Influence of Anesthetic and Nonimmobilizer Molecules on the Physical Properties of a Polyunsaturated Lipid Bilayer

Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Propofol and Fentanyl in Phosphatidylcholine Lipid Bilayers

Atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) and steered MD simulations in combination with umbrella sampling methodology were utilized to study the general anesthetic propofol and the opioid analgesic fentanyl and their interaction with lipid bilayers, which is not yet fully understood. These molecules were inserted into two different fully hydrated phospholipid bilayers, namely, dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), to investigate the effects that these drugs have on the bilayer. We determined the role of the lipid chain length and saturation on the behavior of the two drugs. Pure, fully hydrated DOPC and DPPC bilayers were also simulated, and the results were in excellent agreement with the experimental values. Various structural and mechanical properties of each system, such as the area per lipid, area compressibility modulus, order parameter, lateral lipid diffusion, hydrogen bonds, and radial distribution functions, have been calculated to assess how the drug molecules affect the different bilayers. From the calculated results, we show that fentanyl and propofol generally follow similar trends in each bilayer but adopt different favorable positions close to the headgroup/chain interface at the carbonyl groups. Propofol was shown to selectively form hydrogen bonds at the carbonyl carbon in each bilayer, whereas fentanyl interacts with water molecules at the headgroup interface. From the calculated free-energy profiles, we determined that both molecules show a preference for the low-density, low-order acyl chain region of the bilayers and both significantly preferred the DOPC bilayer with propofol and fentanyl having energy minima at -6.66 and -43.07 kcal mol^-1, respectively. This study suggests that different chain lengths and levels of saturation directly affect the properties of these two important molecules, which are seen to work together to control anesthesia in surgical applications.

Modulation of Membrane Fluidity Performed on Model Phospholipid Membrane and Live Cell Membrane: Revealing through Spatiotemporal Approaches of FLIM, FAIM, and TRFS

We have elucidated the role of unsaturated fatty acid in the in vitro model phospholipid membrane and in vivo live cell membrane. Fluorescence microscopy and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy have been employed to uncover how modulation of vesicle bilayer fluidity persuades structural transformation. This unsaturation induced structural transformation due to packing disorder in bilayer has been delineated through spatially resolved fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and fluorescence polarization or anisotropy imaging microscopy (FPIM/FAIM). Structure-function relationship of phospholipid vesicle is also investigated by monitoring intervesicular water dynamics behavior, which has been demonstrated by temporally resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (TRFS) techniques. Nevertheless, it has also been manifested from this study that loss of rigidity in bilayer breaks down the strong hydrogen bond (H-bond) network around the charged lipid head groups. The disruption of this H-bond network increases the bilayer elasticity, which helps to evolve various kinds of vesicular structure. Furthermore, the significant influence of unsaturated fatty acid on membrane bilayer has been ratified through in vivo live cell imaging.

Unperturbed hydrocarbon chains and liquid phase bilayer lipid chains: a computer simulation study

In this work, the properties of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid acyl chains 16:0, 18:0, 18:1(n-9)cis, 18:2(n-6)cis, 18:3(n-3)cis, 18:4(n-3)cis, 18:5(n-3)cis, 20:4(n-6)cis, 20:5(n-3)cis and 22:6(n-3)cis in a bilayer liquid crystalline state and similar hydrocarbon chains (with CH[Formula: see text] terminal groups instead of C=O groups) in the unperturbed state characterised by a lack of long-range interaction were investigated. The unperturbed hydrocarbon chains were modelled by Monte Carlo simulations at temperature [Formula: see text] K; sixteen fully hydrated homogeneous liquid crystalline phosphatidylcholine bilayers containing these chains were studied by molecular dynamics simulations at the same temperature. To eliminate effects of the simulation parameters, the molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations were carried out using the same structural data and force field coefficients. From these computer simulations, the average distances between terminal carbon atoms of the chains (end-to-end distances) were calculated and compared. The trends in the end-to-end distances obtained for the unperturbed chains were found to be qualitatively similar to those obtained for the same lipid chains in the bilayers. So, for understanding of a number of processes in biological membranes (e.g., changes in fatty acid composition caused by environmental changes such as temperature and pressure), it is possible to use, at least as a first approximation, the relationships between the structure and properties for unperturbed or isolated hydrocarbon chains.

