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Polymorphisms beta2-glycoprotein I: phospholipid binding and multimeric structure.

beta2-glycoprotein I is a phospholipid-binding protein of 326 amino acids and is found in plasma at a concentration of approximately 200 microg/ml. It has a sequence of positively charged amino acids located at the carboxy terminus that mediates anionic phospholipid binding. Two polymorphisms (306Cys-->Gly and 316Trp-->Ser) located at the phospholipid-binding site have been described. Homozygous state for either mutation and a compound heterozygous state show no phospholipid binding. Interestingly, heterozygotes for either 306Cys-->Gly or 316Trp-->Ser mutation have normal cardiolipin binding suggesting that beta2-glycoprotein I may circulate as a multimeric structure where wild-type subunits compensate the defective binding of the mutant ones. We investigated the effect of these mutations on quaternary structure of beta2-glycoprotein I and phospholipid binding. As previously reported, under native conditions, beta2-glycoprotein I shows an apparent molecular weight of approximately 320 kDa and it can be dissociated into subunits of lower molecular weight by boiling in 6 M urea. We show that the multimeric structure is not affected by the presence of mutations in the phospholipid-binding domain. beta2-glycoprotein I induces aggregation of anionic phospholipid vesicles suggesting again a multivalent interaction where at least two binding sites are required to bridge adjacent vesicles. beta2-glycoprotein I-induced aggregation does not cause vesicle fusion or damage as demonstrated by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) or encapsulated calcein release. In conclusion, the normal cardiolipin binding in heterozygous state for mutations at phospholipid-binding domain may be due to the multimeric structure of beta2-glycoprotein I.

Binding Sites↗

Phospholipids affect stratum corneum lipid bilayer fluidity and drug partitioning into the bilayers.

Phospholipids, e.g. fluid-state EPC (l-alpha-phosphatidylcholine from egg yolk), may diffuse into the stratum corneum and enhance dermal and transdermal drug penetration, while many other phospholipids, e.g. gel-state DSPC (distearoylphosphatidyl choline), are not able to do this. These effects are suggested to be due to the interactions between the phospholipids and the skin lipid bilayers, and so an in vitro method was developed to evaluate the influence of phospholipids on the distribution of drugs to stratum corneum lipids. The distribution coefficients of estradiol, progesterone and propranolol between stratum corneum lipid liposomes (SCLLs) without phospholipids or with EPC, DSPC, SPC (l-alpha-phosphatidylcholine from soybean) or DOPE (dioleylphosphatidyl ethanolamine), and pH 7.4 buffer were determined. Fluid-state phospholipids in SCLLs increased the partitioning of drugs into SCLLs, while gel-state lipid, DSPC, did not. The increased distribution of drugs into the SCLLs was at least partially due to the increased fluidity of SCLL bilayers by phospholipids, which was shown using steady-state fluorescence anisotropy. This in vitro method enables screening of the effects of phospholipids and other permeation enhancers on stratum corneum bilayer fluidity and drug partitioning.

Administration, Topical↗

Light affects c-fos expression and phospholipid synthesis in both retinal ganglion cells and photoreceptor cells in an opposite way for each cell type.

Retina photoreceptor and ganglion cells isolated from chicks that in vivo were exposed to light have a different phospholipid labeling capacity than those from chicks in the dark. In the light exposed animals, the phospholipid labeling in the ganglion cells is higher (Delta% 45, p<0.005) than in those maintained in the dark, whereas in the photoreceptor cells, the opposite occurs, that is, the phospholipid labeling is higher in the dark than in light. The light-dark differences for phospholipid labeling correlate with the expression of c-fos: when c-fos expression increases (both in mRNA and in c-Fos protein content), phospholipid labeling increases concomitantly. That is, in ganglion cells, c-fos expression and the phospholipid synthesis is higher in light with respect to dark, whereas in photoreceptor cells, c-fos expression and phospholipid synthesis is higher in dark with respect to light. Moreover, when an oligonucleotide antisense to c-fos is administered intraocularly prior to separating the animals into light and dark, no differences in c-fos expression and, consequently, no differences in phospholipid synthesis are found between animals in light and dark. Taken together, these results point to a novel mechanism by which rapid genomic responses to cell stimulation are converted to longer lasting changes in the cell components.

