments were determined with respect to the bilayer. The insertion of melittin into POPC caused large perturbations in the order and increased rates of motion of the acyl chains, as monitored by the frequency and half-width of the symmetric CH2 stretching vibration near 2850 cm-1, as well as by the ATR dichroic ratio for this mode. Changes in DPPC organization were less and were consistent with peptide-induced static disordering (gauche rotamer formation) in the acyl chains. Melittin adopted primarily an alpha-helical secondary structure, although varying small proportions of beta and/or aggregated forms were noted. The helical segments were preferentially oriented perpendicular to the bilayer plane. Several modes of melittin/lipid interaction were considered in an attempt to semiquantitatively understand the observed dichroic ratios. By considering the peptide as a bent rigid rod, a plausible model for its lytic properties has been developed. The hydrophilic fragment in DPPC showed a secondary structure with little alpha-helix present. As judged by its effect on phospholipid acyl chain organizational parameters, the fragment did not penetrate the bilayer substantially. The hydrophobic fragment in DPPC gave amide I spectral patterns consistent with a mixture of predominantly beta-antiparallel pleated sheet with a smaller fraction of alpha-helix.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The influence of lipid composition and lectin-glycophorin interaction on the rotational diffusion of glycophorin in vesicles, as measured by time-resolved phosphorescence depolarization

The rotational mobility of glycophorin in various lipid vesicles was studied, using time-resolved measurements of the depolarization of laser flash excited phosphorescence of glycophorin labelled with the triplet probe erythrosin. With the exception of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine at the phase transition no phosphorescence depolarization decays were observed in the 1-300 microseconds time interval following the laser flash. Instead, a constant anisotropy level was observed, with two distinct values depending on the experimental system. In liquid-crystalline bilayers of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine, bovine brain phosphatidylserine and dimyristolyphosphatidylcholine, the anisotropy was 0.01. This was increased to 0.03 upon addition of wheat germ agglutinin which aggregates glycophorin. In the case of gel state dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and liquid-crystalline dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine the anisotropy also amounted to 0.03. Experiments with glycerol to vary the viscosity of the medium, and theoretical considerations, exclude the possibility that these different anisotropy levels are related to differences in motional properties of the entire protein/lipid vesicles. These results strongly suggest that the anisotropy level of 0.03 corresponds to slowly rotating glycophorin (rotational relaxation time greater than 0.3 ms) while the anisotropy level of 0.01 corresponds to fast rotating glycophorin (rotational correlation time less than 1 microseconds). The difference in glycophorin mobility is discussed in terms of aggregation state of the protein, lipid composition of the vesicle bilayer and membrane viscosity. The observed differences in rotational mobility of glycophorin in glycophorin/dioleoylphosphatidylcholine vesicles, glycophorin/bovine heart phosphatidylserine vesicles as compared to glycophorin/dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine vesicles are not in quantitative agreement with the relative size of the intramembrane particles in these systems as revealed by freeze-fracture electron microscopy.

Phase behavior of membranes reconstituted from dipentadecanoylphosphatidylcholine and the Mg2+-dependent, Ca2+-stimulated adenosinetriphosphatase of sarcoplasmic reticulum: evidence for a disrupted lipid domain surrounding protein

