Conformational order of phospholipids incorporated into human erythrocytes: an FTIR spectroscopy study

Analysis of protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions by isotope-edited infrared spectroscopy

The objective of this work is to highlight the power of isotope-edited Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in resolving important problems encountered in biochemistry, biophysics, and biomedical research, focusing on protein-protein and protein membrane interactions that play key roles in practically all life processes. An overview of the effects of isotope substitutions in (bio)molecules on spectral frequencies and intensities is given. Data are presented demonstrating how isotope-labeled proteins and/or lipids can be used to elucidate enzymatic mechanisms, the mode of membrane binding of peripheral proteins, regulation of membrane protein function, protein aggregation, and local and global structural changes in proteins during functional transitions. The use of polarized attenuated total reflection FTIR spectroscopy to identify the spatial orientation and the secondary structure of a membrane-bound interfacial enzyme and the mode of lipid hydrolysis is described. Methods of production of site-directed, segmental, and domain-specific labeling of proteins by the synthetic, semisynthetic, and recombinant strategies, including advanced protein engineering technologies such as nonsense suppression and frameshift quadruplet codons are overviewed.

Membrane Association Modes of Natural Anticancer Peptides: Mechanistic Details on Helicity, Orientation, and Surface Coverage

Anticancer peptides (ACPs) could potentially offer many advantages over other cancer therapies. ACPs often target cell membranes, where their surface mechanism is coupled to a conformational change into helical structures. However, details on their binding are still unclear, which would be crucial to reach progress in connecting structural aspects to ACP action and to therapeutic developments. Here we investigated natural helical ACPs, Lasioglossin LL-III, Macropin 1, Temporin-La, FK-16, and LL-37, on model liposomes, and also on extracellular vesicles (EVs), with an outer leaflet composition similar to cancer cells. The combined simulations and experiments identified three distinct binding modes to the membranes. Firstly, a highly helical structure, lying mainly on the membrane surface; secondly, a similar, yet only partially helical structure with disordered regions; and thirdly, a helical monomeric form with a non-inserted perpendicular orientation relative to the membrane surface. The latter allows large swings of the helix while the N-terminal is anchored to the headgroup region. These results indicate that subtle differences in sequence and charge can result in altered binding modes. The first two modes could be part of the well-known carpet model mechanism, whereas the newly identified third mode could be an intermediate state, existing prior to membrane insertion.

Membrane lipid phase transitions and phase organization studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a powerful yet relatively inexpensive and convenient technique for studying the structure and organization of membrane lipids in their various polymorphic phases. This spectroscopic technique yields information about the conformation and dynamics of all regions of the lipid molecule simultaneously without the necessity of introducing extrinsic probes. In this review, we summarize some relatively recent FTIR spectroscopic studies of the structure and organization primarily of fully hydrated phospholipids in their biologically relevant lamellar crystalline, gel and liquid-crystalline phases, and show that interconversions between these bilayer phases can be accurately monitored by this technique. We also briefly discuss how the structure and organization of potentially biologically relevant nonlamellar micellar or reversed hexagonal lipid phases can be studied and how phase transitions between lamellar and nonlamellar phases, or between various nonlamellar phases, can be followed as well. In addition, we discuss the potential for FTIR spectroscopy to yield fairly high resolution structural information about phospholipid packing in lamellar crystalline or gel phases. Finally, we show that many, but not all of these FTIR approaches can also yield valuable information about lipid-protein interactions in membrane protein- or peptide-containing lipid membrane bilayer model or even in biological membranes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: FTIR in membrane proteins and peptide studies.

Binding and permeabilization of lipid bilayers by natural and synthetic 3-alkylpyridinium polymers

Naturally occurring 3-alkylpyridinium polymers from the marine sponge Reniera sarai are membrane-active compounds exerting a selective cytotoxicity towards non small cell lung cancer cells, and stable transfection of nucleated mammalian cells. In view of their possible use as chemotherapeutics and/or transfection tools, three poly-APS based synthetic compounds were tested on their activity using natural and artificial lipid membranes. The tested compounds were found to be very stable over a wide range of temperature, ionic strength, and pH, and to prefer the solid-ordered membrane state. Their membrane-damaging activity increases with the length of their alkyl chains and the degree of polymerization.

