Enthalpy-driven apolipoprotein A-I and lipid bilayer interaction indicating protein penetration upon lipid binding

The interaction of lipid-free apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) with small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) with and without free cholesterol (FC) was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Parameters reported are the affinity constant (K(a)), the number of protein molecules bound per vesicle (n), enthalpy change (DeltaH degrees), entropy change (DeltaS degrees ), and the heat capacity change (DeltaC(p) degrees). The binding process of apoA-I to SUVs of POPC plus 0-20% (mole) FC was exothermic between 15 and 37 degrees C studied, accompanied by a small negative entropy change, making enthalpy the main driving force of the interaction. The presence of cholesterol in the vesicles increased the binding affinity and the alpha-helix content of apoA-I but lowered the number of apoA-I bound per vesicle and the enthalpy and entropy changes per bound apoA-I. Binding affinity and stoichiometry were essentially invariant of temperature for binding to SUVs of POPC/FC at a molar ratio of 6/1 at (2.8-4) x 10(6) M(-1) and 2.4 apoA-I molecules bound per vesicle or 1.4 x 10(2) phospholipids per bound apoA-I. A plot of DeltaH degrees against temperature displayed a linear behavior, from which the DeltaC(p) degrees per mole of bound apoA-I was calculated to be -2.73 kcal/(mol x K). These results suggested that binding of apoA-I to POPC vesicles is characterized by nonclassical hydrophobic interactions, with alpha-helix formation as the main driving force for the binding to cholesterol-containing vesicles. In addition, comparison to literature data on peptides suggested a cooperativity of the helices in apoA-I in lipid interaction.     

Effects of cholesterol on the divalent cation-mediated interactions of vesicles containing amino and choline phospholipids

We have used assays of lipid probe mixing, contents mixing and contents leakage to monitor the divalent cation-mediated interactions between lipid vesicles containing phosphatidylserine (PS) as a minority component together with mixtures of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC) or sphingomyelin, and cholesterol in varying proportions. The initial rates of calcium- and magnesium-induced lipid probe quenching between vesicles, which reflect primarily the rates of vesicle aggregation, are strongly reduced as progressively higher proportions of PC or sphingomyelin are incorporated into PE/PS vesicles. The initial rates of divalent cation-induced contents mixing and contents leakage for PE/PS vesicles are also strongly reduced when choline phospholipids are incorporated into the vesicles in even low molar proportions. Sphingomyelin has a more potent inhibitory effect on these processes than does PC at an equal level in the vesicle membranes. The inclusion of cholesterol in these vesicles, at levels up to 1:2 moles sterol/mole phospholipid, has little effect on the rates of calcium- or magnesium-induced vesicle aggregation. However, cholesterol significantly enhances the initial rates of vesicle contents mixing and contents leakage in the presence of divalent cations when the vesicles contain choline as well as amino phospholipids. This effect is substantial only when the level of cholesterol exceeds the level of choline phospholipids in the vesicles. These results may have significance for the fusion of certain cellular membranes in mammalian cells, whose cytoplasmic faces have lipid compositions very similar to those of the vesicles examined in this study.     

Uptake of yttrium-90 into lipid vesicles

Abstract

Lipid vesicles may be safely and efficiently loaded with therapeutic dose levels of the beta emitter yttrium-90 (⁹⁰Y) by using the ability of the cation ionophore A23187 to transport yttrium across the lipid bilayer where it is chelated on the vesicle interior by diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA). For 100 nm diameter vesicles composed of diplamitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cholesterol (Choi), DPPC/Chol (1:1), containing 15 mM DTPA with 40 nmoles of external yttrium, total uptake was > 95% of added yttrium within 5 min at 50° using 0.4 ng of ionophore per nmole of lipid. Background binding in these neutral vesicles accounts for less than 0.1% of the yttrium associated with the vesicles. Important operational parameters were the amount of ionophore (> 0.2 μg of ionophore per μmole of lipid was required) and also the temperature (for DPPC/Chol (1:1) vesicles uptake at 40° was essentially background but was > 95% at 50°). The presence of the polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the membrane surface had no effect upon yttrium uptake. Once entrapped, vesicles did not leak any contents for several days at room temperature.     