Study of procaine and tetracaine in the lipid bilayer using molecular dynamics simulation

Despite available experimental results, the molecular mechanism of action of local anesthetics upon the nervous system and contribution of the cell membrane to the process are still controversial. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the effect of two clinically used local anesthetics, procaine and tetracaine, on the structure and dynamics of a fully hydrated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer. We focused on comparing the main effects of uncharged and charged drugs on various properties of the lipid membrane: mass density distribution, diffusion coefficient, order parameter, radial distribution function, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic potential, headgroup angle, and water dipole orientation. To compare the diffusive nature of anesthetic through the lipid membrane quantitatively, we investigated the hexadecane/water partition coefficient using expanded ensemble simulation. We predicted the permeability coefficient of anesthetics in the following order: uncharged tetracaine > uncharged procaine > charged tetracaine > charged procaine. We also shown that the charged forms of drugs are more potent in hydrogen bonding, disturbing the lipid headgroups, changing the orientation of water dipoles, and increasing the headgroup electrostatic potential more than uncharged drugs, while the uncharged drugs make the lipid diffusion faster and increase the tail order parameter. The results of these simulation studies suggest that the different forms of anesthetics induce different structural modifications in the lipid bilayer, which provides new insights into their molecular mechanism.

Phase diagram of a polyunsaturated lipid mixture: Brain sphingomyelin/1-stearoyl-2-docosahexaenoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/cholesterol

Phospholipids having a polyunsaturated acyl chain are abundant in biological membranes, but their behavior in lipid mixtures is difficult to study. Here we elucidate the nature of such mixtures with this report of the first ternary phase diagram containing the polyunsaturated lipid SDPC in mixtures of BSM/SDPC/Chol (brain sphingomyelin/1-stearoyl-2-docosahexaenoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/cholesterol). These mixtures show coexisting macroscopic liquid-disordered (Ld) and liquid-ordered (Lo) phase separation, with phase boundaries determined by FRET and by fluorescence microscopy imaging of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Surprisingly, SDPC mixes with BSM/Chol similarly to how DOPC and POPC mix with BSM/Chol. Notably, intermediate states are produced within the Ld+Lo liquid-liquid immiscibility region upon addition of fourth component POPC. These mixtures of BSM/SDPC/POPC/Chol exhibit nanoscopic Ld+Lo domains over a very large volume of composition space, possibly because Ld/Lo line tension is not high.

Molecular Simulation of the Transport of Drugs across Model Membranes

This Perspective describes recent progress in the area of the molecular simulation of the interactions of hydrophobic and hydrophilic solutes with membranes. The ability to predict drug solubility prior to synthesis is an extremely desirable goal for pharmaceutical research. A major advantage of molecular dynamics is the ability to computationally probe both the drug solubility as well as the pathway for the transport of drugs across membranes. Computational methods to predict the interaction free energy of solutes with membranes have advanced significantly in recent years and can characterize the intra- and intermolecular state of the drug as well as perturbations of the drug to the membrane environment itself. In addition to a brief review on computational methods to characterize the transport of drugs across membranes, we will highlight recent discoveries and discuss the challenges and opportunities in the field.

Diffusive nature of xenon anesthetic changes properties of a lipid bilayer: molecular dynamics simulations

Effects of general anesthesia can be controllable by the ambient pressure. We perform molecular dynamics simulations for a 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine lipid bilayer with or without xenon molecules by changing the pressure to elucidate the mechanism of the pressure reversal of general anesthesia. According to the diffusive nature of xenon molecules in the lipid bilayer, a decrease in the orientational order of the lipid tails, an increase in the area and volume per lipid molecule, and an increase in the diffusivity of lipid molecules are observed. We show that the properties of the lipid bilayer with xenon molecules at high pressure come close to those without xenon molecules at 0.1 MPa. Furthermore, we find that xenon molecules are concentrated in the middle of the lipid bilayer at high pressures by the pushing effect and that the diffusivity of xenon molecules is suppressed. These results suggest that the pressure reversal originates from a jamming and suppression of the diffusivity of xenon molecules in lipid bilayers.