Liposomes composed of unsaturated lipids for membrane modification of human erythrocytes

Previous studies have shown that certain saturated lipids protect red blood cells (RBCs) during hypothermic storage but provide little protection during freezing or freeze-drying, whereas various unsaturated lipids destabilize RBCs during hypothermic storage but protect during freezing and freeze-drying. The protective effect of liposomes has been attributed to membrane modifications. We have previously shown that cholesterol exchange and lipid transfer between liposomes composed of saturated lipids and RBCs critically depends on the length of the lipid acyl chains. In this study the effect of unsaturated lipids with differences in their number of unsaturated bonds (18:0/18:1, 18:1/18:1, 18:2/18:2) on RBC membrane properties has been studied. RBCs were incubated in the presence of liposomes and both the liposomal and RBC fraction were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) after incubation. The liposomes caused an increase in RBC membrane conformational disorder at suprazero temperatures. The fluidizing effect of the liposomes on the RBC membranes, however, was found to be similar for the different lipids irrespective of their unsaturation level. The gel to liquid crystalline phase transition temperature of the liposomes increased after incubation with RBCs. RBC membrane fluidity increased linearly during the first 8 hours of incubation in the presence of liposomes. The increase in RBC membrane fluidity was found to be temperature dependent and displayed Arrhenius behaviour between 20 and 40°C, with an activation energy of 88 kJ mol⁻¹. Taken together, liposomes composed of unsaturated lipids increase RBC membrane conformational disorder, which could explain their cryoprotective action.

Fluorescent phosphocholine--a specific marker for the endoplasmic reticulum and for lipid droplets in Chara internodal cells

The staining pattern of 1,2-bis(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-undecanoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (Bodipy PC) was investigated in internodal cells of the green alga Chara corallina. Ten minutes after dye addition, Bodipy-PC-derived fluorescence appeared in lipid droplets and after 1 h in the cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and in the inner ER tubes. Staining of the ER required energy but was independent of an intact actin or microtubule cytoskeleton and independent of vesicular endocytosis. The size of the lipid droplets varied between 0.25 microm in elongating cells and 3.2 microm in senescent internodes. They moved together with or along the cortical ER cisternae in a cytoskeleton-independent manner or remained immobile up to several minutes. Detachment of lipid droplets from the cortical ER or fusion of lipid droplets was never observed. The results of this study suggest that Bodipy PC is a valuable, less toxic alternative to 3,3'-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide (DiOC6) staining of the ER in Chara. They confirm an earlier report about microtubule-dependent cortical ER morphology and dynamics in elongating internodes and offer new perspectives for the study of organelle interactions.

Erythrocyte Adaptation to Oxidative Stress in Endurance Training

BACKGROUND

We tested the hypothesis that endurance training may reduce exercise oxidative stress damage on erythrocytes.

METHODS

Fifteen subjects performed a standardized endurance exercise at 75% of maximal oxygen consumption weekly during a 19-week training period. Blood samples taken before and after exercise were analyzed by Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry to determine exercise-induced change in plasma concentrations and erythrocyte IR absorptions.

RESULTS

Training first induced a stabilization of plasma concentration changes during exercise (unchanged for glucose, increased for lactate, triglycerides, glycerol, and fatty acids), whereas erythrocyte phospholipid alterations remained elevated (p <0.05). Further, training reduced the exercise-induced erythrocyte lactate content increase (nuC-O; p <0.05) and phospholipid alterations (nuC-H(n) and nuP=O; p <0.05) during exercise. These changes paralleled the decrease of exercise-induced hemoconcentration (p <0.05) and plasma lactate increase (p <0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

These correlated changes between plasma and erythrocyte parameters suggest that endurance training reduces erythrocyte susceptibility to oxidative stress.

Loading red blood cells with trehalose: a step towards biostabilization

A method for freeze-drying red blood cells (RBCs) while maintaining a high degree of viability has important implications in blood transfusion and clinical medicine. The disaccharide trehalose, found in animals capable of surviving dehydration can aid in this process. As a first step toward RBC preservation, we present a method for loading RBCs with trehalose. The method is based on the thermal properties of the RBC plasma membranes and provides efficient uptake of the sugar at 37 degrees C in a time span of 7 h. The data show that RBCs can be loaded with trehalose from the extracellular medium through a combination of osmotic imbalance and the phospholipid phase transition, resulting in intracellular trehalose concentrations of about 40 mM. During the loading period, the levels of ATP and 2,3-DPG are maintained close to the levels of fresh RBCs. Increasing the membrane fluidity through the use of a benzyl alcohol results in a higher concentration of intracellular trehalose, suggesting the importance of the membrane physical state for the uptake of the sugar. Osmotic fragility data show that trehalose exerts osmotic protection on RBCs. Flow cytometry data demonstrate that incubation of RBCs in a hypertonic trehalose solution results in a fraction of cells with different complexity and that it can be removed by washing and resuspending the RBCs in an iso-osmotic medium. The data provide an important first step in long-term preservation of RBCs.

