Comparative study of the lateral motion of extrinsic probes and anthracene-labelled constitutive phospholipids in the plasma membrane of Chinese hamster ovary cells

Dynamic Confinement of NK2 Receptors in the Plasma Membrane

A functional fluorescent neurokinin NK2 receptor, EGFP-NK2, was previously used to follow, by fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements in living cells, the binding of its fluorescently labeled agonist, bodipy-neurokinin A (NKA). Local agonist application suggested that the activation and desensitization of the NK2 receptors were compartmentalized at the level of the plasma membrane. In this study, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments are carried out at variable observation radius (vrFRAP) to probe EGFP-NK2 receptor mobility and confinement. Experiments are carried out at 20 degrees C to maintain the number of receptors constant at the cell surface during recordings. In the absence of agonist, 35% EGFP-NK2 receptors diffuse within domains of 420 +/- 80 nm in radius with the remaining 65% of receptors able to diffuse with a long range lateral diffusion coefficient between the domains. When cells are incubated with a saturating concentration of NKA, 30% EGFP-NK2 receptors become immobilized in small domains characterized by a radius equal to 170 +/- 50 nm. Biochemical experiments show that the confinement of EGFP-NK2 receptor is not due to its association with rafts at any given time. Colocalization of the receptor with beta-arrestin and transferrin supports that the small domains, containing 30% of activated EGFP-NK2, correspond to clathrin-coated pre-pits. The similar amount of confined EGFP-NK2 receptors found before and after activation (30-35%) is discussed in term of putative transient interactions of the receptors with preexisting scaffolds of signaling molecules.

Alteration of the lateral organization of the plasma membrane of Chinese hamster ovary cells by synthetic lipopeptide, Pam3Cys-Ser-Lys4

The cationic lipohexapeptide (S)-[2, 3-bis(palmitoyloxy)-(2RS)-propyl]-N-palmitoyl-(R)-Cys-(S)-Ser-(S)- Lys 4-OH, trihydrochloride (Pam3Cys-Ser-Lys4) is a synthetic analog of the triacylated N-terminal part of bacterial lipoproteins. In this study we addressed the question of whether Pam3Cys-Ser-Lys4 could modify the organization of the plasma membrane of Chinese hamster ovary cells. 1-Acyl-2-[6-(7-nitro-2-1, 3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino]caproyl]-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (C6-NBD-PC) diffusion was followed by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments carried out on the plasma membrane of Chinese hamster ovary cells. Incubation of cells in the presence of Pam3Cys-Ser-Lys4 induced an increase in the lateral diffusion coefficient and in the immobile fraction of C6-NBD-PC probes. Various control experiments have shown that the increase in the immobile fraction was not due to probe internalization induced by Pam3Cys-Ser-Lys4. Back-exchange experiments showed that a good correlation exists between the fractions of immobilized probes and nonextractable probes in the plasma membrane of Chinese hamster ovary cells. A useful way to analyze the origin of probe immobilization (micrometer-sized domains or aggregated patches of proteins) is to carry out fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments at variable observation radii. This type of experiment, carried out on the plasma membrane of Chinese hamster ovary cells incubated with Pam3Cys-Ser-Lys4, confirmed that the lipopeptide induced the aggregation of proteins of Chinese hamster ovary plasma membrane. Lipids which were trapped inside these aggregates were thus prevented from diffusing at long range in the plasma membrane plane and behave as an immobile fraction.

