Cholesterol oxidase catalyzed oxidation of cholesterol in mixed lipid monolayers: effects of surface pressure and phospholipid composition on catalytic activity

The catalytic activity of cholesterol oxidase from Streptomyces sp. in mixed monolayers of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC), N-oleoylsphingomyelin (O-SPM), and cholesterol (CHL) has been determined at lateral surface pressures between 10 and 30 mN/m. The highest cholesterol oxidase activity (determined at 37 degrees C) was observed at surface pressures around 20 mN/m in a POPC/CHL monolayer (50:50 mol %). Above and below this surface pressure, the enzyme activity decreased markedly. A similar optimal activity vs surface pressure relationship was observed also for an O-SPM/CHL monolayer (50:50 mol %). The activity of cholesterol oxidase toward cholesterol in the O-SPM/CHL monolayer was, however, less than in the corresponding POPC mixed monolayer. The surface activity of cholesterol oxidase decreased markedly when the temperature was lowered to 20 degrees C, and hardly any enzyme activity was observed in an O-SPM/CHL monolayer at 25 mN/m or above. With a monolayer containing POPC/O-SPM/CHL (42:18:40 mol %), maximal cholesterol oxidase activity was observed at the lowest surface pressure tested (i.e., 10 mN/m), and the catalytic activity decreased markedly with increasing lateral surface pressures in the monolayer. The results of this study show (i) that the activity of cholesterol oxidase in general is highly dependent on the lateral surface pressure in the substrate membranes and (ii) that sphingomyelin, by interacting tightly with cholesterol, can prevent or restrain the accessibility of cholesterol for oxidation by cholesterol oxidase.     

Miscibility of ternary mixtures of phospholipids and cholesterol in monolayers, and application to bilayer systems

We investigate miscibility transitions of two different ternary lipid mixtures, DOPC/DPPC/Chol and POPC/PSM/Chol. In vesicles, both of these mixtures of an unsaturated lipid, a saturated lipid, and cholesterol form micron-scale domains of immiscible liquid phases for only a limited range of compositions. In contrast, in monolayers, both of these mixtures produce two distinct regions of immiscible liquid phases that span all compositions studied, the alpha-region at low cholesterol and the beta-region at high cholesterol. In other words, we find only limited overlap in miscibility phase behavior of monolayers and bilayers for the lipids studied. For vesicles at 25 degrees C, the miscibility phase boundary spans portions of both the monolayer alpha-region and beta-region. Within the monolayer beta-region, domains persist to high pressures, yet within the alpha-region, miscibility phase transition pressures always fall below 15 mN/m, far below the bilayer equivalent pressure of 32 mN/m. Approximately equivalent phase behavior is observed for monolayers of DOPC/DPPC/Chol and for monolayers of POPC/PSM/Chol. As expected, pressure-area isotherms of our ternary lipid mixtures yield smaller molecular area and compressibility for monolayers containing more saturated acyl chains and cholesterol. All monolayer experiments were conducted under argon. We show that exposure of unsaturated lipids to air causes monolayer surface pressures to decrease rapidly and miscibility transition pressures to increase rapidly.     

Cholesterol oxidase susceptibility of cholesterol and 5-androsten-3 beta-ol in pure sterol monolayers and in mixed monolayers containing 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine.

