Lipid modulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor function: the role of neutral and negatively charged lipids.

The effects of negatively charged and neutral lipids on the function of the reconstituted nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica were determined with two assays using acetylcholine receptor-containing vesicles: the ion flux response and the affinity-state transition. The receptor was reconstituted into three different lipid environments, with and without neutral lipids: (1) phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylserine; (2) phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidic acid; and (3) phosphatidylcholine/cardiolipin. Analysis of the ion flux responses showed that: (1) all three negatively charged lipid environments gave fully functional acetylcholine receptor ion channels, provided neutral lipids were added; (2) in each lipid environment, the neutral lipids tested were functionally equivalent to cholesterol; and (3) the rate of receptor desensitization depends upon the type of neutral lipid and negatively charged phospholipid reconstituted with the receptor. The functional effects of neutral and negatively charged lipids on the acetylcholine receptor are discussed in terms of protein-lipid interactions and stabilization of protein structure by lipids.     

Correlation of phospholipid structure with functional effects on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. A modulatory role for phosphatidic acid.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is used to characterize specific interactions between negatively charged lipids, such as phosphatidic acid, and the purified nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica. The specific interaction of phosphatidic acid with acetylcholine receptor is demonstrated by the receptor-induced perturbation of the lipid ionization state, which is monitored using Fourier transform infrared bands arising from the phosphate head group. The acetylcholine receptor shifts the pKa of phosphatidic acid molecules adjacent to the receptor to a lower value by almost 2 pH units from 8.5 to 6.6. Decreased pH also leads to changes in ion channel function and to changes in the secondary structure of the acetylcholine receptor in membranes containing ionizable phospholipids. Phospholipase D restores functional activity of acetylcholine receptor reconstituted in an unfavorable environment containing phosphatidylcholine by generating phosphatidic acid. Lipids such as phosphatidic acid may serve as allosteric effectors for membrane protein function and the lipid-protein interface could be a site for activity-dependent changes that lead to modulation of synaptic efficacy.     

Structure, dynamics, and hydration of POPC/POPS bilayers suspended in NaCl, KCl, and CsCl solutions

Effects of alkali metal chlorides on the properties of mixed negatively charged lipid bilayers are experimentally measured and numerically simulated. Addition of 20mol% of negatively charged phosphatidylserine to zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine strengthens adsorption of monovalent cations revealing their specificity, in the following order: Cs(+)相似文献   

Reconstitution of acetylcholine receptor function in lipid vesicles of defined composition

The effect of specific lipids on the functional properties of the acetylcholine receptor were examined in reconstituted membranes prepared from purified Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor and various defined lipids. Cholesterol and negatively charged lipids greatly enhanced the ion influx response of the vesicles as measured by the effect of a receptor agonist on cation translocation across the vesicles. Part of the lipid-dependent effects could be attributed to alterations in the average size of the vesicles. All lipid mixtures used permitted complete incorporation of receptor and retention of ligand binding properties. Quantitative differences in ion flux properties suggest a modulating role for specific lipids in acetylcholine receptor function.     

Effect of lipid composition upon fusion of liposomes with Sendai virus membranes

How the lipid composition of liposomes determines their ability to fuse with Sendai virus membranes was tested. Liposomes were made of compositions designed to test postulated mechanisms of membrane fusion that require specific lipids. Fusion does not require the presence of lipids that can form micelles such as gangliosides or lipids that can undergo lamellar to hexagonal phase transitions such as phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), nor is a phosphatidylinositol (PI) to phosphatidic acid (PA) conversion required, since fusion occurs with liposomes containing phosphatidylcholine (PC) and any one of many different negatively charged lipids such as gangliosides, phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylglycerol, dicetyl phosphate, PI, or PA. A negatively charged lipid is required since fusion does not occur with neutral liposomes containing PC and a neutral lipid such as globoside, sphingomyelin, or PE. Fusion of Sendai virus membranes with liposomes that contain PC and PS does not require Ca2+, so an anhydrous complex with Ca2+ or a Ca2+-induced lateral phase separation is not required although the possibility remains that viral binding causes a lateral phase separation. Sendai virus membranes can fuse with liposomes containing only PS, so a packing defect between domains of two different lipids is not required. The concentration of PS required for fusion to occur is approximately 10-fold higher than that required for ganglioside GD1a, which has been shown to act as a Sendai virus receptor. When cholesterol is added as a third lipid to liposomes containing PC and GD1a, the amount of fusion decreases if the GD1a concentration is low.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A microtechnique for quantification of detergent-solubilized muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors using a semi-automated cell harvestor