Lipid and protein changes due to freezing in Dunning AT-1 cells

Defining the process of cellular injury during freezing, at the molecular level, is important for cryosurgical applications. This work shows changes to both membrane lipids and protein structures within AT-1 Dunning prostate tumor cells after a freezing stress which induced extreme injury and cell death. Cells were frozen in an uncontrolled fashion to -20 or -80 degrees C. Freezing resulted in an increase in the gel to liquid crystalline phase transition temperature (T(m)) of the cellular membranes and an increase in the temperature range over which the transition occurred, as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis of total lipid extracts showed free fatty acids (FFA) in the frozen samples, indicating a change in the lipid composition. The final freezing temperature had no effect on the thermotropic response of the membranes or on the FFA content of the lipid fraction. The overall protein secondary structure as determined by FTIR showed only slight changes after freezing to -20 degrees C, in contrast to a strong and apparently irreversible denaturation after freezing to -80 degrees C. Taken together, these results suggest that the decrease in viability between control and frozen cells can be correlated with small changes in the membrane lipid composition and membrane fluidity. In addition, loss of cell viability is associated with massive protein denaturation as observed in cells frozen to -80 degrees C, which was not observed in samples frozen to -20 degrees C.

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.

Direct measurement of human lung cancerous and noncancerous tissues by fourier transform infrared microscopy: can an infrared microscope be used as a clinical tool?

We have analyzed very small amounts of human lung cancerous tissues directly by a Fourier transform infrared microscopy (FT-IR-MC). The corrected peak heights (H1045 and H1467) obtained from the bands at 1045 and 1467 cm(-1) due to glycogen and cholesterol were chosen for a quantitative evaluation of the malignancy. We found that the H1045/H1467 ratio is an exceptionally useful factor for discrimination of the cancerous tissues from the noncancerous tissues. If the H1045/H1467 ratio from the measured spectrum is larger than 1.4, we can say with confidence that the tissue contains squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma at least partially. Furthermore, we carried out the microscopic mapping of the tissues containing both cancerous and noncancerous sections, demonstrating that the color map reflects small changes in the spatial distribution of cancer cells in the tissues. The present method may also be applicable to analysis of other cancers, such as colorectal cancerous tissues in which glycogen level has a critical factor for their malignancy. In addition, since FT-IR-MC costs relatively little and does not require a special operator training for collecting and analyzing the spectra, it seems to be perhaps the apparatus best suited to clinical usage, especially in rather small hospitals.

Lipid phase separation correlates with activation in platelets during chilling

When human platelets are chilled below 22 degrees C, they spontaneously activate, a phenomenon that severely limits their storage life. It has previously been proposed that there is a correlation between cold-induced platelet activation and passage of the membranes through a liquid-crystalline to gel phase transition. Because animal models are essential for developing methods for cold storage of platelets, it is necessary to investigate such a correlation in animal platelets. In this work, horse platelets were used as a model, and it was found that cold-induced morphological activation is related to the lipid phase transition. Using fluorescence microscopy with the lipophilic fluorescent dye 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl-indocarbocyanine perchlorate (Dil-C18), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), it was found that lipid phase separation occurs during cooling and low temperature storage. Furthermore, removal of cholesterol from the plasma membrane also induced a phase separation, possibly between specific phospholipid classes. Steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) and trimethylammonium-DPH (TMA-DPH) were compared in cells and multilamellar vesicles (MLV) composed of platelet lipids. Cholesterol depletion led to a decrease in the fluorescence anisotropy of the two probes, which can be explained by changes in the order of the phospholipid molecules. In addition, the lipid composition and fatty acid profile of the cellular phospholipids were determined. Based of the similarities between horse and human platelets, it is suggested that horse platelets may be used as a model for studying cold-stored platelets. The results are discussed in relation to the possible role of phase separation during cell signalling.