This study has examined the importance of the isocaproic side chain at C-17 of cholesterol to sterol/phospholipid interactions in monolayer membranes and to the cholesterol oxidase-susceptibility of cholesterol in pure and mixed monolayers at the air/water interface. The interactions between cholesterol or 5-androsten-3 beta-ol (which lacks the C-17 side chain) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) in monolayers indicated that 5-androsten-3 beta-ol was not very efficient in causing condensation of the monolayer packing of POPC. Whereas cholesterol condensed the packing of POPC at all molar fractions examined (i.e., 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 with regard to POPC), 5-androsten-3 beta-ol caused a slight condensing effect on POPC packing only in the equimolar mixture. The mean molecular area requirement of 5-androsten-3 beta-ol (in pure sterol monolayers at different lateral surface pressures) was 2.2-6.7% less than that observed for cholesterol. The pure 5-androsten-3 beta-ol monolayer also collapsed at lower lateral surface pressures compared with the pure cholesterol monolayer (34 mN/m and 45 mN/m, respectively). The cholesterol oxidase (Streptomyces sp.) catalyzed oxidation of cholesterol or 5-androsten-3 beta-ol in pure monolayers in the air/water interface (10 mN/m) proceeded with very similar rates, indicating that the enzyme did not recognize that the C-17 side chain of 5-androsten-3 beta-ol was missing. The oxidation of cholesterol or 5-androsten-3 beta-ol in mixed POPC-containing monolayers (equimolar mixture) also revealed similar reaction rates, although the reaction was slower in the mixed monolayer compared with the pure sterol monolayer. When the oxidation of cholesterol and 5-androsten-3 beta-ol was examined by monitoring the production of H2O2 (the sterol was solubilized in 2-propanol and the assay conducted in phosphate buffer), the maximal reaction rate observed with 5-androsten-3 beta-ol was only about 41% of that measured with cholesterol. From the cholesterol oxidase point-of-view, it can be concluded that the enzyme did not recognize the C-17 side chain of cholesterol (or lack of it in 5-androsten-3 beta-ol), when the sterol was properly oriented as a monolayer at the air/water interface. However, when the substrate was presented to the enzyme in a less controlled orientation (organic solvent in water), 5-androsten-3 beta-ol may have oriented itself unfavorably compared with the orientation of cholesterol, thereby leading to slower oxidation rates.     

Cholesterol in condensed and fluid phosphatidylcholine monolayers studied by epifluorescence microscopy

Epifluorescence microscopy was used to investigate the effect of cholesterol on monolayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and 1 -palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC) at 21 +/- 2 degrees C using 1 mol% 1-palmitoyl-2-[12-[(7-nitro-2-1, 3-benzoxadizole-4-yl)amino]dodecanoyl]phosphatidylcholine (NBD-PC) as a fluorophore. Up to 30 mol% cholesterol in DPPC monolayers decreased the amounts of probe-excluded liquid-condensed (LC) phase at all surface pressures (pi), but did not effect the monolayers of POPC, which remained in the liquid-expanded (LE) phase at all pi. At low pi (2-5 mN/m), 10 mol% or more cholesterol in DPPC induced a lateral phase separation into dark probe-excluded and light probe-rich regions. In POPC monolayers, phase separation was observed at low pi when > or =40 mol% or more cholesterol was present. The lateral phase separation observed with increased cholesterol concentrations in these lipid monolayers may be a result of the segregation of cholesterol-rich domains in ordered fluid phases that preferentially exclude the fluorescent probe. With increasing pi, monolayers could be transformed from a heterogeneous dark and light appearance into a homogeneous fluorescent phase, in a manner that was dependent on pi and cholesterol content. The packing density of the acyl chains may be a determinant in the interaction of cholesterol with phosphatidylcholine (PC), because the transformations in monolayer surface texture were observed in phospholipid (PL)/sterol mixtures having similar molecular areas. At high pi (41 mN/m), elongated crystal-like structures were observed in monolayers containing 80-100 mol% cholesterol, and these structures grew in size when the monolayers were compressed after collapse. This observation could be associated with the segregation and crystallization of cholesterol after monolayer collapse.     

