Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D Schachter.
A dietary regimen which induces hepatic fatty acyl desaturase activities increases the lipid fluidity of hepatocyte plasma membranes, both in normal rats and in animals treated with ethinyl estradiol to produce cholestasis. In the cholestatic animals the fluidity change is accompanied by a significant increase in bile flow rate of approx. 33%.
Rats were maintained on a regimen of intermittent starvation followed by refeeding a fat-free diet in order to induce hepatic acyl desaturase activities and other enzymes involved in lipid synthesis. The effects of the dietary regimen on the lipid composition and fluidity of isolated hepatocyte plasma membranes were compared to corresponding effects on microsomal preparations. The dietary regimen increased the content of monoenoic and polyenoic acyl chains and decreased the cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio in the plasma membranes. Accordingly, the lipid fluidity of the plasma membranes was significantly increased as assessed by the fluorescence polarization of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene and 12-(9-anthroyloxy)stearate and the intramolecular excimer fluorescence of 1,3-di(1-pyrenyl)propane. In the microsomal membranes, substantial increases in the content of monoenoic acyl chains were offset by decreases in polyenoic acids, and no change in cholesterol/phospholipid ratio was observed. Correspondingly, the lipid fluidity of the microsomal membranes remained almost unchanged. The enhancement of lipid fluidity in the hepatocyte plasma membranes was accompanied by an increase of approximately 68% in the specific activity of the (Na+ + K+)-dependent adenosinetriphosphatase. The results demonstrate that a dietary regimen can modulate in vivo the lipid composition, fluidity, and enzyme function of the hepatocyte plasma membrane.
A series of fluorescent probes was used to analyze membrane lipid dynamics in promyelocytic leukemic cells sensitive (HL-60) or resistant (R-55) to phorbol diester induction of cell differentiation. When examined with the probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, which can penetrate the plasma membrane and intercalate in the lipids of both leaflets of the plasma membrane, as well as in organellar membranes, R-55 cells were found to have higher fluorescence anisotropy values, indicative of decreased lipid fluidity, as compared to HL-60 cells. In contrast, when HL-60 and R-55 cells were compared using a series of membrane-impermeant fluorophores (stachyose derivatives of anthroyloxystearate and pyrenebutyryl hydrazide) that incorporate only into the outer hemileaflet of the plasma membrane, no difference was observed in membrane lipid fluidity. Exposure to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (10 ng/ml) for 24 hr decreased the fluorescence anisotropy of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene in both HL-60 and R-55 cells, whereas by 48 hr only the HL-60 cells displayed the reduction. No effect on the fluorescence anisotropy of 1-(4'-trimethylammonium phenyl)-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, which is believed to localize in the plasma membrane, was observed in R-55 cells exposed to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (10 or 100 ng/ml), whereas HL-60 cells treated with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (10 ng/ml) showed a marked reduction in the fluorescence anisotropy. These observations suggest that the ability of HL-60 cells to respond to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate may be affected by the physical state of the plasma membrane lipids and that the resistant phenotype is associated with decreased fluidity of either the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane and/or of the cytosolic organellar membranes.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Rat hepatocyte plasma membranes were subfractionated by several methods into canalicular, sinusoidal and mixed contiguous plus sinusoidal membranes. Assessment of lipid fluidity by steady-state fluorescence polarization of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene and 12-(9-anthroyloxy)stearate indicates that the canalicular fraction is less fluid than the other membranes. Incubation with calcium decreases the fluidity of the sinusoidal and contiguous membranes by altering the lipid composition, an action which is not reversed by subsequent chelation of the cation. This effect of calcium is not observed in canalicular membranes.
The purpose of this investigation was to correlate the viscoelastic properties and lipid fluidity of the red blood cell membrane to its lipid composition. The viscoelastic properties of human red cells that had been enriched or depleted in cholesterol were determined by the micropipette technique. The lipid fluidity of the outer and inner leaflets of the erythrocyte membrane was concurrently assessed by steady state fluorescence depolarization. The elastic modulus and the viscosity moduli of the erythrocyte membrane showed no significant differences between the cholesterol-modified and the control cells. Cholesterol enrichment decreased the lipid fluidity of the outer membrane leaflet alone, and cholesterol depletion increased the fluidity mainly of the inner leaflet.
