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J H Crowe

Publications and source records attributed to J H Crowe.

104 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Interactions of phospholipid monolayers with carbohydrates.

Surface pressure studies of phospholipid monomolecular films of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) formed at an air/water interface have been made and the effects on the films studied when various carbohydrates are present in the subphase. The results obtained show that at a given temperature, the area per molecule of DPPC increases with increasing concentration of the carbohydrate in the subphase. The carbohydrate which has the greatest expanding effect on the phospholipid monolayer is glycerol, followed in turn by trehalose, sucrose, glucose, raffinose, and inositol. The mechanism of monolayer expansion by glycerol is different from that observed in other carbohydrates, as the following experiments demonstrate. Below the phase transition temperature of DPPC, the area per molecule of DPPC at a pressure of 12.5 dyn/cm is the same with and without glycerol in the subphase. However, when the monolayer is heated to a temperature above the phase transition temperature for DPPC, the area/molecule on glycerol is considerably greater than the area/molecule on water at the same surface pressure. Cooling the monolayer back to the lower temperature produces an area/molecule of DPPC which is identical on both water and glycerol subphases. Glycerol therefore has no effect on the low-temperature (condensed) monolayers but causes expansion of the high-temperature (expanded) monolayers. By contrast with glycerol, both trehalose and sucrose interact with the DPPC monolayer producing an increased area/molecule over that observed on water, both with low-temperature (condensed) monolayers and with the high-temperature (expanded) monolayers. The efficiency of these carbohydrates at expanding the monolayer films (with the exception of glycerol) shows a strong correlation with their ability to stabilize membrane structure and function at low water contents.

Carbohydrates↗

Infrared spectroscopic studies on interactions of water and carbohydrates with a biological membrane.

Infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate the changes in bands assigned to phospholipids and proteins in dehydrated and rehydrated sarcoplasmic reticulum. The changes in CH2 and CH3 stretching bands, amide bands, and phosphate stretching bands are similar to shifts in frequency seen for those bands in phospholipid and protein preparations during thermotropic phase transitions and hydration. IR studies on dry trehalose-sarcoplasmic reticulum mixtures show similar results; with increasing trehalose concentration in the dry mixtures, amide and phosphate bands shift to frequencies characteristic of hydrated samples. Changes in bands assigned to OH deformations in the trehalose suggest that the interaction between the carbohydrate and membrane is by means of hydrogen bonding between these -OH groups and membrane components.

Animals↗

Preservation of structural and functional activity in lyophilized sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Ca-transporting microsomes isolated from abdominal muscle of lobster were lyophilized in the presence and absence of trehalose. The dry membranes appeared with freeze fracture to collapse into cup-shaped structures embedded in a matrix of trehalose when lyophilized in the presence of trehalose. Upon rehydration, the dry membranes yielded vesicles that were morphologically indistinguishable from freshly prepared ones. These rehydrated vesicles also showed ATPase activity and Ca transport only slightly different from those activities in freshly prepared vesicles. The concentration of trehalose required to achieve this degree of stabilization is about 0.3 g trehalose/g membrane. When the membranes were dried at lower trehalose concentrations extensive fusion occurred between vesicles, along with lateral phase separations of membrane proteins and lipids. The rehydrated vesicles showed poor Ca uptake and coupling between ATPase activity and Ca uptake. The membranes may also be stabilized in the dry state by lyophilizing them in sucrose, but about three times as much sucrose is required as trehalose.

Animals↗

Effects of divalent cations on amino acid and divalent cation fluxes in gills of the bivalve mollusc, Mytilus californianus.

Effects of the deletion of Ca++, Mg++, or Ca++ and Mg++ on the leakage of primary amines, Ca++, and Mg++ from gills of Mytilus californianus were studied. In the absence of Ca++ the gills leak primary amines and Ca++ for about 30 minutes, after which the primary amines are reabsorbed. In the absence of Mg++ the gills leak primary amines, with no net reabsorption for at least 90 minutes, and show rapid leakage of Mg++. In the absence of both Ca++ and Mg++ amino acid leakage is initially less than in the absence of only one of the cations. Measurements of the kinetics of leakages of Ca++ and Mg++ are consistent with the hypothesis that both ions are associated with the cell surface, but the affinity of Ca++ for the cell surface is greater than that of Mg++. In the absence of Mg++, the influx of 14C-glycine was depressed to about 1/3 that seen in controls, while deletion of Ca++ had no effect on the rate of influx. Increasing the [Mg++] stepwise between 5 x 10(-6) and 1 x 10(-1) M results in a sigmoidal increase in the rate of influx of 14C-glycine and a hyperbolic increase in the y-intercept of influx curves.

Amino Acids↗

Transport of amino acids by isolated gills of the mussel Mytilus californianus Conrad.

The unidirectional influx of cycloleucine into in vitro preparations of gill tissue of the mussel, Mytilus californianus, was determined. Influx was found to be linear for at least an hour, and the kinetics of cycloleucine influx conformed to Michaelis-Menten type kinetics. The transport mechanism(s) for cycloleucine is relatively specific for the L-enantiomorph of neutral amino acids, and is capable of accumulating cycloleucine to intracellular concentrations much higher than those of the surrounding medium. Evedence is presented that the transport of amino acids by gill tissue plays a significant role in whole animal nutrition.

Amino Acids↗

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.

Animals↗

Physical properties of membrane fractions isolated from human platelets: implications for chilling induced platelet activation.

In previous studies, it has been suggested that chilling induced activation of human platelets is related to a lipid phase transition seen in membrane lipids. Those studies showed a single, surprisingly cooperative transition in human platelets, as determined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, findings that are confirmed here with calorimetric measurements. Such transitions have now been studied in membrane fractions obtained from the platelets and it is reported that all fractions and purified phospholipids show similar transitions. In order to obtain these data it was necessary to develop means for separating these fractions. Therefore, a novel method for isolation and separation of dense tubular system (DTS) and plasma membranes in human platelets is described here. Lipid analysis showed that phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were the dominant phospholipids in both fractions, whereas cholesterol and sphingomyelin (SM) were predominantly located in the plasma membranes. Thermotropic phase transitions in the two membrane fractions, determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and FTIR spectroscopy were found to occur at about 15 degrees C, similar to the Tm of intact human platelets. These data are discussed in relation to the role of the DTS and plasma membranes in the cold-induced activation of human platelets.

Blood Platelets↗