Visualization of lateral phases in cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine monolayers at the air/water interface — a comparative study with two different reporter molecules

This study has compared two chemically distinct NBD-lipids with regard to their partitioning properties into lateral phases of pure and mixed cholesterol/phosphatidylcholine monolayers. Pure NBD-cholesterol (22-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)-23,24-bisnor-5-cholen-3-ol), which has the NBD-function in the sterol side chain (at carbon 22), gave a liquid-expanded force-area isotherm on water at 22°C (having a compressibility of 0.005 to 0.007 m/mN), although epifluorescence microscopy of the compressed NBD-cholesterol monolayer revealed that it had a solid-like surface texture. When the compressed NBD-cholesterol monolayer was allowed to expand, it fragmented into large flakes (tens to hundreds of μm in width) which eventually dissolved into a liquid state. The force-area isotherm of pure NBD-phosphatidylcholine (1-hexadecanoyl-2-(12-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)dodecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) was also liquid-expanded. When a compressed (30 mN/m) monolayer of NBD-phosphatidylcholine was examined by microscopy, it displayed many bright crystalline spots (about 50 μm across) which appeared to form when the monolayer was allowed to stabilize at this lateral surface pressure. These bright spots disappeared when the monolayer was expanded. When the surface texture of a pure cholesterol monolayer was examined, both probes (at 1 mol%) partitioned very similarly in the sterol monolayer. At low lateral surface pressures (1 and 5 mN/m) the probes appeared to be excluded from the cholesterol phase, forming very bright liquid-like areas against a uniformly black cholesterol phase. At 30 mN/m, NBD-phosphatidylcholine appeared to distribute increasingly into the cholesterol phase, whereas NBD-cholesterol still did not to mix with cholesterol. The characteristic surface texture of the liquid-expanded to liquid-condensed lateral phase transition of pure dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers could be visualized identically with both probes, indicating that these were similarly excluded from the liquid-condensed solid phase of DPPC. Finally, in mixed monolayers containing cholesterol and DPPC (molar ratio 33:67), both probes (at 1 mol%) revealed a similar surface texture of the monolayers (examined at a lateral surface pressure of 0.5 mN/m), suggesting that these partitioned similarly between the different lateral phases present in the mixed monolayer. In conclusion, although the two NBD-probes differed from each other in chemical and physical properties, both acted like ‘impurities’ when admixed into pure or mixed monolayers, and appeared to be equally excluded from lateral phases in which the packing density was high.     

Enzyme-catalyzed oxidation of cholesterol in mixed phospholipid monolayers reveals the stoichiometry at which free cholesterol clusters disappear.

In this study, we have used cholesterol oxidase as a probe to study cholesterol/phospholipid interactions in mixed monolayers at the air/water interface. Mixed monolayers, containing a single phospholipid class and cholesterol at differing cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratios, were exposed to cholesterol oxidase at a lateral surface pressure of 20 mN/m (at 22 degrees C). At equimolar ratios of cholesterol to phospholipid, the average rate of cholesterol oxidation was fastest in unsaturated phosphatidylcholine mixed monolayers (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and egg yolk phosphatidylcholine), intermediate in 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and slowest in sphingomyelin monolayers (egg yolk or bovine brain sphingomyelin). The average oxidation rate in mixed monolayers was not exclusively a function of monolayer packing density, since egg yolk and bovine brain sphingomyelin mixed monolayers occupied similar mean molecular areas even though the measured average oxidation rate was different with these two phospholipids. This suggests that the phospholipid acyl chain composition influenced the oxidation rate. The importance of the phospholipid acyl chain length on influencing the average oxidation rate was further examined in defined phosphatidylcholine mixed monolayers. The average oxidation rate decreased linearly with increasing acyl chain lengths (from di-8:0 to di-18:0). When the average oxidation rate was examined as a function of the cholesterol to phospholipid (C/PL) molar ratio in the monolayer, the otherwise linear function displayed a clear break at a 1:1 stoichiometry with phosphatidylcholine mixed monolayers, and at a 2:1 C/PL stoichiometry with sphingomyelin mixed monolayers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Binding of a neuropeptide, substance P, to neutral and negatively charged lipids