The impermeant fluorescent probes (MIMAR reagents) described here permit the assessment of the lipid fluidity of individual membrane hemileaflets. They should also prove useful for examining the outer hemileaflets of the plasma membranes of intact cells. The observations, thus far, that normal human erythrocyte membranes have a characteristic asymmetry of fluidity, with the outer leaflet more fluid, correspond to prior findings with Mycoplasma, Newcastle Disease viral envelopes, and mouse LM cells. Hence, it is possible that the pattern is quite general in biological membranes. The particular lipid and protein components of the human-erythrocyte membrane that underly the fluidity asymmetry are unknown. The increased content of phosphatidylcholine in the outer leaflet and of the anionic phospholipids in the inner leaflet would be consonant with the fluidity difference. On the other hand, sphingomyelin, which tends to decrease fluidity, is localized mainly in the outer leaflet. Unknown at present is whether the cholesterol content of the two leaflets differs. From the results reported above, it is tempting to speculate that exogenously added cholesterol tends to localize in the outer leaflet, normally the more fluid leaflet, whereas endogenous cholesterol is more readily removed from the inner leaflet. This suggests, but clearly does not establish, that in the normal erythrocyte the cholesterol content of the inner leaflet exceeds that of the outer. Lastly, integral membrane proteins are expected to decrease lipid fluidity, and the usual pattern seen on freeze-fracture of large numbers of intra-membranous particles on the cytoplasmic face may signify a greater influence of protein in the inner leaflet. The hypothesis that perturbations of the fluidity of a given hemileaflet influence the membrane proteins (and their associated functions) in that leaflet is well-supported by the evidence described above. On the other hand, we understand less well the mechanisms by which lipid fluidity influences the proteins. For example, the decrease in sulfhydryl group reactivity of spectrin, actin, and Band 3 owing to cholesterol depletion (Table 7) may be due to a physical displacement of these proteins, as suggested by Borochov and Shinitzky. Why then does the reactivity of glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase sulfhydryl groups increase under these conditions? There remains much to learn about membrane molecular mechanics and lipid-protein interactions. In such studies the impermeant MIMAR probes described here should prove useful.
The structure and functions of the human erythrocyte are influenced by the composition and organization of the membrane lipids. The outer (exofacial) and inner (endofacial) leaflets of the erythrocyte membrane differ in lipid composition, and recent studies using a group of membrane-impermeant pyrene fluorophores have demonstrated that the lipid fluidity of the outer leaflet exceeds that of the inner. Using one of these probes, pyrene butyryl hydrazide linked to the tetrasaccharide stachyose (SPBH), we have compared the lipid fluidity of the outer and inner leaflets in normal human erythrocytes treated experimentally to alter membrane cholesterol content and in acanthocytes, erythrocytes of altered morphology found in individuals with the genetic disorder abetalipoproteinaemia. The results, reported here, demonstrate that hemileaflet fluidity can be altered selectively: acanthocytosis and experimental cholesterol enrichment decrease the lipid fluidity of the outer but not the inner hemileaflet.
The fluorescence anisotropy and mean excited-state lifetime of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, 12-(9-anthroyloxy)stearate, 2-(9-anthroyloxy)stearate, and pyrenedecanoic acid in the membranes of intact human erythrocytes, lysate suspensions, and ghost membranes were compared. The excited-state lifetime of each lipid fluorophore, estimated by single photon counting, is significantly shorter in the intact erythrocytes as compared to the lysates, owing to nonradiative energy transfer from the lipid fluorophore donors in the membrane to heme acceptors at the endothelial surface of the intact cell. The fluorescence observed in intact cell suspensions is thus weighted in favor of outer leaflet fluorophores, and estimates of the fluorescence anisotropy by steady-state fluorescence polarization indicate that all four fluorescent probes experience greater motional freedom in the outer as compared to the inner membrane leaflet. The results are in accord with prior studies of impermeant pyrene derivatives, which also indicate that the outer leaflet lipids have greater motional freedom.
Experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that cholesterol biosynthesis in the rat ileal enterocyte, the major absorptive cell lining the distal epithelium of the small intestine, can modulate the cholesterol content and the motional freedom of the plasma membrane lipids. Decreased sterol biosynthesis in vivo was elicited by feeding sodium taurocholate or by fasting the rats, whereas increased synthesis was induced by biliary ligation or feeding cholestyramine, a bile salt binding resin; these effects were monitored by assay of mucosal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase. After each procedure, isolated microvillus membranes were examined to determine the lipid composition and the fluorescence anisotropy of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene. The results demonstrate that variations in cholesterol biosynthesis in vivo can modulate the cholesterol content and the motional freedom of the lipids of the microvillus membrane; similar effects were not observed on the basolateral membrane. The observations suggest that the normal pattern of decreased lipid motional freedom in microvillus membranes of the distal as compared to the proximal small intestine of the rat results from higher rates of cholesterol biosynthesis in the distal mucosa.