In vitro interaction of Zajdela ascites hepatoma cells with lipid vesicles.

We studied the in vitro interaction between Zajdela ascites hepatoma cells and small unilamellar vesicles, consisting of 14C-labeled phosphatidylacholine, cholesterol, and phosphatidylserine (molar ratio 5 : 4 : 1), containing high intravesicular concentrations of carboxyfluorescein or fluorescein isothiocyanate tagged dextran. The entrapped markers were found to be associated with the cells to a lesser degree than the vesicle membrane marker. This discrepancy, which is slightly less pronounced for fluorescein isothiocyanate tagged dextran than for carboxyfluorescein, increases with incubation time and decreases with increasing vesicle lipid concentration in the incubation mixture. Vesicle-plasma membrane exchange of the vesicle lipid marker could not entirely explain the observed discrepancy. It is tentatively concluded that the gap mainly arises from a selective loss of entrapped dyes from vesicles actually interacting with the cell surface. Both spectrofluorimetry and fluorescence microscopic observations, as well as the relative insensitivity of vesicle uptake towards the presence of metabolic inhibitors, exclude a major contribution of endocytosis as a vesicle uptake route. We therefore conclude that vesicles are primarily internalized by a vesicle-cell fusion-like process. The observed discrepancy in uptake between entrapped materials and vesicle lipid is discussed in terms of a two-site vesicle-cell surface interaction model.     

In vitro interaction of zajdela ascites hepatoma cells with lipid vesicles

We studied the in vitro interaction between Zajdela ascites hepatoma cells and small unilamellar vesicles, consisting of ¹⁴C-labeled phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, and phosphatidylserine (molar ratio 5: 4: 1), containing high intravesicular concentrations of carboxyfluorescein or fluorescein isothiocyanate tagged dextran.The entrapped markers were found to be associated with the cells to a lesser degree than the vesicle membrane marker. This discrepancy, which is slightly less pronounced for fluorescein isothiocyanate tagged dextran than for carboxyfluorescein, increases with incubation time and decreases with increasing vesicle lipid concentration in the incubation mixture. Vesicle-plasma membrane exchange of the vesicle lipid marker could not entirely explain the observed discrepancy. It is tentatively concluded that the gap mainly arises from a selective loss of entrapped dyes from vesicles actually interacting with the cell surface. Both spectrofluorimetric and fluorescence microscopic observations, as well as the relative insensitivity of vesicle uptake towards the presence of metabolic inhibitors, exclude a major contribution of endocytosis as a vesicle uptake route. We therefore conclude that vesicles are primarily internalized by a vesicle-cell fusion-like process. The observed discrepancy in uptake between entrapped materials and vesicle lipid is discussed in terms of a two-site vesicle cell surface interaction model.     

Liposomal blood pool agents for nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Polymer-coated lipid vesicles labeled with either a radionuclide such as technetium-99m or a paramagnetic cation such as gadolinium or manganese, exhibit an extended half-life in the circulation and reduced reticuloendothelial uptake, and are of potential utility as vascular imaging agents for both nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance. For nuclear medicine applications, lipid vesicles may be prepared with radionuclide either attached to the membrane surface by means of a suitable chelate or else encapsulated within the vesicle and offer two principle advantages compared to radiolabeled red blood cells, (i) vesicle can be prepared prior to patient arrival thereby minimizing delays and scheduling difficulties and (ii) known drug interferences are eliminated. The surface-labeling approach is technically more simple and is better suited to the production of vesicles in a pharmaceutically-acceptable form ready for labeling, however encapsulation results in vesicles which exhibit less renal clearance of entrapped label. The limitations of each approach in real clinical practice are not yet evident. For magnetic resonance applications, paramagnetically-labeled vesicles would be a superior vascular marker compared to small molecular weight paramagnetic chelates and may prove useful for blood volume and perfusion measurements. Surface-associated chelates are the approach of choice for a variety of reasons including increased relaxivity and reduced lipid dose compared to vesicles with entrapped paramagnetic chelates. The presence of polymer on the membrane surface has no effect upon die relaxivity of paramagnetic chelates eitiier entrapped widiin the vesicle or bound to the membrane surface.     