The binding of substance P (SP), a positively charged neurotransmitter peptide, to neutral and to negatively charged phospholipids has been investigated by means of a monolayer technique. Monolayers formed at room temperature from 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol (POPG) or 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), or mixtures of the two, were maintained throughout the course of a binding experiment at a constant surface pressure while the monolayer surface area was monitored. Injection of SP into the aqueous subphase (154 mM NaCl, 10 mM Tris adjusted to pH 7.4) led to an expansion of the monolayer surface area that was attributed to a spontaneous insertion of SP between the lipid molecules. A quantitative evaluation of the area increase at constant pressure yielded SP insertion isotherms that showed that levels of SP insertion increased directly with the monolayer POPG content and decreased to negligible levels at surface pressures above 35 +/- 1 mN/m. If electrostatic effects were ignored, these data showed biphasic behavior in Scatchard plots. The apparent binding constants ranged, at 20 mN/m, from (3.2 +/- 0.3) X 10(4) M-1 for 100% POPG monolayers to (2.0 +/- 0.05) X 10(3) M-1 for 25% POPG/75% POPC monolayers. At 32 mN/m, a monolayer surface pressure that mimics bilayer conditions, the apparent binding constant for a 100% POPG monolayer was measured to be (1.1 +/- 0.05) X 10(3) M-1. However, for a monolayer containing only 25% charged lipids, corresponding to a natural membrane composition, K app at 32 mN/m was estimated to be at most 41 M-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Adsorption of apolipoprotein A-IV to phospholipid monolayers spread at the air/water interface. A model for its labile binding to high density lipoproteins.

The mechanisms that mediate the labile binding of apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV) to high density lipoproteins (HDL) are not known. We therefore used a surface balance and surface radioactivity detector to investigate the adsorption of apoA-IV to egg phosphatidylcholine monolayers spread at the air/water interface. ApoA-IV bound rapidly and reversibly to phospholipid monolayers and generated a maximum increase in surface pressure of 19 millinewtons (mN)/m at a subphase concentration of 2 x 10(-5) g/dl. Binding decreased linearly with increasing initial surface pressure; at pressures greater than 28-29 mN/m, apoA-IV could no longer penetrate the lipid monolayer. The area occupied by the amino acid residues in apoA-IV reached an unusually low limiting molecular area of 10-12 A2/residue at surface saturation. The surface pressure of native HDL3 was calculated to be 33 mN/m, and it rapidly decreased with the action of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase on the particle surface. We conclude that the surface activity of apoA-IV is lower than that of any other human apolipoprotein; its binding and surface conformation are particularly sensitive to pressure; and at saturation, a significant portion of the molecule is excluded from the interface. The exclusion pressure of apoA-IV may be only slightly lower than the surface pressure of HDL; in vivo, the action of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase and lipid transfer proteins may cause the HDL3 surface pressure to oscillate about a narrow range that spans the exclusion pressure of apoA-IV. The resultant labile association of apoA-IV and HDL may be of central importance to its role in lipoprotein metabolism.     

Liquid-crystalline collapse of pulmonary surfactant monolayers

During exhalation, the surfactant film of lipids and proteins that coats the alveoli in the lung is compressed to high surface pressures, and can remain metastable for prolonged periods at pressures approaching 70 mN/m. Monolayers of calf lung surfactant extract (CLSE), however, collapse in vitro, during an initial compression at approximately 45 mN/m. To gain information on the source of this discrepancy, we investigated how monolayers of CLSE collapse from the interface. Observations with fluorescence, Brewster angle, and light scattering microscopies show that monolayers containing CLSE, CLSE-cholesterol (20%), or binary mixtures of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine(DPPC)-dihydrocholesterol all form bilayer disks that reside above the monolayer. Upon compression and expansion, lipids flow continuously from the monolayer into the disks, and vice versa. In several respects, the mode of collapse resembles the behavior of other amphiphiles that form smectic liquid-crystal phases. These findings suggest that components of surfactent films must collapse collectively rather than being squeezed out individually.     

