Catalytic properties of phospholipid exchange protein from bovine heart

A protein which catalyzes the exchange of phosphatidylcholine between membranes has been purified from heart tissue homogenates up to 300-fold by acidic pH precipitation, (NH₄)₂SO₄ precipitation, gel filtration, and ion-exchange chromatography. Binding of the protein to phosphatidylcholine liposomes as measured by Sepharose chromatography was nondetectable. However, isoelectric focusing experiments showed that individual molecules of phosphatidylcholine were transferred from liposomes to the soluble, partially purified protein. Exchange of phospholipid between liposomes and mitochondria was not affected by the presence of moderate amounts of cholesterol in liposomes. A search for competitive inhibitors among moieties similar to phosphatidylcholine failed to show strong binding sites in the hydrophilic part of the substrate. High concentrations of Na⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ impaired the exchange activity.     

Use of phospholipid exchange protein to measure inside-outside transposition in phosphatidylcholine liposomes

The exchange of phosphatidylcholine between [³²P]phosphatidylcholine liposomes and unlabeled mitochondria was catalyzed by a purified phospholipid exchange protein from bovine heart cytosol. The loss of [³²P]phosphatidylcholine from the liposomes appeared to proceed in two stages: with 100 units of phospholipid exchange protein per ml the half-time of initial stage was about 10 min and that of the final stage 4 days or greater. Agarose-gel chromatography of the liposomes showed an elution compatible with a homogeneous pool of small single walled vesicles. Treatment of phosphatidyl [¹⁴C]choline liposomes with phospholipase D (phosphatidylcholine phosphatidohydrolase) showed that labeled phospholipid removable during the rapid exchange phase was subject to hydrolysis by the phospholipase, but that the labeled phospholipid left after the rapid exchange was completed could not be hydrolyzed by phospholipase D. It is proposed that the rapidly exchanging phosphatidylcholine constitutes the outer layer of the liposome bilayer. The long half-lives of 4 days or more probably represent the transposition of Phosphatidylcholine from the inner to the outer layer of the liposome bilayer.     

Phospholipase C from Clostridium novyi type A. I.

1. Phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) from Clostridium novyi (oedematiens) type A was purified 2000-fold by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, DEAE-Sephadex treatment in a batchwise system and Sephadex G-100 column chromatography. 2. The purified preparation had a specific activity of 95 mumol per min per mg protein toward phosphatidylcholine. This preparation was free from protease, lipase and oxygen-labile delta-hemolysin. 3. Phosphatidylcholine was hydrolyzed at the highest rate, while sphingomyelin and lysophosphatidylcholine were hydrolyzed at much lower rates. 4. Sodium deoxycholate and divalent cations such as Mg2+ and Ca2+ were extremely effective in stimulating phosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing activity of this enzyme. 5. This enzyme hemolyzed horse red cells by hydrolyzing phosphatidylcholine, spingomyelin and phosphatidylethanolamine.     

Partial purification and characterization of the low density lipoprotein receptor from bovine adrenal cortex

The low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor has been solubilized from bovine adrenocortical membranes with octyl-beta-D-glucoside and purified 350-fold in the presence of the detergent. The activity of the solubilized receptor was assayed by precipitating the receptor with acetone in the presence of egg phosphatidylcholine liposomes. the receptor-phosphatidylcholine liposomes bound 125I-LDL with the same affinity and specificity as did the native LDL receptor of intact membranes. The complex of receptor and octylglucoside had a Stokes radius of 53.5 A as determined by agarose gel filtration. The sedimentation coefficient, s20,w, of the receptor . octylglucoside complex was 7.3 as determined by metrizamide density gradient centrifugation. An identical value for the sedimentation coefficient was obtained when deuterium oxide was substituted for water in the metrizamide gradient. These data were used to derive an estimate of 163,000 for the molecular weight of the LDL receptor . octylglucoside complex (range of molecular weight, 152,000 to 170,000). The receptor is an acidic protein as determined by its behavior on ion exchange chromatography. In the most highly purified LDL receptor preparation, which had been subjected to the sequential steps of solubilization, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, agarose gel filtration, and phosphatidylcholine/acetone precipitation, the receptor was estimated to constitute about 5% of the total protein. Thus, complete purification of the LDL receptor from bovine adrenocortical membranes will require an additional 20-fold purification, or a total purification of about 7,000-fold.     

Kinetic analysis of the interaction of the phosphatidylcholine exchange protein with unilamellar vesicels and multilamellar liposomes.