Interaction between ether glycerophospholipid vesicles and serum proteins in vitro

The effect of blood serum on the stability of small unilamellar vesicles consisting of 1-O-(1'-alkenyl)-2-acyl-sn-glycerophosphocholine (choline plasmalogen) or of the alkylacyl-, dialkyl- and diacyl analogs was evaluated by measuring either release of entrapped calcein or transfer of phospholipids from vesicles to serum high-density lipoproteins. The following order of stability was found: alkenyloleoylGPC greater than dioleoylGPC greater than di-O-octadecenylGPC greater than acyloleoylGPC = egg phosphatidylcholine = alkyloleoylGPC. AlkyloleoylGPC and acyloleoylGPC had aliphatic chain compositions similar to that of alkenyloleoylGPC. From the results obtained it is concluded that stability of vesicles in the presence of serum depends on vesicle size (larger vesicles are more stable) and on the type of bond (ether or ester) in position 2 of glycerol. Dioctadecenyl vesicles are about the same size as alkylacylGPC vesicles, but are significantly more stable in the presence of serum. Thus, it appears that an ester bond in position 2 of glycerol (which is replaced by an ether bond in dioctadecenylglycerol) favors the interaction of phospholipids with serum high-density lipoproteins or lipid-exchange proteins. The addition of cholesterol greatly enhances vesicle stability; among the vesicles used in this study those composed of alkenylacylGPC plus 30 mol% cholesterol were most resistant to disruption by serum. Experiments with sn-1 and sn-3 enantiomers of alkylacylGPC and diacylGPC have shown that interaction of vesicle membranes with serum components is independent of the steric configuration of vesicle phospholipids.     

Effect of cholesterol on the valinomycin-mediated uptake of rubidium into erythrocytes and phospholipid vesicles.

Human erythrocytes have been treated with lipid vesicles in order to alter the cholesterol content of the cell membrane. Erythrocytes have been produced with cholesterol concentrations between 33 and 66 mol% of total lipid. The rate of valinomycin-mediated uptake of rubidium into the red cells at 37 degrees C was lowered by increasing the cholesterol concentration of the cell membrane. Cholesterol increased the permeability to valinomycin at 20 degrees C of small (less than 50 nm), unilamellar egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles formed by sonication. Cholesterol decreased the permeability to valinomycin at 20 degrees C of large (up to 200 nm) unilamellar egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles formed by freeze-thaw plus brief sonication. It is concluded that cholesterol increases the permeability of small membrane vesicles to hydrophobic penetrating substances while above the transition temperature but has the opposite effect on large membrane vesicles and on the membranes of even larger cells.     

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.     

Effects of cholesterol surface transfer on cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine synthesis in cultured rat arterial smooth muscle cells

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cholesterol surface transfer between lipid vesicles and rat arterial smooth muscle cells on endogenous synthesis of cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine. Lipid vesicles containing cholesterol and egg phosphatidylcholine in different proportions were used as the extracellular lipid source. The rate of cellular cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine synthesis was determined from the [14C]acetate incorporation into these lipid classes. [3H]Cholesterol in lipid vesicles, with a cholesterol/phospholipid (C/P) mole ratio of 1:1, was rapidly transferred into rat smooth muscle cells, with a half-time of about 3.6 hours in the absence of serum proteins. Incubation of cells for 5 hours with vesicles of a high C/P mole ratio (i.e. 1.5:1) at vesicle-cholesterol concentrations above 100 micrograms/ml resulted in a marked reduction of cellular cholesterol synthesis, whereas the rate of phosphatidylcholine synthesis was increased. Cells incubated with lipid vesicles of C/P 1:2 did not show any change in cellular cholesterol or phosphatidylcholine synthesis. Incubation of cells with egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles at concentrations above 300 micrograms/ml, on the other hand, stimulated endogenous synthesis of cholesterol without affecting cellular phosphatidylcholine synthesis. The main conclusion is that cholesterol surface transfer may influence cellular lipid metabolism in the absence of mediating serum lipoproteins in a model system with cultured cells and lipid vesicles.     