The hereditary stomatocytoses and allied disorders: congenital disorders of erythrocyte membrane permeability to Na and K

The hereditary stomatocytoses and allied disorders are a set of dominantly inherited haemolytic anaemias in which the plasma membrane of the red cell 'leaks' sodium and potassium. There are about 10 different forms of these conditions, ranging from a moderately severe haemolytic anaemia to minor conditions in which the haematology is essentially normal, but where the patients present with pseudohyperkalaemia, due to leakage of K from the red cells on cooling to room temperature. Frequently misdiagnosed as atypical hereditary spherocytosis, these conditions can show marked thrombotic complications after splenectomy, which should be avoided. Laboratory studies of these conditions have drawn attention to a 32 kDa membrane protein, stomatin, which seems to act as a regulator of Na and K transport in human and animal tissues generally, but mutations in this gene do not cause these diseases. Genetic mapping in some kindreds, but not all, points to a mutation locus on chromosome 16.

Temperature effects on cation transport in hereditary stomatocytosis and allied disorders

The conditions known as 'hereditary stomatocytosis and allied syndromes' comprise a group of dominantly inherited human haemolytic anaemias characterized by a plasma membrane 'leak' to the univalent cations Na and K, an example of a small but growing group of diseases where pathology can be directly attributed to abnormal membrane transport. A number of case reports in the different variants have alluded to temperature-related phenomena, including loss of K on storage at room temperature (giving 'pseudohyperkalaemia') and lysis of cells when stored in the cold ('cryohydrocytosis'). This review collects together published studies of these temperature effects, which show very major differences in the 'leak' K transport. Two main variations on normal emerge: a 'shallow slope' type, in which the flux shows an abnormally low dependence on temperature in the range 37-20 degrees C, and 'high minimum', in which the minimum in this flux, which occurs in normal cells at 8 degrees C, is shifted up to 23 degrees C. These temperature studies provide a powerful method for phenotypic characterization.

Separable contributions of ordered and disordered lipid fatty acyl chain segments to nuCH2 bands in model and biological membranes: a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic study

In this article, the assignment of the nu(C-H) stretching region of lipid molecules is revisited. This region is extensively used to follow lipid phase transitions, and especially the frequency shifts and bandwidth alterations in the nu(sym)CH2 band have been utilized in this respect. Here, we propose and prove that behind these phenomena there are pairs of component bands in the cases of both the nu(sym)CH2 and the nu(as)CH2 bands. The lower-frequency components of the pairs are assigned to the vibrations of CH2 groups on trans segments of the fatty acyl chains, while the higher-frequency components of the pairs are assigned to CH2 groups on gauche segments. To prove these assignments, we have shown that the nuCH2 frequencies are characteristic of the conformation of the lipid fatty acyl chain itself, and not the state of the whole lipid matrix. Curve fitting in fact revealed the conformer-specific components. With the use of singular value decomposition analysis we have demonstrated that the relative intensity changes in the components, and not the shifts in the whole bands, cause the observed shifts in the nuCH2 bands upon lipid phase transition. The results of this approach are presented for deuterium-saturated dioleoyl-phosphatidylcholine mixtures, for the gel --> liquid-crystalline phase transition of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine multilayers, and for a biological membrane, barley thylakoid. This refined assignment offers physically plausible reasoning for the observed phenomena and is able to explain frequency shifts and bandwidth changes observed previously upon lipid phase transitions, including their nonconcerted temperature dependences. In biological membranes, this interpretation allows the separation of protein- and membrane-dynamics-induced lipid conformational changes.

Some relationships between membrane phospholipid domains, conformational order, and cell shape in intact human erythrocytes