Partitioning and localization of environment-sensitive 2-(2'-pyridyl)- and 2-(2'-pyrimidyl)-indoles in lipid membranes: a joint refinement using fluorescence measurements and molecular dynamics simulations

Fluorescence of environment-sensitive dyes is widely applied to monitor local structure and solvation dynamics of biomolecules. It has been shown that, in comparison with a parent indole fluorophore, fluorescence of 2-(2'-pyridyl)-5-methylindole (5M-PyIn-0) and 2-[2'-(4',6'-dimethylpyrimidyl)]-indole (DMPmIn-0) is remarkably sensitive to hydrogen bonding with protic partners. Strong fluorescence, observed for these compounds in nonpolar and polar aprotic solvents, is efficiently quenched in aqueous solution. This study demonstrates that 5M-PyIn-0 and DMPmIn-0, which are almost nonemitting in aqueous solution, become highly fluorescent upon titrating with phospholipid vesicles. The fluorescence enhancement is accompanied by a significant blue shift of emission maximum. The Gibbs free energy of membrane partitioning, measured by the increase in the steady-state fluorescence intensities during transfer from an aqueous environment to a lipid bilayer, is very favorable for both compounds, being in a range from -7.1 to -8.0 kcal/mol and depending only slightly on lipid composition of the membrane. The fluorescence enhancement upon membrane partitioning is indicative of the loss of the specific hydrogen-bonding interactions between the excited fluorophore and water molecules, causing efficient fluorescence quenching in bulk water. This conclusion is supported by atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, demonstrating that both 5M-PyIn-0 and DMPmIn-0 bind rapidly and partition deeply into a lipid bilayer. MD simulations also show a rapid, nanosecond-scale decrease in the probability of solute-solvent hydrogen bonding during passive diffusion of the probe molecules from bulk water into a lipid bilayer. At equilibrium conditions, both 5M-PyIn-0 and DMPmIn-0 prefer deep localization within the hydrophobic, water-free region of the bilayer. A free energy profile of penetration across a bilayer estimated using MD umbrella sampling shows that both indole derivatives favor residence in a rather wide potential energy well located 10-15 Å from the bilayer center.

Coarse grained simulations of local anesthetics encapsulated into a liposome

We investigated the encapsulation of prilocaine (PLC), an aminoamide local anesthetic widely used in dentistry, into a small unilamellar liposome. We extended a recently developed coarse grained model to access the problem relevant time and length scales. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for different protonation states of the PLC captured important features of the PLC-vesicle interactions. We found that all neutral PLC molecules (nPLC) rapidly diffuse into the hydrophobic region of the vesicle adopting an asymmetric bimodal density distribution, with nPLC molecules jumping between the internal and external vesicle monolayers. Protonated PLC molecules (pPLC) initially placed in water were instead only found on the external monolayer, with a high rate of exchange with the water phase and no access to the inner part of the liposome. Although electrostatic interaction between pPLC tails and oppositely charged lipid head groups is shown to be structured, hydrophobicity is the driving force of PLC drug absorption within the liposome. Our simulations also show that a major percentage of pPLC remains trapped within the interior water phase of the liposome when starting from a configuration with pPLC distributed within the lipid membrane. This suggests that at low pH liposome-PLC complexes and therefore drug efficacy can strongly depend on the preparation procedure.

Halothane solvation in water and organic solvents from molecular simulations with new polarizable potential function

The partitioning of a substrate from one phase into another is a complex process with widespread applications: from chemical technology to the pharmaceutical industry. One particularly well-known and well-studied example is 2-bromo-2-chloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane (halothane) trafficking through the lipid bilayer. Halothane is a model volatile anesthetic known to impact functions of model lipid bilayers, altering the structure and thickness upon its partitioning from the bulk phase. A number of theoretical and experimental investigations suggest the importance of electronic polarizability, determining a preference for halothane to partition in the interfacial systems as in lipid bilayers or binary solvents. The recently published protocol for the development of polarizable force fields based on the classical Drude model has provided fresh impetus to efforts directed at understanding the molecular principles governing complex thermodynamics of the hydrophobic hydration. Here, molecular simulations were combined with free energy simulations to study solvation of halothane in polarizable water and methanol. The absolute free energy of halothane solvation in different solvents (water, methanol, and n-hexane) has been evaluated for additive and polarizable models. It was found that both additive and polarizable models provide an adequate description of the halothane solvation in high-dielectric (polar) solvents such as water, but explicit accounting for electronic polarization is imperative for a correct description of the solvation thermodynamics in nonpolar systems. To study halothane dynamics in binary mixtures, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for halothane-methanol mixtures in a wide range of concentrations were performed alongside an analysis of structural organization, dynamics, and thermodynamic properties to dissect the molecular determinants of the halothane solvation in polar and amphiphilic liquids such as methanol. Additionally, a theoretical test of the hypothesis on the weak hydrogen bonding of halothane and methanol in the condensed phase is provided, which was presented on the basis of spectroscopic analysis of the C-H vibrations in different gas-phase complexes. The simulations performed in the condensed phase suggest that hydrophobic interactions between halothane and methanol play a dominant role in preferential solvation.