Cholesterol superlattice modulates the activity of cholesterol oxidase in lipid membranes

Here, the interplay between membrane cholesterol lateral organization and the activity of membrane surface-acting enzymes was addressed using soil bacteria cholesterol oxidase (COD) as a model. Specifically, the effect of the membrane cholesterol mole fraction on the initial rate of cholesterol oxidation catalyzed by COD was investigated at 37 degrees C using cholesterol/1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-l-alpha-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs, approximately 800 nm in diameter). In the three concentration ranges examined (18.8-21.2, 23.6-26.3, and 32.2-34.5 mol % cholesterol), the initial activity of COD changed with cholesterol mole fraction in a biphasic manner, exhibiting a local maximum at 19.7, 25.0, and 33.4 mol %. Within the experimental errors, these mole fractions agree with the critical cholesterol mole fractions (C(r)) (20.0, 25.0, and 33.3) theoretically predicted for maximal superlattice formation. The activity variation with cholesterol content was correlated well with the area of regular distribution (A(reg)) in the plane of the membrane as determined by nystatin fluorescence. A similar biphasic change in COD activity was detected at the critical sterol mole fraction 20 mol % in dehydroergosterol (DHE)/POPC LUVs (approximately 168 nm in diameter). These results indicate that the activity of COD is regulated by the extent of sterol superlattice for both sterols (DHE and cholesterol) and for a wide range of vesicle sizes (approximately 168-800 nm). The present work on COD and the previous study on phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)) [Liu and Chong (1999) Biochemistry 38, 3867-3873] suggest that the activities of some surface-acting enzymes may be regulated by the extent of sterol superlattice in the membrane in a substrate-dependent manner. When the substrate is a sterol, as it is with COD, the enzyme activity reaches a local maximum at C(r). When phospholipid is the substrate, the minimum activity is at C(r), as is the case with sPLA(2). Both phenomena are in accordance with the sterol superlattice model and manifest the functional importance of membrane cholesterol content.     

The effects of lipid composition on the rate and extent of heme binding to membranes

The effects of membrane composition on heme binding to large unilamellar vesicles were examined using 30 separate phospholipid mixtures. Although there was some variation, most lecithins with Tm values less than or equal to 20 degrees C showed overall equilibrium partition constants equal to approximately 5 x 10(5) and association and dissociation partition rate constants equal to approximately 3 x 10(6) s-1 and 7 s-1, respectively, for CO-heme binding at 30 degrees C. A sharp decrease in the association rate for CO-heme uptake was observed as the lipid vesicles changed from liquid-crystalline to the gel phase. The addition of dicetyl phosphate or dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol, which are negatively charged at neutral pH, decreased the affinity of the vesicles for CO-heme. The association rate and equilibrium partition constants for CO-heme uptake in unsaturated lecithins were unaffected by cholesterol content at levels up to 40%/mol. The affinity of saturated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) vesicles for CO-heme decreased with increasing cholesterol content at 30 degrees C. This effect appears to be related to the influence of cholesterol on the DMPC phase transition temperature (Tm) since at low temperatures (less than or equal to 20 degrees C) little CO-heme binds to vesicles composed of DMPC even in the absence of cholesterol.     