A specific method for the rapid assay of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChR), either detergent-solubilized or in neuroblastoma cells, is described. This method is also applicable to the assay of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The procedure employs a cell harvestor and microtiter plates, and has the advantage of requiring small quantities of radioligand, microgram quantities of detergent-solubilized cholinergic receptor or less cells. The binding parameters such as the equilibrium dissociation constants (Kd) of mAChR and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) and inhibition constants (Ki) for antagonists determined by the present method are in excellent agreement with values determined by other methods. This assay procedure for mAChR and nAChR should facilitate the rapid screening of cholinergic agonists/antagonists and also the further purification and characterization of mAChR.     

Differences in the interaction of inorganic and organic (hydrophobic) cations with phosphatidylserine membranes.

The interaction of phosphatidylserine dispersions with "hydrophobic", organic cations (acetylcholine, tetraethylammonium ion) is compared with that of simple inorganic cations (Na+, Ca2+); differences in the hydration properties of the two classes of ions exist in the bulk phase as evident from spin-lattice relaxation time T1 measurements. It is shown that the reaction products (cation-phospholipid) differ markedly in their physicochemical behaviour. With increasing concentration both classes of ions reduce the zota-potential of phosphatidylserine surfaces, the monovalent inorganic cations being only slightly more effective than the hydrophobic cations. Inorganic cations cause precipitation of the lipid once the surface charge of the bilayer is reduced to a certain threshold value. This is not the case with the organic cations. The difference is probably associated with the different hydration properties of the resulting complexes. Thus binding of Ca2+ causes displacement of water of hydration and formation of an anhydrous, hydrophobic calcium-phosphatidylserine complex which is insoluble in water, whereas the product of binding of the organic cations is hydrated, hydrophilic and water soluble. The above findings are consistent with NMR results which show that the phosphodiester group is involved in the binding of both classes of cations as well as being the site of the primary hydration shell. Besides affecting interbilayer membrane interactions such as those involved in cell adhesion and membrane fusion, the binding of both classes of cation can affect the molecular packing within a bilayer.     

Autoradiographic distribution of high affinity muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptors labeled with [3H]acetylcholine in rat brain

The relative distribution of muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptors labeled with [3H]acetylcholine was determined using autoradiography. [3H]Acetylcholine binding to high affinity muscarinic receptors was similar to what has been described for an M-2 distribution: highest levels of binding occurred in the pontine and brainstem nuclei, anterior pretectal area and anteroventral thalamic nucleus, while lower levels occurred in the caudate-putamen, accumbens nucleus and primary olfactory cortex. Nicotinic receptors were labeled with [3H]acetylcholine to the greatest extent in the interpeduncular nucleus, several thalamic nuclei, medial habenula, presubiculum and superior colliculus, and to the least extent in the hippocampus and inferior colliculus. By using autoradiography to localize cholinergic binding sites throughout the brain it was observed that the distributions of high affinity muscarinic and nicotinic sites labeled with the endogenous ligand, [3H]acetylcholine are different from each other and are different from distributions of muscarinic and nicotinic sites labeled with muscarinic and nicotinic antagonists.     

Apocytochrome c binding to negatively charged lipid dispersions studied by spin-label electron spin resonance

The interaction of apocytochrome c with aqueous dispersions of phosphatidylserine from bovine spinal cord and with other negatively charged phospholipids has been studied as a function of pH and salt concentration by using spin-label electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and chemical binding assays. The ESR spectra of phospholipids spin-labeled at different positions on the sn-2 chain indicate a generalized decrease in mobility of the lipids, while the characteristic flexibility gradient toward the terminal methyl end of the chain is maintained, on binding of apocytochrome c to phosphatidylserine dispersions. This perturbation of the bulk lipid mobility or ordering is considerably greater than that observed on binding of cytochrome c. In addition, a second, more motionally restricted, lipid component is observed with lipids labeled close to the terminal methyl ends of the chains. This second component is not observed on binding of cytochrome c and can be taken as direct evidence for penetration of apocytochrome c into the lipid bilayer. It is less strongly motionally restricted than similar spectral components observed with integral membrane proteins and displays a steep flexibility gradient. The proportion of this second component increases with increasing protein-to-lipid ratio, but the stoichiometry per protein bound decreases from 4.5 lipids per 12 000-dalton protein at low protein contents to 2 lipids per protein at saturating amounts of protein. Apocytochrome c binding to phosphatidylserine dispersions decreases with increasing salt concentration from a saturation value corresponding to approximately 5 lipids per protein in the absence of salt to practically zero at 0.4 M NaCl.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Differences in the interaction of inorganic and organic (hydrophobic) cations with phosphatidylserine membranes