Computational studies on the interactions of inhalational anesthetics with proteins

Despite the widespread clinical use of anesthetics since the 19th century, a clear understanding of the mechanism of anesthetic action has yet to emerge. On the basis of early experiments by Meyer, Overton, and subsequent researchers, the cell's lipid membrane was generally concluded to be the primary site of action of anesthetics. However, later experiments with lipid-free globular proteins, such as luciferase and apoferritin, shifted the focus of anesthetic action to proteins. Recent experimental studies, such as photoaffinity labeling and mutagenesis on membrane proteins, have suggested specific binding sites for anesthetic molecules, further strengthening the proteocentric view of anesthetic mechanism. With the increased availability of high-resolution crystal structures of ion channels and other integral membrane proteins, as well as the availability of powerful computers, the structure-function relationship of anesthetic-protein interactions can now be investigated in atomic detail. In this Account, we review recent experiments and related computer simulation studies involving interactions of inhalational anesthetics and proteins, with a particular focus on membrane proteins. Globular proteins have long been used as models for understanding the role of protein-anesthetic interactions and are accordingly examined in this Account. Using selected examples of membrane proteins, such as nicotinic acetyl choline receptor (nAChR) and potassium channels, we address the issues of anesthetic binding pockets in proteins, the role of conformation in anesthetic effects, and the modulation of local as well as global dynamics of proteins by inhaled anesthetics. In the case of nicotinic receptors, inhalational anesthetic halothane binds to the hydrophobic cavity close to the M2-M3 loop. This binding modulates the dynamics of the M2-M3 loop, which is implicated in allosterically transmitting the effects to the channel gate, thus altering the function of the protein. In potassium channels, anesthetic molecules preferentially potentiate the open conformation by quenching the motion of the aromatic residues implicated in the gating of the channel. These simulations suggest that low-affinity drugs (such as inhalational anesthetics) modulate the protein function by influencing local as well as global dynamics of proteins. Because of intrinsic experimental limitations, computational approaches represent an important avenue for exploring the mode of action of anesthetics. Molecular dynamics simulations-a computational technique frequently used in the general study of proteins-offer particular insight in the study of the interaction of inhalational anesthetics with membrane proteins.

NMR investigations of interactions between anesthetics and lipid bilayers

Interactions between anesthetics (lidocaine and short chain alcohols) and lipid membranes formed by dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) were studied using NMR spectroscopy. The orientational order of lidocaine was investigated using deuterium NMR on a selectively labelled compound whereas segmental ordering in the lipids was probed by two-dimensional 1H-13C separated local field experiments under magic-angle spinning conditions. In addition, trajectories generated in molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations were used for interpretation of the experimental results. Separate simulations were carried out with charged and uncharged lidocaine molecules. Reasonable agreement between experimental dipolar interactions and the calculated counterparts was observed. Our results clearly show that charged lidocaine affects significantly the lipid headgroup. In particular the ordering of the lipids is increased accompanied by drastic changes in the orientation of the P-N vector in the choline group.