The mode of action of the phosphatidylcholine exchange protein from bovine liver has been studied by using unilamellar vesicles and multilamellar liposomes both of which membranes contain phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidic acid. The protein-mediated exchange of phosphatidylcholine between vesicles and liposomes fit the kinetic model presented in a previous study [V.D. Besselaar et al. (1975) Biochemistry, 1j, 1852]. Kinetic analysis of the rates of exchange indicate that the apparent dissociation constant of the exchange protein-vesicle complex decreases with an increasing phosphatidic acid content of the vesicles. Both vesicles and liposomes of 10 mol% phosphatidic acid show the same dissociation constant; on the other hand, both the formation and the disruption of the protein-membrane complex was 50--100-times higher for the vesicles than for the liposomes. This implies that the exchange protein can discriminate between vesicles and liposomes. Equilibrium gel chromatography of a column of Bio Gel A-5m confirmed that the exchange protein binds more strongly to vesicles of an increased phosphatidic acid content. The protein-mediated exchange of phosphatidylcholine in the vesicle-liposome system demonstrates a pH optimum at 4.0 to 5.5. The kinetic analysis at pH 5.0 as compared to pH 7.4 indicates that the enhanced exchange at pH 5.0 can solely be accounted for by altered interaction of the exchange protein with the liposomes.     

Some properties of phosphatidylcholine exchange protein purified from beef liver

A phospholipid exchange protein has been purified 2680-fold from beef liver. The assay of the exchange activity of the protein was based on the transfer of [¹⁴C]phosphatidylcholine from microsomes labeled with [¹⁴C]phosphatidylcholine to liposomes. The homogeneity of the protein has been established by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. The protein has a molecular weight of approximately 22000 and an isoelectric point of 5.8. The amino acid composition has been determined. The protein contains one disulfide bridge and has glutamic acid as the N-terminal amino acid. Phospholipid, tentatively identified as phosphatidylcholine, was found to be present in the protein preparation. The protein stimulated specifically the exchange of phosphatidylcholine between mitochondria and microsomes from rat liver.     

The glucose transport activity of human erythrocyte membranes. Reconstitution in phospholipid liposomes and fractionation by molecular sieve and ion exchange chromatography

Human erythrocyte membranes, at a protein concentration of 1–2 g/l, were solubilized with 0.12 M cholate in the presence of 0.06 M phospholipid (egg yolk phospholipids or phosphatidylcholine). More than 40% of the protein was solubilized. Cholate was removed by molecular sieve chromatography, whereby liposomes formed. These liposomes exchanged D-glucose faster than L-glucose. The recovery of glucose transport activity in the reconstituted system was estimated to be higher than 16%.The liposomes were heterogeneous in size, as shown by molecular sieve chromatography on Sepharose 4B, and small liposomes predominated. In liposomes formed with phosphatidylcholine, the distribution of glucose transport activity did not parallel the distribution of protein or phospholipid, and the activity was found mainly in the smallest liposomes. The proteins were incorporated mainly into the liposomes that eluted at the lowest ionic strength upon ion exchange chromatography.The glucose transport activity separated into three main peaks upon ion exchange chromatography of egg yolk phospholipid liposomes. The activity eluted at low ionic strength. The liposomes contained proteins mainly from the 3- and 4.5-regions (nomenclature according to Steck, T.L. (1974) J. Cell Biol. 62, 1–19). The activity peaks were highest in the first part of the chromatogram. The protein distribution did not coincide with the variation in activity over each peak. Therefore, it cannot be excluded that a minor component not seen in the electrophoretic analyses might be responsible for the glucose transport activity.     

Phosphatidylinositol exchange protein. Effects of membrane structure on activity and evidence for a ping-pong mechanism.

Phosphatidylinositol exchange protein, purified from bovine cerebral cortex, catalyzes the transfer of phosphatidylinositol and, to a lesser extent, phosphatidylcholine between rat liver microsomes and egg phosphatidylcholine liposomes. Transfer activity is sensitive to pH, temperature, and the method of liposome preparation. Variation of the phospholipid composition of the liposomes produces vesicles for which the apparent Michaelis constant decreases with increasing molar proportions of phosphatidylinositol. Interaction of exchange protein with liposomes containing radioactively labeled phosphatidylcholine allows the isolation of a phospholipid-protein complex; dissociation of this complex occurs upon subsequent interaction with unlabeled liposomes. Changes in the concentration of the two membrane species, microsomes and liposomes, yield results which are interpreted in terms of a ping-pong kinetic mechanism for the protein-catalyzed, intermembrane transfer of phospholipids.     