Incorporation of a synthetic mitochondrial signal peptide into charged and uncharged phospholipid monolayers

The interaction of the chemically synthesized 25-residue signal peptide of subunit IV of yeast cytochrome c oxidase with synthetic and natural phospholipids was studied by using a monolayer technique. Incorporation of the peptide into phospholipid monolayers was measured as surface area increase at constant surface pressure. The peptide was readily soluble in aqueous buffer, yet spontaneously inserted from an aqueous subphase into phospholipid monolayers up to limiting pressures of 30-40 mN/m. The incorporation of the positively charged peptide was strongly enhanced by the presence of negatively charged phospholipids. The molecular area of the signal peptide in monolayers was determined with a 14C-labeled signal peptide and was 560 +/- 170 A2. This is consistent with a 25-residue alpha-helical peptide incorporating with its long axis parallel to the plane of the monolayer. Incorporation isotherms into synthetic phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol monolayers at different charge densities were analyzed in terms of a simple incorporation/binding model, involving partitioning of the peptide into the monolayer and an in-plane binding reaction of the negatively charged phospholipids to the partitioned peptide.     

Surface respreading after collapse of monolayers containing major lipids of pulmonary surfactant

Isotherms have been obtained near 37 degrees C for a series of repetitive compressions and expansions of monolayers that contain major components of lung surfactant. The minimum surface tension or maximum surface pressure which could be achieved under conditions of dynamic compression, and the rate of return of lipid from excluded phase to the monolayers were measured. Monolayers of pure 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), or of DPPC plus 10 or 30 mol% of the calcium salt of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-rac-glycerol (POPG) (POPG-Ca) achieved very high surface pressures or low surface tensions (near 0 mN m-1), but they showed no return of material from the collapse phases under the test conditions. Monolayers of POPG-Ca alone collapsed at relatively low surface pressures (high surface tensions), but showed good return of material from the collapse phase into the monolayer. Monolayers containing more complex mixtures of lipids (DPPC, phosphatidylglycerol (PG), unsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PC), cholesterol (chol] in ratios similar to those found in surfactant achieved minimum surface tensions intermediate between those of monolayers with less complex compositions. These more complex mixtures showed a better rate of return of lipids from the collapse phases to the monolayer than did simple DPPC-POPG mixtures. 31P-NMR and differential scanning calorimetric investigations of the mixture DPPC/1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine(POPC)/POP G/DPPG/chol (10:4:2:1:3) showed that in the bulk phase at 37 degrees C, it was in bilayers in the liquid-crystalline state.     

Transition from nanodomains to microdomains induced by exposure of lipid monolayers to air

The morphology of monolayers prepared from ternary lipid mixtures that have coexisting fluid phases has been examined by atomic force microscopy for samples transferred to mica before and after exposure to air. Mixtures of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and cholesterol with either egg sphingomyelin or 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine were studied at several surface pressures. Both lipid mixtures have a combination of small islands and large microdomains at low surface pressure (5-10 mN/m) for monolayers deposited in either air or nitrogen. By contrast, monolayers have small interconnected nanodomains when deposited under nitrogen at 30 mN/m but mixtures of large microdomains and small nanodomains when transferred after exposure to air. These results are consistent with an earlier report that concluded that the formation of large domains at high surface pressures (>30 mN/m) for monolayers exposed to air is caused by lipid oxidation. However, the higher spatial resolution available with atomic force microscopy indicates that exposure of the monolayers to air leads to an increase in the size of preexisting nanodomains, rather than a change in the miscibility pressure. Examination of changes in surface morphology as a function of surface pressure demonstrate a gradual evolution in size and surface coverage for both nano- and microdomains, before formation of a network of interconnected nanodomains. Similar studies for binary mixtures in the absence of cholesterol indicate that lipid oxidation results in analogous changes in domain size for monolayers with coexisting gel and fluid phases. These results illustrate the importance of using techniques capable of probing the nanoscale organization of membranes.     