A new method was used for reconstituting active sodium deoxycholate solubilized Ca2+-ATPase of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. Removal of the detergent by dialysis at the pretransition temperature of the pure lipid (22 degrees C) favored the formation of sheet-like structures with a lipid and protein content close to that of the detergent-solubilized sample. Freeze-fracture electron micrographs revealed the Ca2+-ATPase to be organized in rows corresponding to the typical banded pattern seen in low-temperature freeze-fracture micrographs of pure lipid bilayers. Incubation of the sheetlike structures at a temperature (38 degrees C) above the pure lipid main phase transition (33.5 degrees C) caused closure of the sheets into vesicles displaying homogeneous intramembranous particle distributions, at least for membranes containing less than 150 lipids per Ca2+-ATPase. However, in membranes of higher lipid content, free lipid patches were seen both above and below the lipid phase transition. By use of high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry, three classes of excess heat capacity peaks were observed in the vesiculated samples. A broadened "free lipid" peak occurred for samples containing between 550 and 200 lipids per protein (Tm = 33.5 degrees C, as for the order-disorder transition in pure lipid vesicles). Between 200 and 150 lipids per Ca2+-ATPase, a broad shoulder became apparent in the range of 29-32 degrees C. Below 150 lipids per Ca2+-ATPase, a peak at 26-28 degrees C became increasingly prominent with lower lipid content. At a lipid to protein ratio of about 30, no peaks in heat capacity were observed. The temperature dependence of diphenylhexatriene fluorescence anisotropy revealed a similar pattern of membrane phase behavior, except that a phase transition was detected at 33.5 degrees C in all membranes studied. On the basis of these observations, we propose that the Ca2+-ATPase is surrounded by a "lipid annulus" of motionally inhibited lipid molecules that do not contribute to a calorimetrically detectable phase transition. Beyond the annulus, "secondary domains" of disrupted lipid packing account for the peak at 26-28 degrees C and the 29-32 degrees C shoulders. At high lipid to protein ratios, the secondary domains coexist with protein-free, lipid-bilayer patches, which account for the peak at 33.5 degrees C.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies of lipid-protein interaction in native and reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been used to monitor lipid-protein interaction and protein secondary structure in native and reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. Studies of the temperature dependence of the CH2 symmetric stretching frequency reveal no cooperative phase transitions in purified sarcoplasmic reticulum or in vesicles reconstituted with dioleoylphosphatidylcholine, although a continuous introduction of disorder into the lipid acyl chains is observed as the temperature is raised. In addition, temperature-dependent changes are observed in the Amide I and Amide II vibrations arising from protein peptide bonds. A comparison of lipid order in native sarcoplasmic reticulum and its lipid extract showed that the introduction of protein is accompanied by a slight increase in lipid order. Reconstitution of Ca2+-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (lipid/protein ratio 30:1), reveals a perturbed lipid melting event broadened and reduced in midpoint temperature from multilamellar lipid vesicles. The onset of melting (27-28 degrees C) correlates well with the onset of ATPase activity and confirms a suggestion (Hesketh, T.R., Smith, G.A., Houslay, M.D., McGill, K.A., Birdsall, N.J.M., Metcalfe, J.C. and Warren, G.B. (1976) Biochemistry 15, 4145-4151) that a liquid crystalline environment is a requirement for optimal protein function. Finally, Ca2+-ATPase has been reconstituted into binary lipid mixtures of DOPC and acyl-chain perdeuterated DPPC. The effect of protein on the structure and melting behavior of each lipid component was monitored. The protein appears to preferentially interact with the DOPC component.

Calorimetric and fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies on the interaction of glycophorin with phosphatidylserine/dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine-d62 mixtures

Glycophorin has been isolated in pure form from human erythrocyte membranes and reconstituted into lipid vesicles composed of binary mixtures of bovine brain phosphatidylserine (PS) and acyl-chain perdeuterated dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC-d62). The effect of protein on lipid melting behavior and order has been monitored with differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The phase diagram for PS/DPPC-d62 is consistent with that previously reported for PS/DPPC (Stewart et al. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 556, 1-16) and indicates that acyl chain perdeuteration does not greatly alter the lipid mixing characteristics. The use of deuterated lipid allows the examination of lipid order by FT-IR of each lipid component in the binary mixtures as well as in the ternary (lipid/lipid/protein) systems. Addition of glycophorin to a 30:70 PS/DPPC-d62 binary lipid mixture results in a preferential glycophorin/PS interaction leading to bulk lipid enriched in DPPC-d62. This is revealed in two ways: first, through cooperative calorimetric transitions increased in temperature from the binary lipid system and second, through FT-IR melting curves of the DPPC-d62 component which shows transitions increased in both onset and completion temperatures in the presence of protein. In addition, non-cooperative melting events are observed at temperatures below the onset of phase separation. The FT-IR data are used to assign these non-cooperative events to the melting of the PS component. For the 50:50 lipid mixture with protein, two transitions are observed in the DSC experiments. The IR results indicate that both lipid components are involved with the lower temperature event.

