Hexagonal Substructure and Hydrogen Bonding in Liquid-Ordered Phases Containing Palmitoyl Sphingomyelin

All-atom simulation data are presented for ternary mixtures of palmitoyl sphingomyelin (PSM), cholesterol, and either palmitoyl oleoyl phosphatidyl choline or dioleoyl phosphatidyl choline (DOPC). For comparison, data for a mixture of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC), cholesterol, and DOPC are also presented. Compositions corresponding to the liquid-ordered phase, the liquid-disordered phase, and coexistence of the two phases are simulated for each mixture. Within the liquid-ordered phase, cholesterol is preferentially solvated by DOPC if it is available, but if DOPC is replaced by POPC, cholesterol is preferentially solvated by PSM. In the DPPC mixtures, cholesterol interacts preferentially with the saturated chains via its smooth face, whereas in the PSM mixtures, cholesterol interacts preferentially with PSM via its rough face. Interactions between cholesterol and PSM have a very particular character: hydrogen bonding between cholesterol and the amide of PSM rotates the tilt of the amide plane, which primes it for more robust hydrogen bonding with other PSM. Cholesterol-PSM hydrogen bonding also locally modifies the hexagonal packing of hydrocarbon chains in the liquid-ordered phase of PSM mixtures.     

Interaction of cholesterol with sphingomyelin in mixed membranes containing phosphatidylcholine, studied by spin-label ESR and IR spectroscopies. A possible stabilization of gel-phase sphingolipid domains by cholesterol

The ESR spectra from different positional isomers of sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine spin-labeled in their acyl chain have been studied in sphingomyelin(cerebroside)-phosphatidylcholine mixed membranes that contain cholesterol. The aim was to investigate mechanisms by which cholesterol could stabilize possible domain formation in sphingolipid-glycerolipid membranes. The outer hyperfine splittings in the ESR spectra of sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine spin-labeled on the 5 C atom of the acyl chain were consistent with mixing of the components, but the perturbations on adding cholesterol were greater in the membranes containing sphingomyelin than in those containing phosphatidylcholine. Infrared spectra of the amide I band of egg sphingomyelin were shifted and broadened in the presence of cholesterol to a greater extent than the carbonyl band of phosphatidylcholine, which was affected very little by cholesterol. Two-component ESR spectra were observed from lipids spin-labeled on the 14 C atom of the acyl chain in cholesterol-containing membranes composed of sphingolipids, with or without glycerolipids (sphingomyelin/cerebroside and sphingomyelin/cerebroside/phosphatidylcholine mixtures). These results indicate the existence of gel-phase domains in otherwise liquid-ordered membranes that contain cholesterol. In the gel phase of egg sphingomyelin, the outer hyperfine splittings of sphingomyelin spin-labeled on the 14-C atom of the acyl chain are smaller than those for the corresponding spin-labeled phosphatidylcholine. In the presence of cholesterol, this situation is reversed; the outer splitting of 14-C spin-labeled sphingomyelin is then greater than that of 14-C spin-labeled phosphatidylcholine. This result provides some support for the suggestion that transbilayer interdigitation induced by cholesterol stabilizes the coexistence of gel-phase and "liquid-ordered" domains in membranes containing sphingolipids.     

Hydration and lateral organization in phospholipid bilayers containing sphingomyelin: a 2H-NMR study

Interfacial properties of lipid bilayers were studied by (2)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, with emphasis on a comparison between phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin. Spectral resolution and sensitivity was improved by macroscopic membrane alignment. The motionally averaged quadrupolar interaction of interlamellar deuterium oxide was employed to probe the interfacial polarity of the membranes. The D(2)O quadrupolar splittings indicated that the sphingomyelin lipid-water interface is less polar above the phase transition temperature T(m) than below T(m). The opposite behavior was found in phosphatidylcholine bilayers. Macroscopically aligned sphingomyelin bilayers also furnished (2)H-signals from the amide residue and from the hydroxyl group of the sphingosine moiety. The rate of water-hydroxyl deuteron exchange could be measured, whereas the exchange of the amide deuteron was too slow for the inversion-transfer technique employed, suggesting that the amide residue is involved in intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Order parameter profiles in mixtures of sphingomyelin and chain-perdeuterated phosphatidylcholine revealed an ordering effect as a result of the highly saturated chains of the sphingolipids. The temperature dependence of the (2)H quadrupolar splittings was indicative of lateral phase separation in the mixed systems. The results are discussed with regard to interfacial structure and lateral organization in sphingomyelin-containing biomembranes.     