The intensity of pyrene excimer fluorescence in human erythrocyte membranes and in sonicated dispersions of the membrane lipid (liposomes) was examined as a function of pressure (1-2080 bar) and temperature (5-40 degrees C). Higher pressure or lower temperature decreased the excimer/monomer intensity ratios. A thermotropic transition was detected in both membranes and liposomes by plots of the logarithm of the excimer/monomer intensity ratio versus 1/K. The transition temperature of the membranes was 19-21 degrees C at 1 bar and 28-31 degrees C at 450 bar, a shift with pressure of approx. 20-22 K per kbar. Corresponding transition temperatures of the liposomes were 21 degrees C at 1 bar and 33 degrees C at 450 bar, a shift of approx. 27 K per kbar. The observed pressure dependence of the thermotropic transition temperature is similar to that reported for phospholipid bilayers and greatly exceeds that of protein conformation changes. In concert with the liposome studies the results provide direct evidence for a lipid transition in the erythrocyte membrane.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Regulation of the intestinal absorption of calcium by vitamin D in the rat involves the synthesis or maintenance of specific membrane proteins. A particulate preparation derived from duodenal mucosal homogenates or isolated microvillus membranes contains at least three vitamin D-dependent activities: calcium binding, p-nitrophenylphosphatase, and calcium-dependent ATPase. The membrane calcium-binding activity correlates closely with calcium transport. Solubilization and biochemical purification have led to the separation of the calcium-binding from the enzymatic activities and to the isolation of the calcium-binding protein (CaBP). This membrane protein has an apparent molecular weight of approximately 200,000 in 0.1% Triton X-100 and yields a monomeric subunit of molecular weight 20,500 in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The new protein, named IMCal, is clearly distinguished from the soluble CaBP found in mucosal homogenates and has a higher affinity for calcium than does the soluble protein. The hypothesis is proposed that IMCal is involved in the facilitated entry of calcium into the enterocyte from the lumen of the intestine.
The membrane lipid fluidity of normal human erythrocytes was modified by enrichment and depletion in cholesterol, and the expression of I and SP1 antigens was assayed by quantitative hemagglutination from 4 degrees to 24 degrees C by use of a continuous flow system. Below 16 degrees--18 degrees C, cholesterol enrichment increased and cholesterol depletion decreased percent agglutination. As temperatures approached approximately 18 degrees--20 degrees C, differences in agglutination between modified and unmodified erythrocytes became insignificant despite marked differences in lipid fluidity at that temperature. Thus, fluidity changes alone cannot be responsible for the effect of membrane cholesterol on cold agglutination. In an additional study, the temperature dependence of a relative equilibrium association constant, estimated by probit analysis of percent agglutination at various antisera concentrations, was biphasic with a sharp break at 16 degrees C. Our studies are consistent with the hypothesis that I and Sp1 antigens preferentially partition into a lipid domain that forms during lateral phase separation of membrane lipid developing at low temperature. A resulting increase in antigen density would then become responsible for augmented agglutination by specific antibody.
The synthesis, purification, and application of five membrane-impermeant derivatives of pyrene are described. Each probe consists of a membrane-impermeant moiety, either an oligosaccharide or glutathione, linked to pyrene via a connecting arm. Intact human erythrocytes and leaky ghost membranes prepared from them were treated with the probes to label, respectively, the outer membrane leaflet and both leaflets. Motional freedom of the pyrene fluorophores in the membrane was assessed by estimation of the steady-state polarization of fluorescence, the excited-state lifetime, and the excimer/monomer fluorescence intensity ratio. The fluorescence anisotropy of each impermeant derivative was lower in the outer as compared to the inner hemileaflet, whereas the corresponding excited-state lifetimes were similar. Excimer formation was consistently greater in the outer leaflet. The results demonstrate that the impermeant fluorophores experience greater motional freedom ("fluidity") in lipid domains of the outer as compared to the inner leaflet of the human erythrocyte membrane.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A particulate fraction of rat intestinal mucosal homogenates, termed the "calcium-binding complex," contains three vitamin D-dependent activities: calcium binding of high affinity, calcium-dependent adenosine triphosphatase, and p-nitrophenylphosphatase. These particulate activities vary concordantly with intestinal calcium transport, suggesting that they represent membrane components of the translocation mechanism. The particulate was solubilized with 1-butanol and the activities were resolved partially by gel filtration and by DEAE-cellulose and spheroidal hydroxyl-apatite column chromatography. The Ca-binding activity was separated from the enzymes and isolated as a protein of molecular weight approximately 200,000, as estimated by gel filtration in 0.1% Triton X-100. The membrane protein, named IMCal (intestinal membrane calcium-binding protein), was dissociated with sodium dodecyl sulfate to yield a monomer of molecular weight 20,500 which is clearly distinguishable from the soluble calcium-binding protein (molecular weight 11,500) of rat mucosa. The apparent dissociation constants of Ca2+ of IMCal and of the soluble calcium-binding protein were estimated as 0.37 microM and 2.25 microM, respectively. The vitamin D-dependent activities of the calcium-binding complex are present in isolated intestinal microvillus membranes and may mediate the translocation of calcium from the intestinal lumen to the cytosol.