Distribution and favorable binding sites of pyrroloquinoline and its analogues in a lipid bilayer studied by molecular dynamics simulations

The distribution of 1H-pyrrolo[3,2-h]quinoline (PQ), 11H-dipyrido[2,3-a]carbazole (PC) and 7-azaindole (7AI) at a water/membrane interface has been investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The MD study focused on favorable binding sites of the azaaromatic probes across a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayer. Our simulations show that PQ and PC are preferably accommodated at the hydrocarbon core of the bilayer below the glycerol moiety. In addition, it is found that the hydrophobic aromatic parts of the probes are located inside a more ordered region of DPPC, consisting of hydrophobic lipid chains. In contrast to PQ and PC, 7AI is characterized by a broad distribution between a DPPC interface and water, so that the three preferable binding sites are found across a water/membrane interface. It is found that in the sequence 7AI-PQ-PC, due to the increase of the number of aromatic rings and, hence, the hydrophobic character of the probes, the depth of the probe localization is gradually shifted deeper inside the hydrocarbon core of the bilayer. We found that the probe-lipid hydrogen-bonding contributes weakly to the favorable localizations of the azaaromatic probes inside the DPPC bilayer, so that the probe localization is mainly driven by electrostatic dipole-dipole and van der Waals interactions.

Interaction of anesthetics with open and closed conformations of a potassium channel studied via molecular dynamics and normal mode analysis

A variety of experiments suggest that membrane proteins are important targets of anesthetic molecules, and that ion channels interact differently with anesthetics in their open and closed conformations. The availability of an open and a closed structural model for the KirBac1.1 potassium channel has made it possible to perform a comparative analysis of the interactions of anesthetics with the same channel in its open and closed states. To this end, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations supplemented by normal mode analysis have been employed to probe the interactions of the inhalational anesthetic halothane with both an open and closed conformer of KirBac1.1 embedded in a lipid bilayer. Normal mode analysis on the closed and open channel, in the presence and absence of halothane, reveals that the anesthetic modulates the global as well as the local dynamics of both conformations differently. In the case of the open channel, the observed reduction of flexibility of residues in the inner helices suggests a functional modification action of anesthetics on ion channels. In this context, preferential quenching of the aromatic residue motion and modulation of global dynamics by halothane may be seen as steps toward potentiating or favoring open state conformations. These molecular dynamics simulations provide the first insights into possible specific interactions between anesthetic molecules and ion channels in different conformations.

Modulation of amphotericin B membrane interaction by cholesterol and ergosterol--a molecular dynamics study

Amphotericin B (AmB) is a well-known polyene macrolide antibiotic used to treat systemic fungal infections. According to a well-documented hypothesis, molecules of AmB form ionic membrane channels that are responsible for chemotherapeutic action. These channels disturb the barrier function of the cell membrane which, in consequence, leads to cell death. The presence of sterols in the cell membrane is necessary for full manifestation of the antibiotic's ionophoric activity, at least in vivo. Ergosterol-containing fungal membranes are targeted more efficiently by AmB than mammalian membranes containing cholesterol. However, a similar level of disturbance of fungal and mammalian membranes is responsible for serious toxicity of the antibiotic. Due to the importance of AmB and lack of better antifungal alternatives, the search for new less toxic derivatives of this antibiotic still continues. Therefore, studies of the AmB-membrane interaction are very important. The present work constitutes a continuation of a broad program of study on AmB mode of action in our group. In particular, molecular dynamics simulations of AmB monomers inside the bilayers of three different compositions (pure dimiristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and DMPC bilayer containing approximately 25 mol % of cholesterol or ergosterol) were carried out. In general, analysis of generated trajectories resulted in identifying many significant differences in the behavior of AmB monomers depending on the membrane environment. In particular, it was established that the antibiotic increases the internal order of DMPC bilayer containing 25 mol % of cholesterol, while it has no effect on the order of the bilayer with the same amount of ergosterol. Performed calculations also revealed that relatively rigid and elongated AmB molecules exhibit higher affinity toward the sterol-containing lo phases and, therefore, may be cumulated in ordered membrane domains (e.g., lipid rafts). Since the partition coefficient between the ld and lo phase appears to be greater in the case of the ergosterol- compared to cholesterol-containing membrane, this effect can be also discussed as the possible origin of AmB-selective toxicity and indirect sterol involvement in expression of AmB activity.