Interfacial preference of anesthetic action upon the phase transition of phospholipid bilayers and partition equilibrium of inhalation anesthetics between membrane and deuterium oxide

The half-height linewidth (v 1/2) of the 1H-NMR spectra of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine vesicles changes abruptly at the phase transition temperature. In the absence of inhalation anesthetics, proton signals from the choline head group (hydrophilic interface) and acyl-chain tails (lipid core) change at the same temperature of 39.6 degrees C. The present study compared the effect of four inhalation anesthetics, i.e., methoxyflurane, chloroform, halothane and enflurane, upon the ligand-induced phase transition of phosphatidylcholine vesicle membranes at 37 degrees C. The anesthetics showed differential action upon the phase transition of the phospholipid vesicle membranes between the lipid core and the hydrophilic interface. The concentrations of anesthetics which induced the phase transition of the lipid core were about 2-fold greater than those required for the phase transition of the interfacial choline head groups. From the area under the proton signals of inhalation anesthetics in the NMR spectra, the maximum solubilities of methoxyflurane, chloroform and halothane in 2H2O at 37 degrees C were determined to be 0.671 . 10(-4), 2.637 . 10(-4) and 1.398 . 10(-4) (expressed as mole fractions), or 3.35, 13.17 and 6.98 mmol/1000 g 2H2O, respectively. The solubilities of the anesthetic vapor in 2H2O expressed as mole fractions according to Henry's law ere 9.586 . 10(-4), 6.432 . 10(-4) and 2.311 10(-4)/atm (1.013 . 10(5) Pa) partial pressure, respectively. The presence of phospholipid vesicles in 2H2O increased the solubility of the inhalation anesthetics. From difference between solubility in 2H2O and a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine vesicle suspension, the partition coefficients of methoxyflurane, chloroform and halothane between the phospholipid vesicle membranes and 2H2O were estimated. These values, calculated from the mole fractions, were 3364, 1660 and 3850, respectively at 37 degrees C.     

Effects of alcohol-induced lipid interdigitation on proton permeability in L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine vesicles.

6-Carboxyfluorescein was employed to examine the effect of alcohol-induced lipid interdigitation on proton permeability in L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) large unilamellar vesicles. Proton permeability was measured by monitoring the decrease of 6-carboxyfluorescein fluorescence after a pH gradient from 3.5 (outside the vesicle) to 8.0 (inside the vesicle) was established. At 20 degrees C and below 1.2 M ethanol, the fluorescence decrease is best described by a single exponential function. Above 1.2 M ethanol, the intensity decrease is better described by a two-exponential decay law. Using the fitted rate constants and the vesicle radii determined from light-scattering measurements, the proton permeability coefficient, P, in DPPC vesicles was calculated as a function of ethanol concentration. At 20 degrees C, P increases monotonically with increasing ethanol content up to 1.0 M, followed by an abrupt increase at 1.2 M. The vesicle size also exhibits a sudden increase at around 1.2 M ethanol, which has been shown to result from vesicle aggregation rather than vesicle fusion. The abrupt increases in P and in vesicle size occur at the concentration region close to the critical ethanol concentration for the formation of the fully interdigitated gel state of DPPC. At 14 degrees C, the abrupt change in P shifts to 1.9-2.0 M ethanol, completely in accordance with the ethanol-temperature phase diagram of interdigitated DPPC. Effects of methanol and benzyl alcohol on lipid interdigitation have also been examined. At 20 degrees C, DPPC large unilamellar vesicles exhibit a dramatic change in P at 3 M methanol and at 40 mM benzyl alcohol. These concentrations come close to the critical methanol and benzyl alcohol concentrations for the formation of fully interdigitated DPPC structures determined previously by others. It can be concluded that proton permeability increases dramatically as DPPC is transformed from the noninterdigitated gel to the fully interdigitated gel state by high concentrations of alcohol. This marked increase in proton permeability can be attributed to the combined effect of the changes in membrane thickness and surface charge density, due to the ethanol-induced lipid interdigitation. The possible effects of the increased proton permeability caused by ingested ethanol on gastric mucosal membranes are discussed.     