Asymmetry and transposition rates of phosphatidylcholine in rat erythrocyte ghosts.

Purified phospholipid exchange protein from beef heart cytosol is used to accelerate the exchange of phospholipids between labeled sealed ghosts and phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol liposomes. The purified protein accelerates the transfer of phosphatidylcholine and, to a lesser degree, that of sphingomyelin, phosphatidylinositol, and lysophosphatidylcholine. The presence of exchange protein does not accelerate the exchange of phospholipids between intact red blood cells and liposomes, but 75% of the phosphatidylcholine of sealed ghosts is readily available for exchange. The remaining 25% is also exchangeable but at a slower rate. When the exchange is assayed between inside-out vesicles and liposomes, 37% of the phosphatidylcholine is readily available, and 63% is exchanged at a slower rate. These results are consistent with an asymmetric distribution of phosphatidylcholine in isolated erythrocyte membrane fractions. The sum of the forward and backward transposition of phosphatidylcholine between the inside and outside layers of sealed ghost membranes amounts to 11% per hour, and the half-time for equilibration is 2.3 h. Significatnly lower values are obtained for the inside-out vesicles (half-time for equilibration: 5.3 h). These results suggest that, during the formation of the vesicles, the asymmetry of phosphatidylcholine is partially preserved, but structural changes occur in the membrane that affect the rate of membrane transposition of phosphatidylcholine.     

THE ROLE OF LIPIDS IN THE OBSERVED LACK OF PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE EXCHANGE IN MYELIN

Abstract— When exchange between liposomal phosphatidylcholine and that in a whole myelin fraction from guinea-pig brain was studied, very little exchange was observed. In order to investigate the reason for this phenomenon, myelin lipids in the Ca²⁺ form were prepared and subjected to sonication under the same conditions usually used to study phosphatidylcholine exchange. Despite the high cholesterol content in these extracts, this treatment produced liposomes of a size (12 nm Stoke's radius) similar to that of pure phosphatidylcholine liposomes. In this form, myelin total lipids were capable of undergoing exchange, and this was only demonstrable in the fraction containing phosphatidylcholine and that containing phosphatidylinositol. Since the level of acidic phospholipids in these total lipid extracts is potentially capable of producing 40% inhibition of phosphatidylcholine exchange (H ellings et al , 1974; B rammer & S heltawy , 1975), control experiments were carried out to ensure that the observed phosphatidylcholine exchange in the myelin lipid extract was not due to the loss of phosphoinositides. This was found to be the case, and it was concluded therefore that total myelin lipids, in the Ca²⁺ form, are capable of phosphatidylcholine exchange and that the observed lack of it in the whole myelin is due either to the effect of myelin proteins or the compact structure of the myelin membrane.
Calculations based on the difference between the rate of phosphatidylcholine exchange in the myelin liposomes and in the sonicated phosphatidylcholine liposomes indicated that the phosphatidylcholine is asymmetrically distributed in the myelin liposomes. Almost all the phosphatidylcholine seems to be present in the outer half of the bilayer.     

THE EXCHANGE OF PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE AND OF PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL IN SHEEP BRAIN

—The exchange of phospholipids between liposomes and brain mitochondria has been studied in the presence of pH 5·1 supernatant fluids derived from rat, guinea pig, sheep and ox brains. The exchange phenomenon was similar to that observed in liver and heart, but phosphatidylinositol and not phosphatidylcholine was the most rapidly exchanging phospholipid. The phosphatidylcholine exchange activity was purified 186-fold from sheep brain and the protein fraction contained two major and several minor protein species. The phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol exchange activities have been shown to have very similar molecular weights and isoelectric points. However, their behaviour in response to changes in liposomal surface charge suggested that separate proteins might be involved in stimulating the exchange of the two phospholipid classes.     