Submicron structure in L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine monolayers and bilayers probed with confocal, atomic force, and near-field microscopy

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers and bilayers of L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), fluorescently doped with 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (diIC18), are studied by confocal microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM). Beyond the resolution limit of confocal microscopy, both AFM and NSOM measurements of mica-supported lipid monolayers reveal small domains on the submicron scale. In the NSOM studies, simultaneous high-resolution fluorescence and topography measurements of these structures confirm that they arise from coexisting liquid condensed (LC) and liquid expanded (LE) lipid phases, and not defects in the monolayer. AFM studies of bilayers formed by a combination of LB dipping and Langmuir-Schaefer monolayer transfer exhibit complex surface topographies that reflect a convolution of the phase structure present in each of the individual monolayers. NSOM fluorescence measurements, however, are able to resolve the underlying lipid domains from each side of the bilayer and show that they are qualitatively similar to those observed in the monolayers. The observation of the small lipid domains in these bilayers is beyond the spatial resolving power of confocal microscopy and is complicated in the topography measurements taken with AFM, illustrating the utility of NSOM for these types of studies. The data suggest that the small LC and LE lipid domains are formed after lipid transfer to the substrate through a dewetting mechanism. The possible extension of these measurements to probing for lipid phase domains in natural biomembranes is discussed.

Spatial compartmentation and time resolution of photooxidation of a cell membrane probe in electropermeabilized Chinese hamster ovary cells

When electropulsed by short strong electric field pulses, cells can be permeabilized transiently (electropermeabilization). The transient electroinduced membrane restructuration which supports enhanced membrane permeability is topologically well defined on the surface of the cell. Exchange of polar species only takes place on the part of the cell surface which is controlled by the field intensity. Electropermeabilization is a stress for the cell and metabolic responses associated with this stress must be studied. A key point is to discover whether this stress affects the whole cell surface or especially the permeabilized part. This was investigated by photochemical time-dependent methodology. Analysis of the photooxidation reaction of 5-(N-hexadecanoyl)-aminofluorescein, an interfacial light-sensitive fluorescent probe, inserted into the Chinese hamster ovary cell membrane showed that the rate of reaction was accelerated when the cell population was electropermeabilized. This increase in the rate constant depended on the field strength. A theoretical approach suggested that modulation of the photooxidation reaction was restricted to the electropermeabilized part of the cell surface. The difference of reactivity could be correlated with an activator effect of oxygen-reactive species generated by an electro-induced oxidative jump and suggested that these species were localized in the permeabilized part of the plasma membrane. Using fluorescence digitized videomicroscopy imaging on a single cell, such spatial heterogeneity of the photooxidation reaction was indeed directly observed when the cell was electropermeabilized. There was heterogeneous compartmentation of the membrane reaction into two independent domains with specific reactivity. The direct observation is that long-lived electropermeabilization only affects a restricted part of the pulsed cell surface, from both a structural and a metabolic point of view.

Self-association processes involving anthracene labeled phosphatidylcholines in model membrane

When studying lipid-lipid or lipid-protein interaction in membranes, the correct interpretation of data obtained when using fluorescent phospholipid probes requires the best possible knowledge of probe behaviour in phospholipid membranes. Analysis of the translational dynamics and photochemical properties of the anthracene-labeled phosphatidylcholine (EAPC) shows that a self-association process occurs with this probe in the membrane at the ground state. This anthracene self-association is characterized and leads to a hypochromic effect which has been studied by means of ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy in unilamellar egg-yolk phosphatidylcholine (EggPC) vesicles. A model with indefinite linear self-association, in which each step has the same equilibrium constant, best describes the data. The equilibrium constant was found to be in the 300-500 M(-1) range and the complex lateral distribution pattern of EAPC in model membranes, which results from this self-association process, is characterized and seems to be mainly controlled by the amount of EAPC incorporated into the lipid bilayer.

Lipid domains and lipid/protein interactions in biological membranes

In the fluid mosaic model of membranes, lipids are organized in the form of a bilayer supporting peripheral and integral proteins. This model considers the lipid bilayer as a two-dimensional fluid in which lipids and proteins are free to diffuse. As a direct consequence, both types of molecules would be expected to be randomly distributed within the membrane. In fact, evidences are accumulating to indicate the occurrence of both a transverse and lateral regionalization of membranes which can be described in terms of micro- and macrodomains, including the two leaflets of the lipid bilayer. The nature of the interactions responsible for the formation of domains, the way they develop and the time- and space-scale over which they exist represent today as many challenging problems in membranology. In this report, we will first consider some of the basic observations which point to the role of proteins in the transverse and lateral regionalization of membranes. Then, we will discuss some of the possible mechanisms which, in particular in terms of lipid/protein interactions, can explain lateral heterogenities in membranes and which have the merit of providing a thermodynamic support to the existence of lipid domains in membranes.