The interaction of phosphatidylserine dispersions with “hydrophobic”, organic cations (acetylcholine, tetraethylammonium ion) is compared with that of simple inorganic cations (Na⁺, Ca²⁺); differences in the hydration properties of the two classes of ions exist in the bulk phase as evident from spin-lattice relaxation time T₁, measurements. It is shown that the reaction products (cation-phospholipid) differ markedly in their physicochemical behaviour. With increasing concentration both classes of ions reduce the ζ-potential of phosphatidylserine surfaces, the monovalent inorganic cations being only slightly more effective than the hydrophobic cations. Inorganic cations cause precipitation of the lipid once the surface charge of the bilayer is reduced to a certain threshold value. This is not the case with the organic cations. The difference is probably associated with the different hydration properties of the resulting complexes. Thus binding of Ca²⁺ causes displacement of water of hydration and formation of an anhydrous, hydrophobic calcium-phosphatidylserine complex which is insoluble in water, whereas the product of binding of the organic cations is hydrated, hydrophilic and water soluble. The above findings are consistent with NMR results which show that the phosphodiester group is involved in the binding of both classes of cations as well as being the site of the primary hydration shell. Besides affecting interbilayer membrane interactions such as those involved in cell adhesion and membrane fusion, the binding of both classes of cation can affect the molecular packing within a bilayer.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of cation-phospholipid clustering in phospholipid bilayers: possible role in stalk formation during membrane fusion

In this study, we performed all-atom long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations of phospholipid bilayers incorporating three different proportions of negatively charged lipids in the presence of K(+), Mg(2+), and Ca(2+) ions to systemically determine how membrane properties are affected by cations and lipid compositions. Our simulations revealed that the binding affinity of Ca(2+) ions with lipids is significantly stronger than that of K(+) and Mg(2+) ions, regardless of the composition of the lipid bilayer. The binding of Ca(2+) ions to the lipids resulted in bilayers having smaller lateral areas, greater thicknesses, greater order, and slower rotation of their lipid head groups, relative to those of corresponding K(+)- and Mg(2+)-containing systems. The Ca(2+) ions bind preferentially to the phosphate groups of the lipids. The complexes formed between the cations and the lipids further assembled to form various multiple-cation-centered clusters in the presence of anionic lipids and at higher ionic strength-most notably for Ca(2+). The formation of cation-lipid complexes and clusters dehydrated and neutralized the anionic lipids, creating a more-hydrophobic environment suitable for membrane aggregation. We propose that the formation of Ca(2+)-phospholipid clusters across apposed lipid bilayers can work as a "cation glue" to adhere apposed membranes together, providing an adequate configuration for stalk formation during membrane fusion.     

G protein-independent activation of an inward Na(+) current by muscarinic receptors in mouse pancreatic beta-cells

Depolarization of pancreatic beta-cells is critical for stimulation of insulin secretion by acetylcholine but remains unexplained. Using voltage-clamped beta-cells, we identified a small inward current produced by acetylcholine, which was suppressed by atropine or external Na(+) omission, but was not mimicked by nicotine, and was insensitive to nicotinic antagonists, tetrodotoxin, 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DiDS), thapsigargin pretreatment, and external Ca(2+) and K(+) removal. This suggests that muscarinic receptor stimulation activates voltage-insensitive Na(+) channels distinct from store-operated channels. No outward Na(+) current was produced by acetylcholine when the electrochemical Na(+) gradient was reversed, indicating that the channels are inward rectifiers. No outward K(+) current occurred either, and the reversal potential of the current activated by acetylcholine in the presence of Na(+) and K(+) was close to that expected for a Na(+)-selective membrane, suggesting that the channels opened by acetylcholine are specific for Na(+). Overnight pretreatment with pertussis toxin or the addition of guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP-gamma-S) or guanosine-5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (GDP-beta-S) instead of GTP to the pipette solution did not alter this current, excluding involvement of G proteins. Injection of a current of a similar amplitude to that induced by acetylcholine elicited electrical activity in beta-cells perifused with a subthreshold glucose concentration. These results demonstrate that muscarinic receptor activation in pancreatic beta-cells triggers, by a G protein-independent mechanism, a selective Na(+) current that explains the plasma membrane depolarization.     