Animals↗

Role of anionic phospholipids in the interaction of doxorubicin and plasma membrane vesicles: drug binding and structural consequences in bacterial systems.

Anthracycline-membrane interactions play a role in the transport, the cytoplasmic distribution, and possibly also the activity of anthracyclines. Previous work on model membranes has shown that the widely-applied anticancer drug doxorubicin interacts specifically with anionic phospholipids [de Wolf, F. A., et al. (1991) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 106, 67-80]. We have now been able to investigate these interactions, and their selectivity for anionic phospholipids, directly in plasma membranes. Because of the recent availability of Escherichia coli mutants in which the anionic phospholipid content ranges from only 10% to as much as 100% of the total phospholipid content, we used this bacterium as a source of plasma membranes. We compared the interactions of the cationic anthracycline doxorubicin with (1) plasma membranes of different mutant strains, (2) total lipid extracts of these membranes, and (3) synthetic phospholipid mixtures in which a comparable fraction of the phospholipids was negatively charged. The results show that anionic phospholipids are important determinants of doxorubicin binding, not only in model membranes but also in plasma membrane systems. Only in plasma membranes with a very low anionic lipid content was the binding to the anionic phospholipid masked by other factors. Using an unsaturated fatty acid auxotroph grown on [11,11-2H2]oleic acid, it appeared from 2H-NMR data that doxorubicin induces a disordering of acyl chains in bacterial plasma membranes and their total lipid extracts. This indicates that the binding is not purely electrostatic but involves the insertion of drug molecules into the lipid matrix, probably due to hydrophobic interactions.

Binding Sites↗

Effect of doxorubicin on the order of the acyl chains of anionic and zwitterionic phospholipids in liquid-crystalline mixed model membranes: absence of drug-induced segregation of lipids into extended domains.

We investigated the effect of the antineoplastic drug doxorubicin on the order of the acyl chains in liquid-crystalline mixed bilayers consisting of dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS) or -phosphatidic acid (DOPA), and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) or -phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE). Previous 2H-NMR studies on bilayers consisting of a single species of di[11,11-2H2]oleoyl-labeled phospholipid showed that doxorubicin does not affect the acyl chain order of pure zwitterionic phospholipid but dramatically decreases the order of anionic phospholipid [de Wolf, F. A., et al. (1991) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1096, 67-80]. In the present work, we studied mixed bilayers in which alternatively the anionic or the zwitterionic phospholipid component was 2H-labeled so as to monitor its individual acyl chain order. Doxorubicin decreased the order parameter of the mixed anionic and zwitterionic lipids by approximately the same amount and did not induce a clear segregation of the lipid components into extended, separate domains. The drug had a comparable disordering effect on mixed bilayers of unlabeled cardiolipin and 2H-labeled zwitterionic phospholipid, indicating the absence of extensive segregation also in that case. Upon addition of doxorubicin to bilayers consisting of 67 mol% DOPE and 33 mol% anionic phospholipid, a significant part of the lipid adopted the inverted hexagonal (HII) phase at 25 degrees C. This bilayer destabilization, which occurred only in mixtures of anionic phospholipid and sufficient amounts of DOPE, might be of physiological importance. Even upon formation of extended HII-phase domains, lipid segregation was not clearly detectable, since the relative distribution of 2H-labeled anionic phospholipid and [2H]DOPE between the bilayer phase and HII phase was very similar. Our findings argue against a role of extensive anionic/zwitterionic lipid segregation in the mechanism of action and toxicity of doxorubicin.

Doxorubicin↗

Phospholipid determinants for annexin V binding sites and the role of tryptophan 187.