Partitioning of anesthetics into a lipid bilayer and their interaction with membrane-bound peptide bundles

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the partitioning of the volatile anesthetic halothane from an aqueous phase into a coexisting hydrated bilayer, composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) lipids, with embedded alpha-helical peptide bundles based on the membrane-bound portions of the alpha- and delta-subunits, respectively, of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. In the molecular dynamics simulations halothane molecules spontaneously partitioned into the DOPC bilayer and then preferentially occupied regions close to lipid headgroups. A single halothane molecule was observed to bind to tyrosine (Tyr-277) residue in the alpha-subunit, an experimentally identified specific binding site. The binding of halothane attenuated the local loop dynamics of alpha-subunit and significantly influenced global concerted motions suggesting anesthetic action in modulating protein function. Steered molecular dynamics calculations on a single halothane molecule partitioned into a DOPC lipid bilayer were performed to probe the free energy profile of halothane across the lipid-water interface and rationalize the observed spontaneous partitioning. Partitioned halothane molecules affect the hydrocarbon chains of the DOPC lipid, by lowering of the hydrocarbon tilt angles. The anesthetic molecules also caused a decrease in the number of peptide-lipid contacts. The observed local and global effects of anesthetic binding on protein motions demonstrated in this study may underlie the mechanism of action of anesthetics at a molecular level.

Lack of enantiomeric specificity in the effects of anesthetic steroids on lipid bilayers

The most important target protein for many anesthetics, including volatile and steroid anesthetics, appears to be the type A gamma-amino butyric acid receptor (GABA(A)R), yet direct binding remains to be demonstrated. Hypotheses of lipid-mediated anesthesia suggest that lipid bilayer properties are changed by anesthetics and that this in turn affects the functions of proteins. While other data could equally well support direct or lipid-mediated action, enantiomeric specificity displayed by some anesthetics is not reflected in their interactions with lipids. In the present study, we studied the effects of two pairs of anesthetic steroid enantiomers on bilayers of several compositions, measuring potentially relevant physical properties. For one of the pairs, allopregnanolone and ent-allopregnanolone, the natural enantiomer is 300% more efficacious as an anesthetic, while for the other, pregnanolone and ent-pregnanolone, there is little difference in anesthetic potency. For each enantiomer pair, we could find no differences. This strongly favors the view that the effects of these anesthetics on lipid bilayers are not relevant for the main features of anesthesia. These steroids also provide tools to distinguish in general the direct binding of steroids to proteins from lipid-mediated effects.

Perturbation of phospholipid bilayer properties by ethanol at a high concentration

Atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been carried out at 30 degrees C on a fully hydrated liquid crystalline lamellar phase of dimyrystoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) lipid bilayer with embedded ethanol molecules at 1:1 composition, as well as on the pure bilayer phase. The ethanol molecules are found to exhibit a preference to occupy regions near the upper part of the lipid acyl chains and the phosphocholine headgroups. The calculations revealed that the phosphocholine headgroup dipoles (P- --> N+) of the lipids prefer to orient more toward the aqueous layer in the presence of ethanol. It is noticed that the ethanol molecules modify the dynamic properties of both lipids as well as the water molecules in the hydration layer of the lipid headgroups. Both the in-plane "rattling" and out-of-plane "protrusion" motions of the lipids have been found to increase in the presence of ethanol. Most importantly, it is observed that the water molecules within the hydration layer of the lipid headgroups exhibit faster translational and rotational motions in the presence of ethanol. This arises due to faster dynamics of hydrogen bonds between lipid headgroups and water in the presence of ethanol.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Neutral Chlorpromazine in Zwitterionic Phospholipid Monolayers

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the interactions between chlorpromazine (CPZ), a neuroleptic drug used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), a zwitterionic phospholipid, in Langmuir monolayers. The results from simulations carried out at different monolayer surface densities were able to capture important features of the CPZ-lipid interaction. We find that neutral (unprotonated) CPZ is preferentially located in the lipid tail region of the phospholipids, in little contact with the aqueous phase, and that the orientation of its rigid ring structure and tail conformation vary with lipid surface density. CPZ is found to promote ordering of the lipid tails for all surface densities because of a reduction in the effective surface area per lipid upon addition of the drug. Similar effects have been observed in previous studies of cholesterol in DPPC monolayers, in which lipid tails were seen to order around the solute. This feature, however, is quite distinct from what we observe for the most dense monolayer considered here (area per lipid of 50 A(2)), for which we find that CPZ promotes a local distortion of the lipid tails in its immediate vicinity and a concomitant ordering of lipid tails located further away from the solute. This view is further supported by the results obtained for an approximated nonlinear vibrational sum frequency generation susceptibility, which showed greater tail disorder close to CPZ.