Distinguishing individual lipid headgroup mobility and phase transitions in raft-forming lipid mixtures with 31P MAS NMR

A model membrane system composed of egg sphingomyelin (SM), 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC), and cholesterol was studied with static and magic angle spinning (31)P NMR spectroscopy. This model membrane system is of significant biological relevance since it is known to form lipid rafts. (31)P NMR under magic angle spinning conditions resolves the SM and DOPC headgroup resonances allowing for extraction of the (31)P NMR parameters for the individual lipid components. The isotropic chemical shift, chemical shift anisotropy, and asymmetry parameter can be extracted from the spinning side band manifold of the individual components that form liquid-ordered and liquid-disordered domains. The magnitude of the (31)P chemical shift anisotropy and the line width is used to determine headgroup mobility and monitor the gel-to-gel and gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transitions of SM as a function of temperature in these mixtures. Spin-spin relaxation measurements are in agreement with the line width results, reflecting mobility differences and some heterogeneities. It will be shown that the presence of DOPC and/or cholesterol greatly impacts the headgroup mobility of SM both above and below the liquid crystalline phase transition temperature, whereas DOPC displays only minor variations in these lipid mixtures.     

Infrared spectroscopic study of photoreceptor membrane and purple membrane. Protein secondary structure and hydrogen deuterium exchange

Infrared spectroscopy in the interval from 1800 to 1300 cm-1 has been used to investigate the secondary structure and the hydrogen/deuterium exchange behavior of bacteriorhodopsin and bovine rhodopsin in their respective native membranes. The amide I' and amide II' regions from spectra of membrane suspensions in D2O were decomposed into constituent bands by use of a curve-fitting procedure. The amide I' bands could be fit with a minimum of three theoretical components having peak positions at 1664, 1638, and 1625 cm-1 for bacteriorhodopsin and 1657, 1639, and 1625 cm-1 for rhodopsin. For both of these membrane proteins, the amide I' spectrum suggests that alpha-helix is the predominant form of peptide chain secondary structure, but that a substantial amount of beta-sheet conformation is present as well. The shape of the amide I' band was pH-sensitive for photoreceptor membranes, but not for purple membrane, indicating that membrane-bound rhodopsin undergoes a conformation change at acidic pH. Peptide hydrogen exchange of bacteriorhodopsin and rhodopsin was monitored by observing the change in the ratio of integrated absorbance (Aamide II'/Aamide I') during the interval from 1.5 to 25 h after membranes were introduced into buffered D2O. The fraction of peptide groups in a very slowly exchanging secondary structure was estimated to be 0.71 for bacteriorhodopsin at pD 7. The corresponding fraction in vertebrate rhodopsin was estimated to be less than or equal to 0.60. These findings are discussed in relationship to previous studies of hydrogen exchange behavior and to structural models for both proteins.     

Polymorphism of ceramide 3. Part 1: an investigation focused on the head group of N-octadecanoylphytosphingosine

The thermotropic phase behaviour of the ceramide N-octadecanoylphytosphingosine (CER3) was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy. CER3 was shown to be a polymorphic substance depending on the crystallisation conditions. Three different solid states were found. The FT-IR results elucidate changes in the hydrogen bonding interactions of the ceramide head group. It was shown that the amide I and the amide II vibration bands are quite sensitive to the phase transitions of CER. There are clear shifts in the band positions of those bands passing the phase transitions. Furthermore, changes were observed in the NH- and OH- stretching region. The study shows that there are strong inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds between hydroxy groups in the ceramide head group. There are also strong hydrogen bonds to the amide oxygen as shown by the band positions of the amide vibrations. The H-bonding network and conformation of the head group of CER3 alters due to the phase transitions.     