A novel method developed in this laboratory [D.J. Moore et al., Biochemistry 35 (1996) 229-235; D.J. Moore et al., Biochemistry 36 (1997) 660-664] to study the conformational order and the propensity for domain formation of specific phospholipids in intact human erythrocytes is extended to two additional species. Acyl chain perdeuterated 1,2-dilauroylphosphatidylethanolamine (diC12PE-d46) was incorporated preferentially (in separate experiments) into the inner leaflet of stomatocytic erythrocytes and into the outer leaflet of echinocytic erythrocytes, while acyl chain perdeuterated 1,2-dipentadecanoylphosphatidylcholine (diC15PC-d58) was incorporated into the outer leaflet of echinocytic erythrocytes. The conformational order and phase behavior of the incorporated molecules were monitored through FT-IR studies of the temperature dependence of the CD2 stretching vibrations. For both diC12PE-d46 and diC15PC-d58, the gel-->liquid crystal phase transition persisted when these lipids were located in the outer leaflet of echinocytic cells, a result indicative of the persistence of phospholipid domains. In each case, the transition widths were broadened compared to the pure lipids, suggestive of either small domains or the presence of additional molecular components within the domains. The conformational order of diC12PE-d46 differed markedly depending on its location and the morphology of the cells. When located predominantly in the inner membrane of stomatocytes, the phase transition of this species was abolished and the conformational order compared with pure lipid vesicles at the same temperature was much lower. The current results along with our previous studies provide a sufficient experimental basis to deduce some general principles of phospholipid conformational order and organization in both normal and shape-altered erythrocytes.

Small-scale lipid-membrane structure: simulation versus experiment

Recently, it has become obvious that the conventional picture of the fluid lipid-bilayer component of biological membranes being a fairly structureless 'fluid mosaic' solvent is far from correct. The lipid bilayer displays distinct static and dynamic structural organization on a small scale, for example in terms of differentiated lipid domains, and evidence is accumulating that these structures are of importance for the functioning of biological membranes, including the activity of membrane-bound enzymes and receptors and morphological changes at the cell surface. Insight into the relationship between this small-scale structure and biological functioning holds promise for a more rational approach to modulate function via manipulation of the lipid microenvironment and the lipid/protein interface in particular. Computer simulation has proved to be a useful tool in investigating membrane structure on a small scale-specifically the nanometer scale (1-100 nm), which is in between the molecular scale accessible by various spectroscopic techniques and molecular dynamics calculations, and the micrometer scale accessible by scattering and microscopy techniques.

Lipid domains and orthorhombic phases in model stratum corneum: evidence from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies

A three component model for the lipid barrier of the stratum corneum (SC) consisting of ceramide III, cholesterol, and perdeuterated palmitic acid, has been characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. At physiological temperature the CD2 scissoring mode of the palmitic acid methylenes, and the CH2 rocking mode of the ceramide methylenes, are each split into two components. This indicates that both components exist in separate, conformationally ordered phases, probably with orthorhombic perpendicular subcells. The magnitude of the splitting indicates that the domains are at least 100 chains in size. The thermotropic behavior of the CD2 stretching vibrations demonstrates that conformational disordering of the palmitic acid commences at 42 degrees C with a transition midpoint of 50 degrees C. The CH2 stretching frequency indicates the ceramide chains remain ordered until 50 degrees C then disorder with a midpoint of 67 degrees C. The results provide a molecular characterization for the complex low temperature (10-40 degrees C) dynamic behavior suggested by recent 2H NMR experiments.

Conformational order of specific phospholipids in human erythrocytes: correlations with changes in cell shape

Acyl chain perdeuterated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC-d54) and dimyristoyphosphatidylserine (DMPS-d54) were incorporated into human erythrocytes. Light microscopy demonstrated that erythrocytes incubated with an equimolar mixture of DMPC-d54/DMPS or DMPC/DMPS-d54 remained mostly discocytic whereas cells incubated with either DMPC-d54 or DMPS-d54 alone became echinocytic or stomatocytic, respectively. Cells in which the aminophospholipid translocating protein was inhibited became echinocytic when incubated with DMPS-d54. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to monitor conformational order in the acyl chains of the incorporated phospholipid, as detected through the asymmetric CD2 stretching vibrations in the intact cells. In cells incubated with equimolar mixtures of DMPC-d54/DMPS or DMPC/DMPS-d54, the deuterated species exhibited no thermotropic phase transitions but revealed chain order intermediate between the gel and liquid-crystal states. In contrast, DMPS-d54 incorporated into the outer leaflet of echinocytic erythrocytes was conformationally ordered while the same species incorporated into the inner leaflet of stomatocytic erythrocytes was highly disordered at all temperatures studied. Finally, DMPC-d54 incorporated into the outer leaflet of echinocytic erythrocytes exhibited a phase transition, suggesting that this species persists in domains. These data indicate that the acyl chain conformational order of specific phospholipids in the intact human erythrocyte is changed with alterations in cell morphology.