Interaction of the polyene antibiotics with lipid bilayer vesicles containing cholesterol

The interaction of the polyene antibiotics, amphotericin B, nystatin and filipin with cholesterol-containing single bilayer lipid vesicles has been characterized using gel permeation chromatography and proton magnetic resonance. All three antibiotics bind to vesicles at low concentrations without causing a large amount of vesicle destruction. The strength of binding as determined by gel permeation studies is greater for filipin and amphotericin than for nystatin. Nystatin and amphotericin B at these low concentrations induce a rapid loss of internal vesicle contents consistent with pore formation. Filipin induces no leakage beyond that expected from partial vesicle destruction or general detergent action.At antibiotic levels above 1 : 1 antibiotic : cholesterol ratios the NMR results show all three antibiotics to cause extensive vesicle destruction. The onset of this behavior, which appears to be independent of the total antibiotic concentration, indicates a well defined antibiotic : cholesterol interaction stoichiometry. Despite the fact that cholesterol is required for antibiotic activity, the NMR spectra prior to vesicle destruction show no changes indicative of an antibiotic-induced reversal of cholesterol restriction of phosphatidylcholine mobility. The contrast with polyene antibiotic behavior in more extended bilayers is discussed.     

Serum decreases permeability of some compounds from liposomes

Although serum is generally regarded to increase the permeability of liposomes containing entrapped substances, we found that a low concentration of serum (10%) significantly reduced the permeability of liposomes to the spin label tempocholine chloride and the polar drug methotrexate, although it increased the permeability of the lipid-soluble drug actinomycin D. Liposomes containing sphingomyelin and cholesterol were considerably less permeable than liposomes containing phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. Although a higher concentration of serum (88%) increased the permeability of liposomes containing either lipid, the amount of tempocholine which had leaked from sphingomyelin-containing liposomes in 88% serum after 50 h at 37 degrees C was only 25%, three times less than that from phosphatidylcholine-containing liposomes. Thus the effect of serum on liposome permeability depends on the compound entrapped as well as the type of lipid used.     

Fusion of lipid vesicles with ascites tumor cells and their lipid-depleted variants. Studies with radioactive- and fluorescent-labeled vesicles

Cultured ascites tumor cells and their lipid-depleted variants, which contained 35-40% less membrane phospholipid and cholesterol, were used for fusion experiments with unilamellar lipid vesicles which were between 300 and 600 nm in diameter. Vesicle-cell interaction was followed by tracer studies using vesicles double-labeled in the lipid moiety, by vesicle-encapsulated [3H] dextran, and by measurements of energy transfer between N-(10-[1-pyrene]decanoyl)sphingomyelin-labeled vesicles and alpha-parinaric acid-labeled cells in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as fusogen. The reaction rates measured with the radiolabeled vesicles were found to follow patterns similar to those obtained with the resonance energy transfer assay. This latter method revealed a vesicle-cell membrane fusion reaction, which was substantiated by radiolabeling the internal cellular compartment after treatment of the cells with [3H]dextran-encapsulated vesicles as shown by electron microscopic autoradiography on semi-thin sections. Endocytosis as a reaction mechanism can be excluded, since no energy transfer was observed at 25 degrees C in the absence of PEG. Investigations of vesicle bilayer order and fluidity on vesicle-cell interaction revealed optimal reactivity, with intermediate fluidity corresponding to cholesterol/phospholipid ratios between 0.7 and 1.0 and fluorescence depolarization (P) values of 0.18 and 0.21. Lipid depletion decreased the reaction velocity between cells and vesicles by about 20%, exhibiting V values of 33.2 mumol/min, as compared to the control of 41.4 mumol/min determined for 10(7) cells. The affinity constants for vesicle lipid were affected only slightly with Km values of 0.195 mM (0.210 mM). The activation energies for the reaction were calculated to give values of EA = 22.44 kJ/mol for the control and of EA = 20.4 kJ/mol for the modified cells. These data indicate that the decrease in membrane lipid content apparently has no major influence on the extent of the interaction.     