Differential lipid packing abilities and dynamics in giant unilamellar vesicles composed of short-chain saturated glycerol-phospholipids, sphingomyelin and cholesterol

The ability of membrane components to arrange themselves heterogeneously within the bilayer induces the formation of microdomains. Much work has been devoted to mimicking domain-assembly in artificial bilayers and characterizing their physico-chemical properties. Ternary lipid mixtures composed of unsaturated phospholipids, sphingomyelin and cholesterol give rise to large, round domains. Here, we replaced the unsaturated phospholipid in the ternary mixture with sphingomyelin and cholesterol by saturated glycero-phospholipids of different chain length and characterized the critical role of cholesterol in sorting these lipids by confocal imaging and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). More cholesterol is needed to obtain phase segregation in ternary mixtures, in which the unsaturated phospholipid is replaced by a saturated one. Finally, lipid dynamics in distinct phases is very low and astonishingly similar, thereby suggesting the poor ability of cholesterol in sorting short-chain saturated glycero-phospholipids and sphingomyelin.     

Interactions between cholesterol and lipids in bilayer membranes. Role of lipid headgroup and hydrocarbon chain-backbone linkage

We have employed four lipids in the present study, of which two are cationic and two bear phosphatidylcholine (PC) headgroups. Unlike dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, the other lipids employed herein do not have any ester linkage between the hydrocarbon chains and the respective lipid backbones. Small unilamellar vesicles formed from each of the PC and cationic lipids with or without varying amounts of cholesterol have been examined using the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy method as a function of temperature. The anisotropy data clearly indicate that the order in the lipid bilayer packing is strongly affected upon inclusion of cholesterol. This effect is similar irrespective of the electrostatic character of the lipid employed. The influence of cholesterol inclusion on multi-lamellar lipid dispersions has also been examined by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy above the phase transition temperatures. With all the lipids, the line widths of (CH2)n protons of hydrocarbon chains in the NMR spectra respond to the addition of cholesterol to membranes. The influence on the bilayer widths of various lipids upon inclusion of cholesterol was determined from X-ray diffraction studies of the cast films of the lipid-cholesterol coaggregates in water. The effect of cholesterol on the efflux rates of entrapped carboxyfluorescein (CF) from the phospholipid vesicles was determined. Upon incremental incorporation of cholesterol into the phospholipid vesicles, the CF leakage rates were progressively reduced. Independent experiments measuring transmembrane OH- ion permeation rates from cholesterol-doped cationic lipid vesicles using entrapped dye riboflavin also demonstrated that the addition of cholesterol into the cationic lipid vesicles reduced the leakage rates irrespective of lipid molecular structure. It was found that the cholesterol induced changes on the membrane properties such as lipid order, linewidth broadening, efflux rates, bilayer widths, etc., did not depend on the ability of the lipids to participate in the hydrogen bonding interactions with the 3beta-OH of cholesterol. These findings emphasize the importance of hydrophobic interaction between lipid and cholesterol and demonstrate that it is not necessary to explain the observed cholesterol induced effects on the basis of the presence of hydrogen bonding between the 3beta-OH of cholesterol and the lipid chain-backbone linkage region or headgroup region.     

Oriented 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine/ganglioside membranes: a Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopic study. Band assignments; orientational, hydrational, and phase behavior; and effects of Ca2+ binding.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy was used to elucidate the hydration behavior and molecular order of phospholipid/ganglioside bilayers. We examined dry and hydrated films of the gangliosides GM1, deacetyl-GM1, lyso-GM1, deacetyllyso-GM1, and GM3 and oriented mixed films of these gangliosides with 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (DMPC) using polarized light. Analysis of the amide I frequencies reveals that the amide groups are involved in intermolecular interactions via hydrogen bonds of varying strengths. The tilt angle of the acyl chains of the lipids in mixed films was determined as a function of ganglioside structure. Deacetylation of the sialic acid in the headgroup has a stronger influence on the tilt angle than the removal of the ganglioside fatty acid. The phase behavior was examined by FTIR ATR spectroscopy and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements on lipid suspensions. At the same molar concentration, lyso-gangliosides have less effect on changes of transition temperature compared to the double-chain analogs. Distinct differences in the amide band shapes were observed between mixtures with lyso-gangliosides and normal double-chain gangliosides. Determined from the dicroic ratio RATR, the orientation of the COO- group in all DMPC/ganglioside mixtures was found to be relatively fixed with respect to the membrane normal. In 4:1 mixtures of DMPC with GM1 and deacetyl-GM1, the binding of Ca2+ leads to a slight decrease in chain tilt in the gel phase, probably caused by a dehydration of the membrane-water interface. In mixtures of DMPC with GM3 and deacetyl-lyso-GM1, a slight increase in chain tilt is observed. The chain tilt in DMPC/lyso-GM1 mixtures is unchanged. Analysis of the COO- band reveals that Ca2+ does not bind to the carboxylate group of the sialic acid of GM1 and deacetyl-GM1, the mixtures in which a decrease in chain tilt was observed. Binding to the sialic acid was only observed for mixtures of DMPC with GM3, lyso-GM1, and deacetyl-lyso-GM1. Ca2+ obviously accumulates at the bilayer-water interface and leads to partial dehydration of the headgroup region in the gel as well as in the liquid-crystalline phase. This can be concluded from the changes in the amide I band shapes. With the exception of DMPC/deacetyl-GM1, the effects on the ester C==O bands are small. The addition of Ca2+ has minor effects on the phase behavior, with the exception of the DMPC/GM1 mixture.     