Hydrophobic mismatch and long-range protein/lipid interactions in bacteriorhodopsin/phosphatidylcholine vesicles

Mismatch between the hydrophobic thicknesses of transmembrane proteins and the supporting lipid bilayer and its consequences on the lateral organization of lipids have been investigated with bacteriorhodopsin and phosphatidylcholine species with a variety of acyl-chain lengths. The purple membrane, from the bacterium Halobacterium halobium, was used and reconstituted with dilauroyl-(Lau2GroPCho), dimyristoyl- (Myr2GroPCho), dipalmitoyl- (Pam2GroPCho) and distearoyl- (Ste2GroPCho) glycerophosphocholine. The phase behaviour of the lipids was investigated at different temperatures and different protein/lipid molar ratios, by analyzing the fluorescence excitation spectra of the 1-acyl-2-[8-(2-anthroyl)-octanoyl]-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine probe, and by measuring the fluorescence depolarization of the 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene probe. Data obtained with 1-acyl-2-[8-(2-anthroyl)-octanoyl]-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine shows that bacteriorhodopsin produced positive or negative shifts in the phase transition temperature of the host lipids depending on the strength and sign of the mismatch between the lipid and protein hydrophobic thicknesses and also on the protein concentration and aggregation state in the lipid bilayer. In the region of high protein concentration (bacteriorhodopsin/phosphatidylcholine molar ratios approximately 1:50) and despite the presence of the endogenous lipids, bacteriorhodopsin (hydrophobic length dP approximately 3.0-3.1 nm) brought about a large upward shift in the phase-transition temperature of Lau2GroPCho (delta T approximately 40 K, mean hydrophobic thickness d approximately 2.4 nm), and to a lesser extent of Myr2GroPCho (delta T approximately 23 K, d approximately 2.8 nm), accounting for a strong rigidifying effect of the protein on these short-chain lipids. Bacteriorhodopsin had no influence on the phase properties of Pam2GroPCho (delta T approximately 0 K, d approximately 3.2 nm), a lipid whose mean hydrophobic thickness is similar to that of the protein. In contrast, the transition temperature of Ste2GroPCho was decreased (delta T approximately -13 K, d approximately 3.7 nm), indicating a fluidifying effect of the protein on this long-chain lipid. Similar effects on the lipid acyl-chain order were observed in the region of high-protein dilution (bacteriorhodopsin/phosphatidylcholine molar ratios < 1:500). In this region and for Lau2GroPCho, both the spectroscopic data and circular-dichroism spectra indicated that the protein was in the monomeric form. Phase diagrams, in temperature versus bacteriorhodopsin concentration, were constructed for Lau2GroPCho and Ste2GroPCho. On account of microscopic theoretical models and of the relative values of dP and d, these diagrams indicate a preference of the protein for those lipid molecules which are in the gel-ordered state in Lau2GroPCho but in the liquid disordered state in Ste2GroPCho.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Isolation of the plasma membrane and organelles from Chinese hamster ovary cells