Entrapment of lipid vesicles and membrane protein-lipid vesicles in gel bead pores

Phospholipid vesicles were entrapped in gel beads of Sepharose 6B and Sephacryl S-1000 during vesicle preparation by dialysis. Egg-yolk phospholipids solubilized with cholate or octyl glucoside were dialysed together with gel beads for 2.5 days in a flat dialysis bag. Some vesicles were formed in gel bead pores and vesicles of sufficient size became trapped. Red cell membrane protein-phospholipid vesicles could be immobilized in the same way. Non-trapped vesicles were carefully removed by chromatographic procedures and by centrifugation. The amount of entrapped vesicles increased with the initial lipid concentration and was dependent on the relative sizes of vesicles and gel pores. The largest amount of trapped vesicles, corresponding to 9.5 mumol of phospholipids per ml gel, was achieved when Sepharose 6B gel beads were dialysed with cholate-solubilized lipids at a concentration of 50 mM. In this case the vesicles had an average diameter of 60 nm and an internal volume of 15 microliters/ml gel. The amount of vesicles trapped in Sephacryl S-1000 gel beads upon dialysis under the same conditions was smaller: 2.2 mumol of phospholipids per ml gel. Probably most of the gel pores were too large to trap such vesicles. Larger vesicles, with an average diameter of 230 nm, were entrapped in the Sephacryl S-1000 matrix in an amount corresponding to 3.0 mumol phospholipids per ml gel upon dialysis of the gel beads and octyl glucoside-solubilized lipids at a concentration of 20 mM. The internal volume of these vesicles was 22 microliters/ml gel. The yield of immobilized phospholipids was up to 19%. The entrapped vesicles were somewhat unstable: 9% of the phospholipids were released during 9 days of storage at 4 degrees C. By the dialysis entrapment method vesicles can be immobilized in the gel beads without using hydrophobic ligands or covalent coupling.     

Interaction of the polyene antibiotics with lipid bilayer vesicles containing cholesterol.

The interaction of the polyene antibiotics, amphotericin B, nystatin and filipin with cholesterol-containing single bilayer lipid vesicles has been characterized using gel permeation chromatography and proton magnetic resonance. All three antibiotics bind to vesicles at low concentrations without causing a large amount of vesicle destruction. The strength of binding as determined by gel permeation studies is greater for filipin and amphotericin than for nystatin. Nystatin and amphotericin B at these low concentrations induce a rapid loss of internal vesicle contents consistents consistent with pore formation. Filipin induces no leakage beyond that expected from partial vesicle destruction or general detergent action. At antibiotic levels above 1:1 antibiotic: cholesterol ratios the NMR results show all three antibiotics to cause extensive vesicle destruction. The onset of this behavior, which appears to be independent of the total antibiotic concentraion, indicates a well defined antibiotic : cholesterol interaction stoichiometry. Despite the fact that cholesterol is required for antibiotic activity, the NMR spectra prior to vesicle destruction show no changes indicative of an antibiotic-induced reversal of cholesterol restriction of phosphatidylcholine mobility. The contrast with polyene antibiotic behavior in more extended bilayers is discussed.     

Modulation of myelin basic protein-induced aggregation and fusion of liposomes by cholesterol, aliphatic aldehydes and alkanes

The effect of cholesterol on myelin basic protein-induced aggregation of zwitterionic phospholipid vesicles was studied by turbidimetry, quasi-elastic light scattering and centrifugation techniques. Without cholesterol, the degree of vesicle aggregation caused by myelin basic protein is relatively low and is only slightly increased using cholesterol concentrations up to approx. 25-30 mol%. When the cholesterol content in the bilayer exceeds approx. 30 mol%, there is a dramatic increase in the susceptibility of the vesicles to aggregation in the presence of myelin basic protein. Palmitoyl aldehyde and eicosane, substances resembling products of lipid degradation, increase myelin basic protein promoted fusion of vesicles. The fusion is accompanied by increased leakage of entrapped carboxyfluorescein. In the presence of cholesterol, myelin basic protein-induced fusion of the liposomes becomes much more sensitive to the presence of aliphatic aldehydes or alkanes. The results suggest that cholesterol has an important role in promoting membrane adhesion in biological systems but these structures become unstable in the presence of small amounts of products of lipid degradation. The findings have important implications to the understanding of the stability of the myelin membrane.