Annexin V is part of a family of Ca(2+)-dependent phospholipid-binding proteins, whose purported functions are related to their interactions with biological membranes. While Ca(2+)-dependent binding to phospholipids is well-established, the specific structural interactions within the phospholipid-binding sites have only been inferred to resemble those of phospholipase A2, with no direct structural evidence. In this study, the binding avidity of various phospholipid analogs, with variations at the headgroup or sn-2 acyl chain, was monitored in a C12E8 detergent micelle system using the increase in fluorescence of tryptophan 187. Micelles also contained excess negative surface charge to saturate a nonspecific component of the binding. The Ca2+ and phospholipid concentrations required for the binding of annexin V to various phospholipid headgroups were very similar, except for the relatively weak binding to phosphatidylinositol (PI). The unique close proximity of the PI sugar ring to the phosphate group may lead to steric hindrance in this case. Binding was also strongly dependent on the presence of an sn-3 phosphate group and an sn-2 acyl chain, as previously observed. The relatively shallow nature of the annexin V phospholipid-binding sites was reflected by the nearly equivalent binding of D and L versions of phospholipids, i.e., a large shift in the position of the sn-1 acyl chain is accommodated in this case. Binding of annexin V does not specifically require an ester carbonyl oxygen, as it occurs with ether-linked, amide-linked, and phosphonate-linked sn-2 hydrocarbon chains, under these conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acylation↗

Pore-forming peptides induce rapid phospholipid flip-flop in membranes.

A kinetic model for pore-mediated and perturbation-mediated flip-flop is presented and used to characterize the mechanism of peptide-induced phospholipid flip-flop in bilayers. The model assumes that certain peptides can bind to and aggregate within the membrane. When the aggregate attains a critical size (M peptides), a channel is created that results in a fast flip-flop of phospholipids. In addition, certain peptides induce flip-flop through perturbation of the membrane without forming a pore. Donor phospholipid vesicles with an asymmetrical distribution of the fluorescent phospholipid 1-oleoyl-2-[12-[(7-nitro-1,2,3-benzoxadiazol-4- yl)amino]dodecanoyl]phosphatidylcholine (NBD-PC) were used to measure the extent of flip-flop by quantitating the decrease in fluorescence as the NBD-PC exchanged from the donor vesicles to acceptor vesicles that contained a quencher of the NBD fluorescence. Flip-flop curves generated at lipid/peptide ratios ranging from 30/1 to 300000/1 could be well-simulated by the model. Pore-forming peptides, such as melittin or the synthetic peptide GALA (WEAALAEALAEALAEHLAEALAEALEALAA), induce rapid phospholipid flip-flop with half-times for flip-flop of seconds at low peptide/vesicle ratios. The deduced pore sizes are M = 10 +/- 2 for GALA and M = 2 - 4 for melittin. The synthetic peptide LAGA (WEAALAEAEALALAEHEALALAEAELALAA) can catalyze flip-flop via bilayer perturbation. In contrast, hydrophobic peptides such as gramicidin A and valinomycin intercalate into the membrane, but induce little flip-flop. Modeling of the kinetics of phospholipid translocation supports pore formation as the key factor in accelerating phospholipid flip-flop. Thus, amphipathic segments from membrane proteins may account for non-energy-dependent phospholipid flip-flop in biological membranes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Rhodopsin-phospholipid reconstitution by dialysis removal of octyl glucoside.

Recombinant membranes were prepared from phospholipid-free rhodopsin and egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) under a wide variety of conditions employing an octyl beta-D-glucoside (OG) dialysis procedure. Two bands were consistently observed after sucrose density centrifugation of these recombinants. The major band, which was protein rich, had a molar phospholipid:protein ratio that was in the range of 30:1 to 50:1, even when the molar phospholipid:protein ratio of the solubilized solution prior to OG removal was as high as 300:1. Similar results were obtained when dioleoyl-PC, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-PC, disk lipids, or diphytanoyl-PC was used instead of egg PC. These results can be explained in terms of a lower stability of the OG-phospholipid micelles relative to the OG-phospholipid-rhodopsin micelles. Of the phospholipids that were used in the OG dialysis procedure, only saturated dimyristoyl-PC produced a protein-rich recombinant band with a phospholipid:protein ratio close to that of the initial solubilized solution. In contrast to the results obtained by using OG, when solubilized disks supplemented with egg PC were reconstituted from sodium cholate or dodecyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide, the resulting recombinant membranes had initial and final phospholipid:protein ratios which were similar.