Simulating induced interdigitation in membranes

In this study we introduce a mesoscopic lipid-water-alcohol model. Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations have been used to investigate the induced interdigitation of bilayers consisting of double-tail lipids by adding alcohol molecules to the bilayer. Our simulations nicely reproduce the experimental phase diagrams. We find that alcohol can induce an interdigitated structure where the common bilayer structure changes into monolayer in which the alcohol molecules screen the hydrophobic tails from the water phase. At low concentrations of alcohol the membrane has domains of the interdigitated phase that are in coexistence with the common membrane phase. We compute the effect of the chain length of the alcohol on the phase behavior of the membrane and show that the stability of the interdigitated phase depends on the length of the alcohol. We show that we can reproduce the experimental hydrophobic thickness of the bilayer for various combinations of lipids and alcohols. We use our model to clarify some of the experimental questions related to the structure of the interdigitated phase and put forward a simple model that explains the alcohol chain length dependence of the stability of this interdigitated phase.

Molecular dynamics simulations of unsaturated lipid bilayers: effects of varying the numbers of double bonds

The importance of unsaturated, and especially polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine molecules for the functional properties of biological membranes is widely accepted. Here, the effects of unsaturation on the nanosecond-scale structural and dynamic properties of the phosphatidylcholine bilayer were elucidated by performance of multinanosecond molecular dynamics simulations of all-atom bilayer models. Bilayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and its mono-, di-, and tetraunsaturated counterparts were simulated, containing, respectively, oleoyl, linoleoyl, or arachidonoyl chains in the sn-2 position. Analysis of the simulations focused on comparison of the structural properties, especially the ordering of the chains in the membranes. Although the results suggest some problems in the CHARMM force field of the lipids when applied in a constant pressure ensemble, the features appearing in the ordering of the unsaturated chains are consistent with the behaviour known from (2)H NMR experiments. The rigidity of the double bonds is compensated by the flexibility of skew state single bonds juxtaposed with double bonds. The presence of double bonds in the sn-2 chains considerably reduces the order parameters of the CH bonds. Moreover, the double bond region of tetraunsaturated chains is shown to span all the way from the bilayer centre to the head group region.

Concentration effects of volatile anesthetics on the properties of model membranes: a coarse-grain approach

To gain insights into the molecular level mechanism of drug action at the membrane site, we have carried out extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a model membrane in the presence of a volatile anesthetic using a coarse-grain model. Six different anesthetic (halothane)/lipid (dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine) ratios have been investigated, going beyond the low doses typical of medical applications. The volatile anesthetics were introduced into a preassembled fully hydrated 512-molecule lipid bilayer and each of the molecular dynamics simulations were carried out at ambient conditions, using the NPT ensemble. The area per lipid increases monotonically with the halothane concentration and the lamellar spacing decreases, whereas the lipid bilayer thickness shows no appreciable differences and only a slight increase upon addition of halothane. The density profiles of the anesthetic molecules display a bimodal distribution along the membrane normal with maxima located close to the lipid-water interface region. We have studied how halothane molecules fluctuate between the two maxima of the bimodal distribution and we observed a different mechanism at low and high anesthetic concentrations. Through the investigation of the reorientational motions of the lipid tails, we found that the anesthetic molecules increase the segmental order of the lipids close to the membrane surface.

Simulating the effect of alcohol on the structure of a membrane

Adsorption of alcohol molecules or other small amphiphilic molecules in the cell membrane can induce significant changes in the structure of the membrane. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying these structural changes, we developed a mesoscopic membrane model. Molecular simulations on this model nicely reproduce the experimental phase diagrams. We find that alcohol can induce an interdigitated structure in which the normal bilayer structure changes into a monolayer in which the alcohol molecules screen the hydrophobic tails from the water phase. We compute the effect of the chain length of the alcohol on the phase behaviour of the membrane. At low concentrations of alcohol, the membrane has domains of the interdigitated phase that are in coexistence with the normal membrane phase. We use our model to clarify some of the experimental questions related to the structure of the interdigitated phase and put forward a simple model that explains the alcohol chain length dependence of the stability of this interdigitated phase.