Two methods are described enabling the plasma membrane from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to be obtained rapidly, relatively pure and with a good yield. In both cases, cells were disrupted by nitrogen cavitation in an isoosmotic buffer either at pH 5.4 or at pH 7.4. In the first approach, cells were lysed at pH 7.4 and the plasma membrane and cell organelles were isolated on a self-generated gradient of Percoll, at neutral pH. Mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum were recovered in the denser fractions, plasma membrane fragments were found in the lighter fractions, but always contaminated by lysosomes. Because lysosomes were found to sediment in acidic conditions, cells were lysed at pH 5.4 and presedimentation (1500 x g) of the cell homogenate at the same pH enabled more than 80% of the lysosomes to be removed. Then, ultracentrifugation of the supernatant over a Percoll gradient at neutral pH yielded plasma membrane fractions practically free of lysosomes with an enrichment ratio of 3 and fractions of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum with enrichment ratios of 17 and 6, respectively. A major problem was encountered in the final step of elimination of Percoll from the purified plasma membrane fractions. Whatever the technique used for eliminating Percoll, plasma membranes were observed to be contaminated by a Percoll constituent which prevented further purification and biochemical identification of the lipids extracted from these membrane fractions to be carried out. A second method of plasma membrane preparation was tested consisting first in the coating of the cell surface with positive colloidal silica which was stabilized by an anionic polymer. Then, and through differential centrifugations, plasma membrane fractions were easily obtained within less than 1 h, with a yield of 65% and an enrichment ratio of 7. The coating pellicle was quantitatively removed thus enabling any biochemical manipulation of the plasma membrane to be carried out. The lipids present in the plasma membrane of CHO cells were analyzed and are described, both in terms of headgroup and acyl chain composition.

Polarity of lipid bilayers. A fluorescence investigation

Through steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence experiments, the polarity of the bilayers of egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles was studied by means of the solvatochromic 2-anthroyl fluorophore which we have recently introduced for investigating the environmental micropolarity of membranes and which was incorporated synthetically in phosphatidylcholine molecules (anthroyl-PC) in the form of 8-(2-anthroyl)octanoic acid. Fluorescence quenching experiments carried out with N,N-dimethylaniline and 12-doxylstearic acid as quenchers showed that the 2-anthroyl chromophore was located in depth in the hydrophobic region of the lipid bilayer corresponding to the C9-C16 segment of the acyl chains. Steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy revealed a nonstructured and red-shifted (lambda em(max) = 464 nm) spectrum for the probe in egg-PC bilayers, which greatly differed from the structured and blue (lambda em(max) = 404 nm) spectrum the fluorophore was shown to display in n-hexane. While the fluorescence decays of the fluorophore in organic solvents were monoexponential, three exponentials were required to account for the fluorescence decays of anthroyl-PC in egg-PC vesicles, with average characteristic times of 1.5 ns, 5.5 ns, and 20 ns. These lifetime values were independent of the emission wavelength used. Addition of cholesterol to the lipid did not alter these tau values. One just observed an increase in the fractional population of the 1.5-ns short-living species detrimental to the population of the 20-ns long-living ones. These observations enabled time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy measurements to be achieved in the case of the 1/1 (mol/mol) egg-PC/cholesterol mixture. Three distinct decay associated spectra (DAS) were recorded, with maximum emission wavelengths, respectively, of 410 nm, 440 nm, and 477 nm for the 1.5-ns, 6-ns, and 20-ns lifetimes found in this system. On account of the properties and the polarity scale previously established for the 2-anthroyl chromophore in organic solvents, these data strongly suggest the occurrence of three distinct excited states for anthroyl-PC in egg-PC bilayers, corresponding to three environments for the 2-anthroyl chromophore, differing in polarity. The lifetime of 1.5 ns and the corresponding structured and blue (lambda em(max) = 410 nm) DAS account for a hydrophobic environment, with an apparent dielectric constant of 2, which is that expected for the hydrophobic core of the lipid bilayer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Fluorescence properties of methyl 8-(2-anthroyl) octanoate, a solvatochromic lipophilic probe