Animals↗

Effect of changes in the phospholipid composition on the enzymatic activity of D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase in rat hepatocytes.

The phospholipid composition of primary rat hepatocytes was manipulated by supplementing the medium with choline analogues. The unnatural analogue l-2-amino-1-butanol was incorporated into membrane phospholipids to the largest extent, whereas the natural choline analogues ethanolamine, N-methylethanolamine, and N,N-dimethyl-ethanolamine were methylated to yield phosphatidylcholine. When cells were supplemented with [14C]ethanolamine, greater than 25% of the total phosphatidylcholine contained radiolabel in the polar head group after 2 days of supplementation. The extent of phospholipid methylation was reduced by depriving the cells of serine and methionine. Under these conditions, N-methylethanolamine and N,N-dimethylethanolamine were incorporated into phospholipids and were not further metabolized to phosphatidylcholine. After 3 days of supplementation with N-methylethanolamine, the content of phosphatidyl-methylethanolamine went from essentially 0 to 40% of the total phospholipids and surpassed the extent of incorporation of all other analogues. The formation of the new phospholipid species was primarily at the expense of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. D-beta-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, which requires phosphatidylcholine for activity, was assayed in submitochondrial membranes isolated from supplemented cells. For cells supplemented with either l-2-amino-1-butanol or N-methylethanolamine, the Km for NADH increased relative to choline-supplemented cells while the Km for acetoacetate remained the same. For example, after 3 days of supplementation with N-methylethanolamine, the Km for NADH was 3-fold higher than the value for the choline-supplemented control cells. The change in the Km was due to the change in the lipid environment with no alteration in the enzyme itself. The results suggest that the phosphatidylcholine molecules necessary to activate the enzyme exchange with the other phospholipids in the membrane so that the Km of the enzyme reflects the overall content of phosphatidylcholine as well as other properties of the membrane phospholipids.

Animals↗

Phospholipid spin probes measure the effects of ethanol on the molecular order of liver microsomes.

Ethanol, in vitro, is known to perturb the molecular order of the phospholipids in biological membranes, while chronic ethanol exposure, in vivo, leads to resistance to disordering. Such changes have usually been measured by electron spin resonance, utilizing fatty acid spin probes. The use of such probes is controversial, since their orientation in the membrane may not accurately represent that of individual phospholipids. We, therefore, compared ethanol-induced structural perturbations in the membranes of rat hepatic microsomes measured with the spin probe 12-doxylstearic acid (SA 12) with those assayed with various phospholipid spin probes. With SA 12, the addition of increasing amounts of ethanol (50-250 mM) in vitro caused a progressive decrease in the membrane molecular order, as measured by electron spin resonance (ESR). By contrast, microsomes obtained from rats chronically fed ethanol were resistant to the disordering effect of ethanol. Microsomes labeled with the phospholipid spin probes 1-palmitoyl-2-(12-doxylstearoyl)phosphatidylcholine, -phosphatidylethanolamine, or -phosphatidic acid also exhibited increased disordering with the addition of increasing amounts of ethanol. However, the effect noted with phospholipid spin probes was less than that observed with the fatty acid probe. Microsomes obtained from the livers of chronically intoxicated animals labeled with the phospholipid probes were also resistant to the disordering effects of ethanol in vitro. These results suggest that fatty acid spin probes are qualitatively valid for measuring membrane perturbations in biological membranes, ethanol affects all microsomal phospholipids, regardless of chemical dissimilarities (e.g., head-group structure), in a qualitatively similar fashion, and the fluidization of fatty acyl chains in microsomal membranes is comparable in different membrane phospholipids.

Animals↗

Phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance studies of lipid-protein interactions: human erythrocyte glycophorin and phospholipids.