Phase studies of model biomembranes: macroscopic coexistence of Lalpha+Lbeta, with light-induced coexistence of Lalpha+Lo Phases

Phase diagrams of 3-component lipid bilayer mixtures containing cholesterol reveal major differences among the different types of lipids. Here we report that mixtures of cholesterol together with POPC and a high-melting temperature PC or sphingomyelin show different phase behavior from similar mixtures that contain DOPC or di-phytanoyl-PC instead of POPC. In particular, only one region of macroscopic phase coexistence occurs with POPC, a region of coexisting liquid disordered and solid phases, {Lalpha+Lbeta}. Fluorescence microscopy imaging is useful for these studies, but is subject to artifactual light-induced domain formation, as reported by Ayuyan and Cohen [A.G. Ayuyan, F.S. Cohen, Lipid peroxides promote large rafts: Effects of excitation of probes in fluorescence microscopy and electrochemical reactions during vesicle formation, Biophys. J. 91 (2006) 2172-2183.]. This artifact can be attenuated by decreased illumination and low dye concentration. The use of the free radical scavenger n-propyl gallate can reduce the artifact, but this molecule enters the bilayer and itself perturbs the phase behavior. We suggest that the light-induced domain separation artifact might actually arise from pre-existing lipid clusters that are induced to coalesce, and therefore indicates highly nonrandom mixing of the lipid components.     

Probing lipid mobility of raft-exhibiting model membranes by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Confocal fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) have been employed to investigate the lipid spatial and dynamic organization in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) prepared from ternary mixtures of dioleoyl-phosphatidylcholine/sphingomyelin/cholesterol. For a certain range of cholesterol concentration, formation of domains with raft-like properties was observed. Strikingly, the lipophilic probe 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI-C18) was excluded from sphingomyelin-enriched regions, where the raft marker ganglioside GM1 was localized. Cholesterol was shown to promote lipid segregation in dioleoyl-phosphatidylcholine-enriched, liquid-disordered, and sphingomyelin-enriched, liquid-ordered phases. Most importantly, the lipid mobility in sphingomyelin-enriched regions significantly increased by increasing the cholesterol concentration. These results pinpoint the key role, played by cholesterol in tuning lipid dynamics in membranes. At cholesterol concentrations >50 mol%, domains vanished and the lipid diffusion slowed down upon further addition of cholesterol. By taking the molecular diffusion coefficients as a fingerprint of membrane phase compositions, FCS is proven to evaluate domain lipid compositions. Moreover, FCS data from ternary and binary mixtures have been used to build a ternary phase diagram, which shows areas of phase coexistence, transition points, and, importantly, how lipid dynamics varies between and within phase regions.     

