Membrane structure and function

Understanding phospholipid function: Why are there so many lipids?

In the 1970s, phospholipids were still considered mere building blocks of the membrane lipid bilayer, but the subsequent realization that phospholipids could also serve as second messengers brought new interest to the field. My own passion for the unique amphipathic properties of lipids led me to seek other, non-signaling functions for phospholipids, particularly in their interactions with membrane proteins. This seemed to be the last frontier in protein chemistry and enzymology to be conquered. I was fortunate to find my way to Eugene Kennedy's laboratory, where both membrane proteins and phospholipids were the foci of study, thus providing a jumping-off point for advancing our fundamental understanding of lipid synthesis, membrane protein biosynthesis, phospholipid and membrane protein trafficking, and the cellular roles of phospholipids. After purifying and characterizing enzymes of phospholipid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli and cloning of several of the genes encoding these enzymes in E. coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, I was in a position to alter phospholipid composition in a systematic manner during the cell cycle in these microorganisms. My group was able to establish, contrary to common assumption (derived from the fact that membrane proteins retain activity in detergent extracts) that phospholipid environment is a strong determining factor in the function of membrane proteins. We showed that molecular genetic alterations in membrane lipid composition result in many phenotypes, and uncovered direct lipid-protein interactions that govern dynamic structural and functional properties of membrane proteins. Here I present my personal "reflections" on how our understanding of phospholipid functions has evolved.

A retrospective: use of Escherichia coli as a vehicle to study phospholipid synthesis and function

Although the study of individual phospholipids and their synthesis began in the 1920s first in plants and then mammals, it was not until the early 1960s that Eugene Kennedy using Escherichia coli initiated studies of bacterial phospholipid metabolism. With the base of information already available from studies of mammalian tissue, the basic blueprint of phospholipid biosynthesis in E. coli was worked out by the late 1960s. In 1970s and 1980s most of the enzymes responsible for phospholipid biosynthesis were purified and many of the genes encoding these enzymes were identified. By the late 1990s conditional and null mutants were available along with clones of the genes for every step of phospholipid biosynthesis. Most of these genes had been sequenced before the complete E. coli genome sequence was available. Strains of E. coli were developed in which phospholipid composition could be changed in a systematic manner while maintaining cell viability. Null mutants, strains in which phospholipid metabolism was artificially regulated, and strains synthesizing foreign lipids not found in E. coli have been used to this day to define specific roles for individual phospholipid. This review will trace the findings that have led to the development of E. coli as an excellent model system to study mechanisms underlying the synthesis and function of phospholipids that are widely applicable to other prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Phospholipids and Phospholipid Metabolism.

Glucose uptake by isolated particles from rat epididymal tissue cells

A MICROSOMAL FRACTION FROM ISOLATED ADIPOSE TISSUE CELLS HAS BEEN PREPARED WHICH POSSESSES MANY FEATURES INDICATING THE PRESENCE OF A FUNCTIONAL GLUCOSE TRANSPORT SYSTEM: (1) D-glucose is both taken up and released more rapidly than L-glucose at all temperatures, but at 42 degrees L-glucose uptake reaches the level of D-glucose after prolonged incubation; (2) D-glucose uptake is inhibited by a specific inhibitor of glucose transport, phlorizin, while L-glucose uptake is unaffected; (3) Preincubation of the preparation at 42 degrees C has no effect on L-glucose uptake but partially inhibits D-glucose uptake; (4) Equilibrium uptake studies show a linear relationship between the final level of D-glucose taken up and D-glucose concentration in the medium; and (5) Preloading the membrane preparation with unlabeled D-glucose leads to a more rapid uptake of radioactive D-glucose. These findings are interpreted as showing the presence in the microsomal particles of a specific, bidirectionally functioning D-glucose transport system superimposed on uptake of both sugars by passive diffusion or "leaks." The retained D-glucose can be eluted from the membrane preparation and shown to be the unphosphorylated sugar.

Inhibition of incorporation of leucine into myocardial proteins of the rat by antiarrhythmic agents

Incorporation of tritiated leucine into myocardial proteins was inhibited at low concentration by quinidine, procaine amide, and diphenylhydantoin, but not by lidocaine or propranolol. This inhibition could be demonstrated in vitro and when the animals were treated with these agents. The relationship between this finding and myocardial depression produced by these antiarrhythmic agents is not known but may reside in general depression of cellular metabolism and protein synthesis or in inhibition of synthesis of a specific membrane carrier protein.