The influence of lipid composition on glycophorin-induced bilayer permeability

Glycophorin was incorporated into large unilamellar vesicles and the bilayer permeability was measured as a function of the lipid composition. In agreement with previous data (Van der Steen, A.T.M., De Kruijff, B. and De Gier, J. (1982) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 691, 13-23) it was found that glycophorin greatly increased the bilayer permeability of DOPC vesicles. This effect was observed for a large variety of phosphatidylcholines, differing in their fatty acid composition and homogeneity. In sharp contrast, it was observed that variations in the polar headgroups by incorporation of DOPE, DOPS and, to a lesser extent, cholesterol, into the DOPC/glycophorin vesicles restored the barrier function. These results are compared to the size of the particles, revealed by freeze-fracture electron microscopy on the glycophorin-containing bilayer and are discussed in the light of various types of lipid-protein interactions and protein aggregation state.

Interaction of glycophorin with phosphatidylserine: a Fourier transform infrared investigation

Glycophorin, from the human erythrocyte membrane, has been isolated in pure form and reconstituted into unilamellar vesicles with bovine brain phosphatidylserine (PS). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been used to monitor the protein conformation as well as the effect of protein on lipid order and melting. Glycophorin, at levels of 1 mol %, nearly abolishes the gel to liquid-crystal phase transition seen in pure PS vesicles between 8 and 16 degrees C by inducing significant disorder into the lipid gel phase. A transition of reduced magnitude remains between 14 and 22 degrees C in the lipid/protein complexes. Evidence is presented for specific interaction of glycophorin with the interfacial region of PS. In general, the effects on lipid melting produced by protein at the 1 mol % level are more pronounced than those noted in a previous study of glycophorin/phosphatidylcholine interactions [ Mendelsohn , R., Dluhy , R. A., Taraschi , T., Cameron, D., & Mantsch , H.H. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 6699-6706]. Two bands are observed for the protein amide I (C = O stretching) mode. A main feature at 1653 cm-1 indicates that the bulk of the secondary structure is random coil or alpha-helical. A weaker shoulder at 1675 cm-1 suggests the occurrence of a small proportion of the beta-sheet form. The results confirm circular dichroism studies of Schulte & Marchesi (1979) [ Schulte , T.H., & Marchesi , V.T. (1979) Biochemistry 18, 275-280]. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) studies of a ternary complex of PS/dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine- d62 (DPPC- d62 )/glycophorin indicate that the glycophorin preferentially interacts with the PS component.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Incorporation of the human erythrocyte sialoglycoprotein into recombined membranes containing cholesterol

Glycophorin, the major sialoglycoprotein from the human erythrocyte membrane, has been isolated and recombined with phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. Sucrose density gradient analysis of the recombinants shows that it is possible not only to recombine this protein with phospholipid, but also with phospholipid-cholesterol mixtures. Surprisingly, by the same analysis, it was possible to make a recombinant with cholesterol and glycophorin, only, in the absence of added phospholipid. The accessibility of the protein to trypsin was ested in each of these recombinants. In all the recombinants which contained either phospholipid, or phospholipid and cholesterol, the protein was protected from extensive hydrolysis. This is consistent with closed vesicles and incorporation of the protein into the recombinant membrane. Extensive hydrolysis of the protein occurred in the cholesterol-glycophorin recombinant indicating some differences in structure. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy of the phospholipid and the phospholipid-cholesterol recombinants showed mostly unilamellar vesicles, 1000 to 5000 A in diameter. Intramembranous particles were observed on both fracture faces, and the fracture planes were those expected for phospholipid bilayers. The glycophorin-cholesterol recombinants also showed fracture planes consistent with bilayers, and revealed intramembranous particles. Pieces of membrane-like structures as well as apparent vesicular structures were observed. Finally in the recombinants of glycophorin with phospholipid and cholesterol, cholesterol is shown to reduce the population of the motionally restricted phospholipid headgroup environment, in proportion to the mole percent cholesterol content.