Human erythrocyte glycophorin containing four molecules of phospholipid tightly bound to the protein was isolated from human red cell ghosts. This protein preparation was reconstituted into a digalactosyl diglyceride bilayer. The 31P NMR spectrum of this reconstituted membrane produced an axially symmetric powder pattern arising exclusively from the phospholipids bound to glycophorin. The width of the powder pattern, about 90 ppm, is about twice as broad as that normally exhibited by a phospholipid bilayer. The chemical shift tensor is perturbed relative to phospholipids in a bilayer. The spin-lattice relaxation rate of these protein-bound phospholipids is found to be nearly an order of magnitude faster than phospholipids in a bilayer. The results are consistent with phospholipids tightly bound to the membrane protein and undergoing rotational diffusion, perhaps as a complex of phospholipid and protein.

Erythrocyte Membrane↗

Proteolytic activation of human factors IX and X by recombinant human factor VIIa: effects of calcium, phospholipids, and tissue factor.

Previous studies indicated that factor VIIa, in complex with tissue factor, readily activates either factor X or factor IX in the presence of calcium ions. In order to assess the relative physiological importance of the activation of factor IX versus the activation of factor X by recombinant factor VIIa, we have obtained steady-state kinetic parameters for the factor VIIa catalyzed activation of factor IX and factor X under a variety of cofactor conditions that include calcium alone, calcium and phospholipids, calcium, phospholipids, and tissue factor apoprotein, and calcium and cell-surface tissue factor. Calcium alone stimulated the activation of factors IX and X by factor VIIa maximally at 1 and 2.5 mM, respectively. In the presence of 25 microM phospholipids, maximal rates of factor IX and factor X activation were achieved at 2.5-5 mM calcium. With calcium alone, or with phospholipid and calcium, the initial rates of factor IX activation by factor VIIa were significantly higher than that observed for factor X. Kinetic studies revealed that the Km for the factor VIIa catalyzed activation of factor IX was essentially constant in the presence of 5 mM calcium and 1-500 microM phospholipid, whereas the Km for factor X activation varied with phospholipid concentration, reaching a minimum at 7-20 microM phospholipid. At all concentrations of added phospholipid, the kcat/Km ratio for the activation of factor IX by factor VIIa appeared to be considerably greater than that observed for the activation of factor X.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Calcium↗

Phospholipid composition of substrate adhesion sites of normal, virus-transformed, and revertant murine cells.

The phospholipid composition of cell-substratum adhesion sites, obtained after EGTA-mediated detachment of cells from the tissue-culture substratum, was determined for [32P]orthophosphate radiolabeled Balb/c 3T3, SV40-transformed (SVT2), and concanavalin A selected revertant variant cell lines. All of the major phospholipid classes were found in the substrate-attached material, but there was an enrichment for specific phospholipid species in this adhesive material as compared to whole-cell and surface-enriched membranes. The phospholipid composition was remarkable similar for the whole-cell and surface-enriched membrane fractions from the three cell lines. However, pronounced differences in the phospholipid composition of the adhesion sites were observed as a result of viral transformation--SVT2 sites were clearly enriched in phosphatidylethanolamine and depleted in phosphatidylcholine when compared to 3T3 sites. This alteration in adhesion site phospholipids of transformed cells reverted to 3T3-like values in the adhesive material of revertant cells. The composition of adhesive material of newly attaching cells was also examined to differentiate compositional differences between "footpad" adhesion sites and "footprints", adhesive material pinched off from the posterior of cells as they move across the substratum. Pulse and pulse-chase analyses of the [32P]phospholipids revealed some differences in synthesis and turnover rates in the three cell lines; in addition, altered rates of deposition of newly synthesized material into adhesion sites of transformed cells were observed. These data afford further evidence that the cell-substratum adhesion sites are highly specialized areas of the cell surface enriched in components which are intricately involved in the adhesive process. The transformation-dependent changes in adhesion site phospholipids may help to determine the basis for the altered adhesive properties of transformed cells.