Fluorescence excitation and emission spectra, relative fluorescence quantum yield phi r and fluorescence lifetime tau of methyl 8-(2-anthroyl)-octanoate have been studied in a set of organic solvents covering a large scale of polarity and in the presence of water. In this probe, the 2-anthroyl chromophore exhibits quite remarkable and unique fluorescence properties. Thus, when going from n-hexane to methanol, the maximum emission wavelength lambda em max shifts from 404 nm to 492 nm while phi r and tau increase from 1 to 17.7 and from 0.91 ns to 13.5 ns, respectively. These increments are still more accentuated in the presence of water with estimated values of 526 nm for lambda em max, 27 for phi r and 20 ns for tau in this solvent. Because of the presence of a keto group which is a hydrogen bond acceptor and which can conjugate with the aromatic ring so as to provide the chromophore with a high dipole moment, the fluorescence properties of the probe strongly depend on the polarity of the surrounding medium. They can be accounted for in terms of general solvent effects (dipolar solute/solvent interactions) in the presence of aprotic solvents and in terms of specific solvent effects (hydrogen bonding) in protic solvents. Such properties of solvatochromism make the 2-anthroyl chromophore, after 8-(2-anthroyl)octanoic acid has been attached to phospholipids (E. Perochon and J.F. Tocanne (1991) Chem. Phys. Lipids 58, 7-17) a potential tool for studying microenvironmental polarity in biological membranes.

Lipid lateral diffusion and membrane organization

It is shown that investigating the lateral motion of lipids in biological membranes can provide useful information on membrane lateral organization. After labeling membranes with extrinsic or intrinsic lipophilic fluorescent probes, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments strongly suggests that specialized cells like spermatozoa, eggs and epithelia exhibit surface membrane regionalization or macrocompartmentation and that lateral microheterogeneities or lipid microdomains exist in the plasma membrane of many cellular systems.

Continuous fluorescence microphotolysis of anthracene-labeled phospholipids in membranes. Theoretical approach of the simultaneous determination of their photodimerization and lateral diffusion rates

Anthracene is a fluorescent and photoactivatable (dimerization) group which can be used for investigating the lateral distribution and dynamics of lipids in membranes. In fluorescence recovery after photobleaching or in microphotolysis experiments, and when using this fluorophore, the bleaching (or microphotolysis) step in the illuminated part of the membrane is in fact the sum of two antagonistic processes: fluorescence decay, which is due to dimerization of anthracene residues, and fluorescence recovery, which is due to a diffusion mediated exchange of bleached and unbleached particles between the illuminated and diffusion area in the membrane. Here, we propose a new mathematical algorithm that enables such a second-order reaction-diffusion process to be analyzed. After coupling a fluorescence recovery step to a microphotolysis step, this algorithm allows us to calculate the lateral diffusion coefficient D and the photodimerization constant K of anthracene-labeled lipids in membranes, two parameters which contribute to the understanding of the fluidity of the lipid phase in membranes. This algorithm also provides us with a complete description of the anthracene-labeled molecules distribution in the illuminated and diffusion area, at any time of the experiment. The fluorescence recovery after microphotolysis procedure we propose was tested with an anthracene-labeled phosphatidylcholine inserted in egg-phosphatidylcholine multilayers, in monolayers adsorbed onto alkylated glass surfaces and in the plasma membrane of Chinese hamster ovary cells. It is shown that this procedure can also be used to evaluate the important parameters of probe mobile fraction and to determine the relative size of the illuminated and diffusion areas. This will enable membranes to be explored in terms of microdomains and/or macrodomains.

Localization of adriamycin in model and natural membranes. Influence of lipid molecular packing