The protein-mediated net transfer of phosphatidylinositol in model systems

The phospholipid monolayer technique has been used to study the transfer activity of the phospholipid exchange protein from beef brain. In measuring the transfer between a monolayer consisting of equimolar amounts of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol and liposomes consisting of 98 mol% phosphatidylcholine and 2 mol% phosphatidylinositol, the beef brain protein demonstrates an 8-fold higher transfer activity for phosphatidylinositol than for phosphatidylcholine. Under similar conditions the phosphatidylcholine exchange protein from beef liver showed a great preference for phosphatidylcholine. Phosphatidylcholine liposomes devoid of phosphatidylinositol still functioned as receptors of phosphatidylinositol when the beef brain exchange protein was present. This indicates that this protein can catalyse a net transfer of phosphatidylinopsitol. Binding of both phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylcholine to the beef brain protein was shown.     

Effect of bilayer membrane curvature on activity of phosphatidylcholine exchange protein

Effect of bilayer membrane curvature of substrate phosphatidylcholine and inhibitor phosphatidylserine on the activity of phosphatidylcholine exchange protein has been studied by measuring transfer of spin-labeled phosphatidylcholine between vesicles, vesicles and liposomes, and between liposomes. The transfer rate between vesicles was more than 100 times larger than that between vesicles and liposomes. The transfer rate between liposomes was still smaller than that between vesicles and liposomes and nearly the same as that in the absence of exchange protein. The markedly enhanced exchange with vesicles was ascribed to the asymmetric packing of phospholipid molecules in the outer layer of the highly curved bilayer membrane. The inhibitory effect of phosphatidylserine was also greatly dependent on the membrane curvature. The vesicles with diameter of 17 nm showed more than 20 times larger inhibitory activity than those with diameter of 22 nm. The inhibitory effect of liposomes was very small. The size dependence was ascribed to stronger binding of the exchange protein to membranes with higher curvatures. The protein-mediated transfer from vesicles to spiculated erythrocyte ghosts was about four times faster than that to cup-shaped ghosts. This was ascribed to enhanced transfer to the highly curved spiculated membrane sites rather than greater mobility of phosphatidylcholine in the spiculated ghost membrane.     

The protein-mediated transfer of phosphatidylcholine between membranes. The effect of membrane lipid composition and ionic composition of the medium.

The phosphatidylcholine exchange protein from bovine liver catalyzes the transfer of phosphatidylcholine between rat liver mitochondria and sonicated liposomes. The effect of changes in the liposomal lipid composition and ionic composition of the medium on the transfer have been determined. In addition, it has been determined how these changes affected the electrophoretic mobility i.e. the surface charge of the membrane particles involved. Transfer was inhibited by the incorporation of negatively charged phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol into the phosphatidylcholine-containing vesicles; zwitterionic phosphatidyl-ethanolamine had much less of an inhibitory effect while positively charged stearylamine stimulated. The cation Mg2+ and, to a lesser extent, K+ overcame the inhibitory effect exerted by phosphatidic acid, in that concentration range where these ions neutralized the negative surface charge most effectively. Under conditions where Mg2+ and K+ affected the membrane surface charge relatively little inhibition was observed. In measuring the protein-mediated transfer between a monolayer and vesicles consisting of only phosphatidylcholine, cations inhibited the transfer in the order La3+ greater than Mg2+ larger than or equal to Ca2+ greater than K+ = Na+. Inhibition was not related to the ionic strength, and very likely reflects an interference of these cations with an electrostatic interaction between the exchange protein and the polar head group of phosphatidylcholine.     

Intermembrane phospholipid transfer mediated by cell-free extracts of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides.

The transfer of phospholipids between two membrane substrates catalyzed by a soluble protein fraction from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides has been demonstrated. The assay employs purified intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) vesicles derived from cells of R. sphaeroides grown on [3H]acetate as the phospholipid donor substrate and phosphatidylcholine (70%)/phosphatidylethanolamine (30%) unilamellar liposomes containing [14C]triolein, a nontransferable marker, as the acceptor substrate for transferred phospholipids. Incubation of these two membrane substrates with a 40 to 80% (NH4)2SO4 protein fraction from R. sphaeroides results in the transfer of tritium-labeled ICM phospholipids to the acceptor membrane substrate. Upon completion of the incubation period, the donor ICM vesicles are quantitatively separated from the acceptor liposomes by precipitation with antibody prepared against whole, purified ICM vesicles. Phospholipid transfer is linear with respect to time and protein concentration, is inhibited by trypsin and heat, and shows an absolute dependence upon the presence of acceptor liposomes and the 40 to 80% (NH4)2SO4 protein fraction. Control experiments indicate that no fusion of the donor and acceptor membrane occurs during the incubation period and that, following prolonged incubation there is no detectable degradation of the labeled lipid components. Preliminary data on the phospholipid specificity of the transfer reaction is also presented.     