Persistence of phase coexistence in disaturated phosphatidylcholine monolayers at high surface pressures

Prior reports that the coexistence of the liquid-expanded (LE) and liquid-condensed (LC) phases in phospholipid monolayers terminates in a critical point have been compromised by experimental difficulties with Langmuir troughs at high surface pressures and temperatures. The studies reported here used the continuous interface of a captive bubble to minimize these problems during measurements of the phase behavior for monolayers containing the phosphatidylcholines with the four different possible combinations of palmitoyl and/or myristoyl acyl residues. Isothermal compression produced surface pressure-area curves for dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) that were indistinguishable from previously published data obtained with Langmuir troughs. During isobaric heating, a steep increase in molecular area corresponding to the main LC-LE phase transition persisted for all four compounds to 45 mN/m, at which collapse of the LE phase first occurred. No other discontinuities to suggest other phase transitions were apparent. Isobars for DPPC at higher pressures were complicated by collapse of the monolayer, but continued to show evidence up to 65 mN/m for at least the onset of the LC-LE transition. The persistence of the main phase transition to high surface pressures suggests that a critical point for these monolayers of disaturated phospholipids is either nonexistent or inaccessible at an air-water interface.     

Epifluorescence microscopic studies of monolayers containing mixtures of dioleoyl- and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholines.

Monolayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC), and some mixtures of these lipids were investigated using an epifluorescence microscopic surface balance. Monolayers were visualized at 23 +/- 1 degree C through the fluorescence of 1 mol% of two different fluorescent probes, 1-palmitoyl-2-(12-[(7-nitro-2-1,3-benzoxadizole-4- yl)amino]dodecanoyl)phosphatidylcholine (NBD-PC), which partitions into the liquid expanded (LE) or disordered lipid phase and 3,3'-dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorate (DiO-C18), which preferentially associates with the liquid condensed (LC) phase or lipid with ordered chains. LC domains were observed in pure DPPC monolayers at relatively low surface pressures (pi), and these domains grew with increasing surface pressure. Only liquid expanded phase was observed in pure DOPC monolayers up to the point of monolayer collapse. In monolayers containing 29:70:1, 49:50:1, and 69:30:1 (mol/mol/mol) of DPPC:DOPC:probe the domains of LC phase were smaller than those seen in DPPC monolayers at equivalent surface pressures. Quantitative analysis of the visual fields shown by the mixed monolayers showed a distribution of sizes of condensed domains at any given pi. At pi = 30 mN m-1, liquid-expanded, or fluid, regions occupied more than 70% of the total monolayer area in all three mixtures studied, whereas DPPC monolayers were more than 75% condensed or solid at that pressure. For monolayers of DPPC:DOPC:NBD-PC 49:50:1 and 69:30:1 the average domain size and the percentage of the total area covered with LC, or rigid, areas increased to a maximum at pi around 35 mN m-1 followed by a decrease at higher pi.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Compositional and structural characterization of monolayers and bilayers composed of native pulmonary surfactant from wild type mice

This work comprises a structural and dynamical study of monolayers and bilayers composed of native pulmonary surfactant from mice. Spatially resolved information was obtained using fluorescence (confocal, wide field and two photon excitation) and atomic force microscopy methods. Lipid mass spectrometry experiments were also performed in order to obtain relevant information on the lipid composition of this material. Bilayers composed of mice pulmonary surfactant showed coexistence of distinct domains at room temperature, with morphologies and lateral packing resembling the coexistence of liquid ordered (lo)/liquid disordered (ld)-like phases reported previously in porcine lung surfactant. Interestingly, the molar ratio of saturated (mostly DPPC)/non-saturated phospholipid species and cholesterol measured in the innate material corresponds with that of a DOPC/DPPC/cholesterol mixture showing lo/ld phase coexistence at a similar temperature. This suggests that at quasi-equilibrium conditions, key lipid classes in this complex biological material are still able to produce the same scaffold observed in relevant but simpler model lipid mixtures. Also, robust structural and dynamical similarities between mono- and bi-layers composed of mice pulmonary surfactant were observed when the monolayers reach a surface pressure of 30 mN/m. This value is in line with theoretically predicted and recently measured surface pressures, where the monolayer–bilayer equivalence occurs in samples composed of single phospholipids. Finally, squeezed out material attached to pulmonary surfactant monolayers was observed at surface pressures near the beginning of the monolayer reversible exclusion plateau (~ 40 mN/m). Under these conditions this material adopts elongated tubular shapes and displays ordered lateral packing as indicated by spatially resolved LAURDAN GP measurements.     