The interaction of adriamycin with lipids was studied in model (monolayers, small unilamellar vesicles, large multilamellar vesicles) and natural (chinese hamster ovary cell) membranes by measurement of fluorescence energy transfer and fluorescence quenching. 2-APam, 7-ASte, 12-ASte and anthracene-phosphatidylcholine were used as fluorescent probes in which the anthracene group is well located at graded depths in the membrane. Egg-yolk phosphatidylcholine and a 1/1 mixture of it with bovine brain phosphatidylserine were used in model membrane systems. Large fluorescence energy transfer was observed between these molecules as donors and the drug as acceptor. With liposomes, at pH 7.4 and over an adriamycin concentration range of 0-100 microM, the efficiency of energy transfer was 12-ASte greater than 7-ASte greater than 2-APam, with 100% energy transfer for 12-ASte above a drug concentration of 30 microM. At pH 5, where the fatty acids are buried deeper (0.45 nm) in the lipid bilayer due to protonation of the carboxyl group, the order of energy transfer 7-ASTe greater than 12-ASte = 2-APam was observed. Measurements of fluorescence quenching using the non-permeant Cu2+ ion as quencher and spectrophotometric assays indicated that around 40% of the adriamycin molecules were deeply embedded in the lipid bilayer. Adriamycin molecules thus appear to penetrate the lipid bilayer, with the aminoglycosyl group interacting with the lipid phosphate groups and the dihydroanthraquinone residue in contact with the lipid fatty acid chains. In contrast, fluorescence energy transfer and quenching studies on CHO cells showed that adriamycin penetrated the plasma membrane of these cells to a much more limited extent than in the model membrane systems. This can be related to the squeezing out of the drug from a film of phosphatidylcholine which was observed in monolayers by means of surface pressure, potential and fluorescence experiments. These observations indicated that the penetration of adriamycin into lipid bilayers strongly depends on the molecular packing of the lipid.

The lateral motion of lipid molecules in the apical plasma membrane of endothelial cells is reversibly affected by the presence of cell junctions

As with other epithelia, the question arises of whether the endothelial cell junctions participate in cell polarization, restrict the localization of lipid molecules, and lead to differences in their lateral motion between the apical and basolateral plasma membranes. We found that in bovine aortic endothelium in culture, the localization of the lipophilic probe 5N-(hexadecanoyl)-aminofluorescein (HEDAF) was markedly affected by the presence of cell junctions. At confluence, the probe was observed to be restricted to the exoplasmic leaflet of the apical plasmalemma. It was detected in the basal membrane only after disruption of the cell junctions, whereas the cells remained firmly bound to the underlying extracellular matrix. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments indicated that the endothelial confluent cell monolayer forms a mosaic of closed diffusion areas in which the probe molecules are free to diffuse. For the first time, and using a new mathematical approach, it was possible to estimate the diameter of these diffusion areas. Values in the range 14-33 microns were found which correlate well with the actual measured diameters of 14 to 26 microns for the apical pole of individual cells. Moreover, cell junctions were found to affect the dynamics of the probe. When the cell junctions were disrupted, the lateral diffusion coefficient D of HEDAF was found to be the same in both apical and basal membranes. It regained its initial higher value in the apical poles when cell contacts were restored. This strongly suggests that in vascular endothelium, cell junctions affect overall plasma membrane organization in a reversible manner.

Effect of cell substratum on lateral mobility of lipids in the plasma membrane of vascular endothelial cells

Bovine vascular endothelial cells can be maintained in a highly differentiated state in vitro, either by the addition of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) to the culture medium or by plating the cells on extracellular matrix (ECM)-coated dishes. Under these conditions the cells proliferate actively and at confluence form a tightly packed monolayer composed of nonoverlapping polarized cells. A fluorescence recovery after photobleaching method was used to determine the lateral mobility coefficient D of the lipophilic fluorescent probe, 5N-(hexadecanoyl)-aminofluorescein (HEDAF), in the basal and apical plasma membranes of endothelial cells under various culture conditions (cells on glass coverslips in the presence or absence of FGF, or cells plated on ECM in the exponential growth phase or at confluence). A heterogeneous distribution of lateral diffusion coefficients D was found in a given cell population. Nevertheless, for the basal membrane, a "mean" D value close to 2.0 x 10(-9) cm2/s was found for all the culture conditions. The "mean" D value of HEDAF in the apical pole was slightly higher when sparse cells were exposed to FGF (D = 2.2 x 10(-9) cm2/s) and was further enhanced when cells were growing or confluent on ECM-coated coverslips (D = 2.7 x 10(-9) cm2/s). On the other hand, when the cells were maintained in the absence of FGF on glass coverslips, similar "mean" D values were found in both cell poles (D = 2.0 x 10(-9) cm2/s). These results show that lateral mobility of lipids in endothelial plasmalemma varies in response to external factors such as FGF and the ECM.