Animals↗

Membrane properties induced by anionic phospholipids and phosphatidylethanolamine are critical for the membrane binding and catalytic activity of human cytochrome P450 3A4.

Human cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4, a membrane anchoring protein, is the major CYP enzyme present in both liver and small intestine. The enzyme plays a major role in the metabolism of many drugs and procarcinogens. The roles of individual phospholipids and membrane properties in the catalytic activity, membrane binding, and insertion into the membrane of CYP3A4 are poorly understood. Here we report that the catalytic activity of testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation, membrane binding, and membrane insertion of CYP3A4 increase as a function of anionic phospholipid concentration in the order phosphatidic acid (PA) > phosphatidylserine (PS) in a binary system of phosphatidylcholine (PC)/anionic phospholipid and as a function of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) content in ternary systems of PC/PE/PA or PC/PE/PS having a fixed concentration of anionic phospholipids. These results suggest that PA and PE might help the binding of CYP3A4 to the membrane and the interaction with NPR. Cytochrome b(5) (b(5)) and apolipoprotein b(5) further enhanced the testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation activities of CYP3A4 in all tested phospholipids vesicles with various compositions. Phospholipid-dependent changes of the CYP3A4 conformation were also revealed by altered Trp fluorescence and CD spectra. We also found that PE induced the formation of anionic phospholipid-enriched domains in ternary systems using extrinsic fluorescent probes incorporated into lipid bilayers. Taken together, it can be suggested that the chemical and physical properties of membranes induced by anionic phospholipids and PE are critical for the membrane binding and catalytic activity of CYP3A4.

Anions↗

Stabilization of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and structurally analogous growth factors by anionic phospholipids.

Recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) interacts with liposomes composed of the anionic phospholipid dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol (DOPG), and this interaction enhances the stability of the protein [Collins, D., & Cha, Y. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 4521-4526]. In the present studies, we have examined the interaction of rhG-CSF with phospholipids other than DOPG. Fluorescence spectroscopy of rhG-CSF with a variety of lipid vesicles demonstrated that rhG-CSF inserts into bilayers of anionic, but not zwitterionic, phospholipids. Isothermal titration calorimetry of the interaction between DMPG and rhG-CSF indicates that the binding is saturable and involves 10 lipids/rhG-CSF. Studies of phosphatidylglycerols with varying alkyl chain lengths determined that the stabilization of rhG-CSF by anionic phospholipids required a certain alkyl chain length; no stabilization was observed with lipids of shorter chain length. Also investigated was the stabilization of other growth factors, which are structurally similar to rhG-CSF, by anionic phospholipids. These proteins include recombinant porcine somatotropin (rpSt), recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF), recombinant human interleukin 4 (rhIL-4), and recombinant human interleukin 2 (rhIL-2). The helical secondary structure of the proteins was recoverable after heating and cooling in the presence of anionic phospholipids as observed by circular dichroism; the presence of zwitterionic lipids did not induce this effect. Results of these investigations concluded that a group of structurally similar proteins interact preferentially with anionic phospholipids and that the complexation of the growth factors with vesicles composed of anionic phospholipids improves the stability of the proteins under conditions where they normally denature.

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning↗

Interaction of smooth muscle myosin phosphatase with phospholipids.