Conformational changes of chicken liver bile acid-binding protein bound to anionic lipid membrane are coupled to the lipid phase transitions

Chicken liver bile acid-binding protein (L-BABP) binds to anionic lipid membranes by electrostatic interactions and acquires a partly folded state [Nolan, V., Perduca, M., Monaco, H., Maggio, B. and Montich, G. G. (2003) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1611, 98-106]. We studied the infrared amide I' band of L-BABP bound to dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG), dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol (DMPG) and palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylglycerol (POPG) in the range of 7 to 60 degrees C. Besides, the thermotrophic behaviour of DPPG and DMPG was studied in the absence and in the presence of bound-protein by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared spectra of the stretching vibration of methylene and carbonyl groups. When L-BABP was bound to lipid membranes in the liquid-crystalline state (POPG between 7 and 30 degrees C) acquired a more unfolded conformation that in membranes in the gel state (DPPG between 7 and 30 degrees C). Nevertheless, this conformational change of the protein in DMPG did not occur at the temperature of the lipid gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition detected by infrared spectroscopy. Instead, the degree of unfolding in the protein was coincident with a phase transition in DMPG that occurs with heat absorption and without change in the lipid order.     

Role of cholesterol in the formation and nature of lipid rafts in planar and spherical model membranes

Sterols play a crucial regulatory and structural role in the lateral organization of eukaryotic cell membranes. Cholesterol has been connected to the possible formation of ordered lipid domains (rafts) in mammalian cell membranes. Lipid rafts are composed of lipids in the liquid-ordered (l(o)) phase and are surrounded with lipids in the liquid-disordered (l(d)) phase. Cholesterol and sphingomyelin are thought to be the principal components of lipid rafts in cell and model membranes. We have used fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching in planar supported lipid bilayers composed of porcine brain phosphatidylcholine (bPC), porcine brain sphingomyelin (bSM), and cholesterol to map the composition-dependence of l(d)/l(o) phase coexistence. Cholesterol decreases the fluidity of bPC bilayers, but disrupts the highly ordered gel phase of bSM, leading to a more fluid membrane. When mixed with bPC/bSM (1:1) or bPC/bSM (2:1), cholesterol induces the formation of l(o) phase domains. The fraction of the membrane in the l(o) phase was found to be directly proportional to the cholesterol concentration in both phospholipid mixtures, which implies that a significant fraction of bPC cosegregates into l(o) phase domains. Images reveal a percolation threshold, i.e., the point where rafts become connected and fluid domains disconnected, when 45-50% of the total membrane is converted to the l(o) phase. This happens between 20 and 25 mol % cholesterol in 1:1 bPC/bSM bilayers and between 25 and 30 mol % cholesterol in 2:1 bPC/bSM bilayers at room temperature, and at approximately 35 mol % cholesterol in 1:1 bPC/bSM bilayers at 37 degrees C. Area fractions of l(o) phase lipids obtained in multilamellar liposomes by a fluorescence resonance energy transfer method confirm and support the results obtained in planar lipid bilayers.     

Infrared spectroscopy of collagen and collagen-like polypeptides.

The set of synthetic polytripeptides and polyhexapeptides which can adopt a triple-helical form constitute a good model system for investigating collagen structure. Here we consider previous and new infrared spectroscopic studies on collagen and present the infrared spectra of a number of polymers with collagen-like features. The amide A band position for all triple-helical polypeptides is higher than that observed for most proteins and polypeptides, and this high frequency appears to be related to the degree of supercoiling of the triple helix. It is possible that with increased supercoiling of the three chains the angles between the groups involved in the intramolecular hydrogen bonds become less favorable, or these bonds may become unusually long. The frequency of the amide I band varies considerably for triple-helical polypeptides with different amino acid sequences, and often minor bands are observed. This finding contrasts with the observations for polypeptides in a pleated sheet or α-helical form, where the same amide I frequency is observed regardless of the amino acid composition. An explanation for this variation is proposed in terms of the hydrogen bonding properties of imino acids. Significant spectral changes in the amide I region are observed on hydration in the spectra of some triple-helical polypeptides, but corresponding changes have not been found in the collagens examined.     

Generation of a substructure library for the description and classification of protein secondary structure. II. Application to spectra-structure correlations in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has become well known as a sensitive and informative tool for studying secondary structure in proteins. Present analysis of the conformation-sensitive amide I region in protein infrared spectra, when combined with band narrowing techniques, provides more information concerning protein secondary structure than can be meaningfully interpreted. This is due in part to limited models for secondary structure. Using the algorithm described in the previous paper of this series, we have generated a library of substructures for several trypsin-like serine proteases. This library was used as a basis for spectra-structure correlations with infrared spectra in the amide I' region, for five homologous proteins for which spectra were collected. Use of the substructure library has allowed correlations not previously possible with template-based methods of protein conformational analysis.     