The role of tyrosine at the ligand-binding site of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Identification of the critical residues in a receptor's ligand-binding site provides valuable structural information important for understanding the basis for ligand recognition. The design of specific ligands targeted for receptor action will depend to a great extent on detailed structural knowledge of this kind. Although the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is perhaps the best characterized of all receptors, the detailed configuration of the ligand-binding site remains unknown. Structural comparisons of nicotinic agonists and antagonists have long predicted a negative subsite on the receptor to interact with the positively charged alkyl-ammonium moiety common to nearly all nicotinic agents. We have used intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopic analyses together with binding studies of selectively modified peptide fragments of the nAChR to suggest that one or two invariant tyrosine residues at positions 190 and 198 on the alpha-subunit provide the critical negative subsite required for ligand binding. Tyrosines may similarly be part of the negative subsite of muscarinic receptors and other neurotransmitter receptors that bind cationic ligands.     

Characterization of Phospholipids in Insulin Secretory Granules and Mitochondria in Pancreatic Beta Cells and Their Changes with Glucose Stimulation

The lipid composition of insulin secretory granules (ISG) has never previously been thoroughly characterized. We characterized the phospholipid composition of ISG and mitochondria in pancreatic beta cells without and with glucose stimulation. The phospholipid/protein ratios of most phospholipids containing unsaturated fatty acids were higher in ISG than in whole cells and in mitochondria. The concentrations of negatively charged phospholipids, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylinositol in ISG were 5-fold higher than in the whole cell. In ISG phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and sphingomyelin, fatty acids 12:0 and 14:0 were high, as were phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol containing 18-carbon unsaturated FA. With glucose stimulation, the concentration of many ISG phosphatidylserines and phosphatidylinositols increased; unsaturated fatty acids in phosphatidylserine increased; and most phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins, and lysophosphatidylcholines were unchanged. Unsaturation and shorter fatty acid length in phospholipids facilitate curvature and fluidity of membranes, which favors fusion of membranes. Recent evidence suggests that negatively charged phospholipids, such as phosphatidylserine, act as coupling factors enhancing the interaction of positively charged regions in SNARE proteins in synaptic or secretory vesicle membrane lipid bilayers with positively charged regions in SNARE proteins in the plasma membrane lipid bilayer to facilitate docking of vesicles to the plasma membrane during exocytosis. The results indicate that ISG phospholipids are in a dynamic state and are consistent with the idea that changes in ISG phospholipids facilitate fusion of ISG with the plasma membrane-enhancing glucose-stimulated insulin exocytosis.     

Divalent Ions and the Surface Potential of Charged Phospholipid Membranes

Phospholipid bilayer membranes were bathed in a decimolar solution of monovalent ions, and the conductance produced by neutral carriers of these monovalent cations and anions was used to assess the electric potential at the surface of the membrane. When the bilayers were formed from a neutral lipid, phosphatidylethanolamine, the addition of alkaline earth cations produced no detectable surface potential, indicating that little or no binding occurs to the polar head group with these ions. When the bilayers were formed from a negatively charged lipid, phosphatidylserine, the addition of Sr and Ba decreased the magnitude of the surface potential as predicted by the theory of the diffuse double layer. In particular, the potential decreased 27 mv for a 10-fold increase in concentration in the millimolar-decimolar range. A 10-fold increase in the Ca or Mg concentration also produced a 27 mv decrease in potential in this region, which was again due to screening, but it was necessary to invoke some specific binding to account for the observation that these cations were effective at a lower concentration than Ba or Sr. It is suggested that the ability of the alkaline earth cations to shift the conductance-voltage curves of a nerve along the voltage axis by 20–26 mv for a 10-fold increase in concentration may be due to essentially a screening rather than a binding phenomenon.     