The 130 kDa myosin-binding subunit (MBS) of smooth muscle myosin phosphatase was detected in cytoskeletal, cytosolic, and membrane fractions of T24 cells. Also, MBS was distributed between cytoplasm and plasmalemma in mitotic REF52 cells. These observations prompted this study of the interaction(s) of phospholipids with myosin phosphatase. Using a sedimentation assay, gizzard myosin phosphatase bound to vesicles of acidic phospholipids, i.e. phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidic acid (PA). Neutral phospholipids did not bind. Binding of PS to myosin phosphatase also was demonstrated by electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. Preferential binding of PA, compared to that of the other acidic phospholipids, was indicated. Interaction of acidic phospholipids with myosin phosphatase inhibited phosphatase activity toward phosphorylated myosin. The extent of PS binding with myosin phosphatase decreased on increasing ionic strength and Mg2+ concentration. MBS (M130/M133) and M20 were phosphorylated by protein kinase A to 3 and 1 mol of P/(mol of subunit), respectively. Phosphorylation of the holoenzyme decreased phospholipid binding with recovery of phosphatase activity. Using limited proteolysis of the holoenzyme and various mutants, it was shown that phospholipid binding was associated with the C-terminal part of MBS, Ser 667-Ile 1004, and M20. The phosphorylation site involved in regulation of phospholipid binding is within the C-terminal MBS sequence. These results suggest that myosin phosphatase may interact with membranes and that phosphorylation by protein kinase A could modify this interaction. This mechanism could be important in localization of myosin phosphatase and in targeting substrates at different loci.

Animals↗

Binding of recombinant rat liver fatty acid-binding protein to small anionic phospholipid vesicles results in ligand release: a model for interfacial binding and fatty acid targeting.

A number of intracellular proteins bind to negatively charged phospholipid membranes, and this interfacial binding results in a conformational change that modulates the activity of the protein. Using a fluorescent fatty acid analogue, 11-[5-(dimethylamino)naphthalenesulfonyl]undecanoic acid (DAUDA), it is possible to demonstrate the release of this ligand from recombinant rat liver FABP in the presence of phospholipid vesicles that contain a significant proportion of anionic phospholipids. The ligand release that is observed with anionic phospholipids is sensitive to the ionic strength of the assay conditions and the anionic charge density of the phospholipid at the interface, indicating that nonspecific electrostatic interactions play an important role in the process. The stoichiometric relationship between anionic phospholipid and liver FABP suggests that the liver FABP coats the surface of the phospholipid vesicle. The most likely explanation for ligand release is that interaction of FABP with an anionic membrane interface induces a rapid conformational change, resulting in a reduced affinity of DAUDA for the protein. The nature of this interaction involves both electrostatic and nonpolar interactions as maximal release of liver FABP from phospholipid vesicles with recovery of ligand binding cannot be achieved with high salt and requires the presence of a nonionic detergent. The precise interfacial mechanism that results in the rapid release of ligand from L-FABP remains to be determined, but studies with two mutants, F3W and F18W, suggest the possible involvement of the amino-terminal region of the protein in the process. The conformational change linked to interfacial binding of this protein could provide a mechanism for fatty acid targeting within the cell.

Animals↗

Developmentally regulated changes in phospholipid composition in murine molar tooth.

In order to explore the possibility that phospholipids are differently expressed during the cascade of events leading to tooth formation, we decided to carry out simultaneous biochemical, histological and electron histochemical studies. High performance thin-layer chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography were used to compare the composition of embryonic mouse first molar tooth germs at day 18 of gestation (E18) and at birth (D1), erupting teeth at day 7 (D7) and erupted molars at day 21 (D21). For the latter, non-demineralized and EDTA-demineralized lipid extracts were analysed separately. Moreover, an ultrahistochemical study was carried out using the iodoplatinate reaction which retains and visualizes phospholipids. Developmentally regulated changes occurred and were closely correlated with an increase in cell membrane phospholipids. Gradual accumulation of phospholipids was identified in the extracellular matrix, at an early stage of tooth germ development within the basement membrane and later, as predentine/dentine and enamel components participating in mineralization processes. Matrix vesicles transiently present in dentine were partly responsible for the lipids that were detected. A first group of phospholipids including phosphatidylcholine as the major membrane-associated phospholipid and phosphatidylinositol as the intracellular second messenger increased by a factor of 2.3 between E18 and D21. This increase is probably associated with cell lengthening and was relatively modest compared with the higher increase detected for a second group of phospholipids, namely phosphatidylethanolamine (x4.8), phosphatidylserine (x 5.9) and sphingomyelin (x5.4). This second group of extracellular matrix-associated phospholipids constituted 68% of the demineralized lipid extract and, therefore, contributes to the mineralization of dental tissues.

Aging↗