IR spectroscopy of isotope-labeled helical peptides: probing the effect of N-acetylation on helix stability

The effect of N-acetylation on the conformation of alanine-rich helical peptides is examined using isotope-edited Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. A series of peptides with sequence AA(AAKAA)(3)AAY has been prepared; each peptide incorporates four (13)C-labeled alanines. These peptides have two amide I' bands in their FTIR spectra: one corresponding to the (12)C amino acids, and one assigned to the (13)C amino acids. The intensity and frequency of the (13)C amide I' band varies systematically with the position of the labels in the sequence and the presence or absence of an N-acetyl capping group. The intensity of the (13)C amide I' band correlates with helix stability at the labeled residues as predicted by thermodynamic models of the helix-coil transition. These results suggest that FTIR spectroscopy combined with specific isotope labeling can be used to dissect the conformation of helical peptides at the residue level.     

Phase studies of model biomembranes: Macroscopic coexistence of Lα + Lβ, with light-induced coexistence of Lα + Lo Phases

Phase diagrams of 3-component lipid bilayer mixtures containing cholesterol reveal major differences among the different types of lipids. Here we report that mixtures of cholesterol together with POPC and a high-melting temperature PC or sphingomyelin show different phase behavior from similar mixtures that contain DOPC or di-phytanoyl-PC instead of POPC. In particular, only one region of macroscopic phase coexistence occurs with POPC, a region of coexisting liquid disordered and solid phases, {Lα + Lβ}. Fluorescence microscopy imaging is useful for these studies, but is subject to artifactual light-induced domain formation, as reported by Ayuyan and Cohen [A.G. Ayuyan, F.S. Cohen, Lipid peroxides promote large rafts: Effects of excitation of probes in fluorescence microscopy and electrochemical reactions during vesicle formation, Biophys. J. 91 (2006) 2172-2183.]. This artifact can be attenuated by decreased illumination and low dye concentration. The use of the free radical scavenger n-propyl gallate can reduce the artifact, but this molecule enters the bilayer and itself perturbs the phase behavior. We suggest that the light-induced domain separation artifact might actually arise from pre-existing lipid clusters that are induced to coalesce, and therefore indicates highly nonrandom mixing of the lipid components.     

Kinetics of cholesterol extraction from lipid membranes by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin--a surface plasmon resonance approach

The kinetics of cholesterol extraction from cellular membranes is complex and not yet completely understood. In this paper we have developed an experimental approach to directly monitor the extraction of cholesterol from lipid membranes by using surface plasmon resonance and model lipid systems. Methyl-beta-cyclodextrin was used to selectively remove cholesterol from large unilamellar vesicles of various compositions. The amount of extracted cholesterol is highly dependent on the composition of lipid membrane, i.e. the presence of sphingomyelin drastically reduced and slowed down cholesterol extraction by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin. This was confirmed also in the erythrocyte ghosts system, where more cholesterol was extracted after erythrocytes were treated with sphingomyelinase. We further show that the kinetics of the extraction is mono-exponential for mixtures of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and cholesterol. The kinetics is complex for ternary lipid mixtures composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, bovine brain sphingomyelin and cholesterol. Our results indicate that the complex kinetics observed in experiments with cells may be the consequence of lateral segregation of lipids in cell plasma membrane.     

Direct interaction between cholesterol and phosphatidylcholines in hydrated membranes revealed by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

By using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and curve fitting we have examined temperature dependence and composition dependence of the shape of the carbonyl band in phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol model membranes. Membranes were hydrated either in excess water or in excess deuterated water. The studied binary mixtures exhibit different lipid phases at appropriate temperature and amount of cholesterol, among them also the so-called liquid-ordered phase. The results confirm that cholesterol has a significant indirect influence on the carbonyl band through conformational and hydration effects. This influence was interpreted in view of the known temperature composition phase diagrams for inspected binary mixtures. In addition, direct interaction was observed, which could point to the presence of hydrogen bond between cholesterol and carbonyl group. This direct interaction, though weak, might play at least a partial role in the stabilization of cholesterol-rich lipid domains in model and biological membranes.