Ordered and disordered phospholipid domains coexist in membranes containing the calcium pump protein of sarcoplasmic reticulum

Data are presented that lead to an alternative model for the organization and molecular dynamics of lipid molecules near the Ca2+-stimulated, Mg2+-dependent adenosinetriphosphatase (Ca2+-ATPase; ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3) of sarcoplasmic reticulum. Measurements of the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene in progressively delipidated sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes have been quantitatively interpreted in terms of a layer of lipid of high anisotropy (the lipid annulus) coexisting with lipid layers of very low anisotropy. In addition, the Ca2+-ATPase has been reconstituted into pure 1,2-dipentadecanoyl 3-sn-phosphatidylcholine membranes over a range of lipid-to-protein ratios. High-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry has demonstrated that roughly 30 lipid molecules per Ca2+-ATPase molecule (annular lipids) fail to undergo a calorimetrically detectable phase transition in the temperature range 4-44 degrees C. Roughly 100 lipid molecules beyond the annulus undergo a detectable phase transition at a temperature below the phase transition of pure lipid and with an enthalpy change [4.2 kcal/mol (1 kcal = 4.18 kJ)] about half that observed for pure lipid vesicles (7.7-7.8 kcal/mol). We propose that both the fluorometric and calorimetric data are consistent with a model in which a motionally inhibited lipid annulus is surrounded by a more extensive region of disrupted lipid packing order, which we have called the secondary lipid domain.

The effect of an integral membrane protein on lipid polymorphism in the cardiolipin-Ca2+ system

The addition of Ca2+ to aqueous dispersions of cardiolipin triggers complete hexagonal (HII) phase formation at Ca2+/cardiolipin molar ratios greater than or equal to 1.0 as detected by 31PNMR and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Incorporation of the integral membrane protein glycophorin prevents the bilayer leads to hexagonal (HII) phase transition at Ca2+/cardiolipin ratios as high as 15:1. Removal of the outwardly oriented, negatively charged sialic-acid-containing sugar groups of glycophorin with trypsin had little effect on the bilayer-stabilizing capacity of the protein. As the Ca2+ binding was found to be similar in both the cardiolipin and the cardiolipin-glycophorin systems, it can be concluded that the protein exerts a bilayer-stabilizing effect on the cardiolipin. In addition, the possibility that glycophorin may prevent vesicle fusion is also discussed.

Lateral diffusion of gramicidin S, M-13 coat protein and glycophorin in bilayers of saturated phospholipids. Mean field and Monte Carlo studies

We have developed a general model that relates the lateral diffusion coefficient of one isolated large intrinsic molecule (mol. wt. greater than or approximately 1000) in a phosphatidylcholine bilayer to the static lipid hydrocarbon chain order. We have studied how protein lateral diffusion can depend upon protein-lipid interactions but have not investigated possible non-specific contributions from gel-state lattice defects. The model has been used in Monte Carlo simulations or in mean-field approximations to study the lateral diffusion coefficients of Gramicidin S, the M-13 coat protein and glycophorin in dimyristoyl- and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC and DPPC) bilayers as functions of temperature. Our calculated lateral diffusion coefficients for Gramicidin S and the M-13 coat protein are in good agreement with what has been observed and suggest that Gramicidin S is in a dimeric form in DMPC bilayers. In the case of glycophorin we find that the 'ice breaker' effect can be understood as a consequence of perturbation of the lipid polar region around the protein. In order to understand this effect is necessary that the protein hydrophilic section perturb the polar regions of at least approx. 24 lipid molecules, in good agreement with the numbers of 29-30 measured using 31P-NMR. Because of lipid-lipid interactions this effect extends itself out to four or five lipid layers away from the protein so that the hydrocarbon chains of between approx. 74 and approx. 108 lipid molecules are more disordered in the gel phase, so contributing less to the transition enthalpy, in agreement with the numbers of 80-100 deduced from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). An understanding of the abrupt change in the diffusion coefficient at a temperature below the main bilayer transition temperature requires an additional mechanism. We propose that this change may be a consequence of a 'coupling-uncoupling' transition involving the protein hydrophilic section and the lipid polar regions, which may be triggered by the lipid bilayer pretransition. Our calculation of the average number of gauche bonds per lipid chain as a function of temperature and distance away from an isolated polypeptide or integral protein shows the extent of statically disordered lipid around such molecules. The range of this disorder depends upon temperature, particularly near the main transition.