Characterization of Muscarinic Cholinergic Receptors in the Crab Nervous System

The selective muscarinic antagonist L-[3H]-quinuclidinyl benzilate (L-[3H]QNB) binds reversibly and with high affinity (KD = 0.3 nM) to a single population (Bmax = 105 fmol/mg protein) of specific sites in nervous tissue of the crab Cancer magister. The binding site is stereoselective; (-)QNB is over 200 times more potent than (+)QNB as an inhibitor of specific L-[3H]QNB binding. The muscarinic antagonists scopolamine and atropine are over 10,000 times more potent inhibitors of L-[3H]QNB binding than the nicotinic antagonists decamethonium and d-tubocurarine. The muscarinic agonists oxotremorine, pilocarpine, arecoline, and carbachol also compete effectively for the L-[3H]QNB binding site. This pharmacological profile strongly suggests the presence of classical muscarinic receptors in the crab nervous system. These receptors are localized to nervous tissue containing cell bodies and neuropil, whereas specific L-[3H]QNB binding is low or absent in peripheral nerve, skeletal muscle, and artery.     

Influence of phospholipase C on muscarinic acetylcholine receptor binding in rat brain

Treatment of neural membranes from rat cerebral cortex with phospholipase C (phosphatidylcholine cholinephosphohydrolase) inhibited the binding of radiolabelled antagonists to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. This inhibition was incomplete, was not competitive, and did not appear to be related to the production of inhibitory products. The affinity of carbamylcholine for cortex muscarinic receptors was increased by phospholipase C action. The distribution of receptors between states of high and low affinity was not affected by phospholipase C; rather, the affinity for carbamylcholine of the lowest affinity receptors was selectively increased. This suggests that membrane lipids influence the interaction of the receptor binding subunit with other structures in the synaptic membrane.     

Effect of divalent cations on the assembly of neutral and charged phospholipid bilayers in patch-recording pipettes.

Monolayers of the negatively charged phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS) and of the amphoteric phospholipid dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) were used to assemble bilayers at the tip of patch-recording pipettes. PS bilayers, with seal resistances in the range of gigaohmns (gigaseals), could only be generated when millimolar concentration of divalent cations, Ca++, Mg++, or Ba++ were present in the pipette and bath solutions. In contrast, gigaseals of DOPE were independent of divalent ion concentration in the pH range where DOPE is predominantly neutral (pH 6.5) or positively charged (pH 1.5). At pH 10.0, when most DOPE molecules bear a net negative charge, gigaseals became divalent cation dependent, in a manner quantitatively similar to that of PS at neutral pH. The results indicate that divalent cations play an important role in stabilizing gigaseals of negatively charged lipid but are of no consequence in neutral or positively charged seals.     

Interaction of hemoglobin with phospholipid vesicular membranes of different composition

Incorporation of hemoglobin into vesicles and its oxidation were studied as a function of composition of the vesicular membrane containing erythrocyte membrane lipids as main components. The addition of negatively charged lipids such as phosphatidylserine and phosphatidic acid, was shown to considerably increase the extent of hemoglobin binding, while sphingomyelin did not produce such an effect. Cholesterol and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine stabilized oxyHb.     

Cholinergic modulation of progesterone-induced maturation of Xenopus oocytes in vitro

Mixed and muscarinic cholinergic agonists (acetylcholine, carbamylcholine, methacholine, oxotremorine, and pilocarpine) accelerated in a dose-dependent manner the progesterone-induced maturation of Xenopus laevis oocytes. None of these agonists induced oocyte maturation in the absence of progesterone. The accelerating effect of cholinergic agonists was blocked in a dose-dependent manner by specific muscarinic antagonists (atropine and scopolamine) but not by specific nicotinic antagonists (d-tubocurarine and hexamethonium). The specific nicotinic agonist, dimethylphenylpiperazine, alone induced maturation in the absence of progesterone. The optimal promoting effect of acetylcholine was observed when oocytes were exposed to acetylcholine for 30 min, 5 min after the addition of progesterone, and was markedly better than when oocytes were exposed to acetylcholine throughout their incubation with progesterone. The effect of acetylcholine was observed in both follicle-enclosed and in defolliculated oocytes, indicating that follicular cells were not the target of the cholinergic drugs.