Purification and some properties of the glycolipid transfer protein from pig brain

A glycolipid-specific lipid transfer protein has been purified to apparent homogeneity from pig brain post-mitochondrial supernatant. The purified protein was obtained after about 6,000-fold purification at a yield of 19%. Evidence for the homogeneity of the purified protein includes the following: (i) a single band in acidic gel electrophoresis, in sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis, (ii) a single band in analytical gel isoelectric focusing, (iii) exact correspondence between the glycolipid transfer activity and stained protein absorbance in the acidic gel electrophoresis, and (iv) coincidence between the transfer activity and protein absorption at 280 nm in gel filtration through Ultrogel AcA 54. The protein has an isoelectric point of about 8.3 and a molecular weight of 22,000, as measured by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A molecular weight of 15,000 was calculated from AcA 54 gel filtration. The amino acid composition has been determined. The protein binds [3H]galactosylceramide but not [3H]phosphatidylcholine. Under the conditions used, 1 mol of the transfer protein bound about 0.13 mol of [3H]galactosylceramide. The glycolipid transfer protein-[3H]galactosylceramide complex was isolated by a Sephadex G-75 chromatography. An incubation of the complex with liposomes resulted in the transfer of [3H]galactosylceramide from the complex to the acceptor liposomes. The result indicates that the complex functions as an intermediate in the glycolipid transfer reaction. The protein facilitates the transfer of [3H]galactosylceramide from donor liposomes to acceptor liposomes lacking in glycolipid as well as to acceptor liposomes containing galactosylceramide.     

Identification, purification, and characterization of the rat liver golgi membrane ATP transporter

Phosphorylation of secretory and integral membrane proteins and of proteoglycans also occurs in the lumen of the Golgi apparatus. ATP, the phosphate donor in these reactions, must first cross the Golgi membrane before it can serve as substrate. The existence of a specific ATP transporter in the Golgi membrane has been previously demonstrated in vitro using intact Golgi membrane vesicles from rat liver and mammary gland. We have now identified and purified the rat liver Golgi membrane ATP transporter. The transporter was purified to apparent homogeneity by a combination of conventional ion exchange, dye color, and affinity chromatography. An approximately 70,000-fold purification (2% yield) was achieved starting from crude rat liver Golgi membranes. A protein with an apparent molecular mass of 60 kDa was identified as the putative transporter by a combination of column chromatography, photoaffinity labeling with an analog of ATP, and native functional size determination on a glycerol gradient. The purified transporter appears to exist as a homodimer within the Golgi membrane, and when reconstituted into phosphatidylcholine liposomes, was active in ATP but not nucleotide sugar or adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate transport. The transport activity was saturable with an apparent Km very similar to that of intact Golgi vesicles.     

Stimulation of sodium-calcium exchange by cholesterol incorporation into isolated cardiac sarcolemmal vesicles

Modification of the cholesterol content of highly purified cardiac sarcolemma from dog ventricles was accomplished by incubation with phosphatidylcholine liposomes containing various amounts of cholesterol. The degree of cholesterol enrichment could be varied by changing the liposomal cholesterol/phospholipid ratio or varying the liposome-membrane incubation time. Na+-Ca2+ exchange measured in cholesterol-enriched sarcolemmal vesicles was increased up to 48% over control values. The stimulation of Na+-Ca2+ exchange was associated with an increased affinity of the exchanger for Ca2+ (Km = 17 microM compared with Km = 22 microM for control preparations). Na+-Ca2+ exchange measured in cholesterol-depleted membrane preparations was decreased by 15%. This depressed activity was associated with a decreased affinity of the exchanger for Ca2+ (Km = 27 microM). These changes were not due to either a change in membrane permeability to Ca2+ or an increase in the amount of Ca2+ bound to sarcolemmal vesicles. The stimulating effect of cholesterol enrichment was specific to the Na+-Ca2+ exchange process since sarcolemmal Ca2+-Mg2+ ATPase activity was depressed 40% by cholesterol enrichment. Further, K+-p-nitrophenylphosphatase and Na+-K+ ATPase activities were depressed in both cholesterol-depleted and cholesterol-enriched sarcolemmal vesicles. In situ oxidation of membrane cholesterol completely eliminated Na+-Ca2+ exchange. These results suggest that cholesterol is intimately associated with Na+-Ca2+ exchange and may interact with the exchange protein and modulate its activity.