Pulmonary surfactant proteins SP-B and SP-C in spread monolayers at the air-water interface: II. Monolayers of pulmonary surfactant protein SP-C and phospholipids.

The interaction of the hydrophobic pulmonary surfactant protein SP-C with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) and DPPC:DPPG (7:3, mol:mol) in spread monolayers at the air-water interface has been studied. At low concentrations of SP-C (about 0.5 mol% or 3 weight%protein) the protein-lipid films collapsed at surface pressures of about 70 mN.m-1, comparable to those of the lipids alone. At initial protein concentrations higher than 0.8 mol%, or 4 weight%, the isotherms displayed kinks at surface pressures of about 50 mN.m-1 in addition to the collapse plateaux at the higher pressures. The presence of less than 6 mol%, or 27 weight%, of SP-C in the protein-lipid monolayers gave a positive deviation from ideal behavior of the mean areas in the films. Analyses of the mean areas in the protein-lipid films as functions of the monolayer composition and surface pressure showed that SP-C, associated with some phospholipid (about 8-10 lipid molecules per molecule of SP-C), was squeezed out from the monolayers at surface pressures of about 55 mN.m-1. The results suggest a potential role for SP-C to modify the composition of the monolayer at the air-water interface in the alveoli.     

Multilayer structures in lipid monolayer films containing surfactant protein C: effects of cholesterol and POPE

The influence of cholesterol and POPE on lung surfactant model systems consisting of DPPC/DPPG (80:20) and DPPC/DPPG/surfactant protein C (80:20:0.4) has been investigated. Cholesterol leads to a condensation of the monolayers, whereas the isotherms of model lung surfactant films containing POPE exhibit a slight expansion combined with an increased compressibility at medium surface pressure (10-30 mN/m). An increasing amount of liquid-expanded domains can be visualized by means of fluorescence light microscopy in lung surfactant monolayers after addition of either cholesterol or POPE. At surface pressures of 50 mN/m, protrusions are formed which differ in size and shape as a function of the content of cholesterol or POPE, but only if SP-C is present. Low amounts of cholesterol (10 mol %) lead to an increasing number of protrusions, which also grow in size. This is interpreted as a stabilizing effect of cholesterol on bilayers formed underneath the monolayer. Extreme amounts of cholesterol (30 mol %), however, cause an increased monolayer rigidity, thus preventing reversible multilayer formation. In contrast, POPE, as a nonbilayer lipid thought to stabilize the edges of protrusions, leads to more narrow protrusions. The lateral extension of the protrusions is thereby more influenced than their height.     

Oxidation of cholesterol in low density and high density lipoproteins by cholesterol oxidase

The cholesterol oxidase-catalyzed oxidation of cholesterol in native low density (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL3) as well as in monolayers prepared from surface lipids of these particles, has been examined. The objective of the study was to compare the oxidizability of cholesterol, and to examine the effects of lipid packing on oxidation rates. When [3H]cholesterol-labeled lipoproteins were exposed to cholesterol oxidase (Streptomyces sp.), it was observed that LDL [3H]cholesterol was oxidized much faster than HDL3 [3H]cholesterol. This was true both at equal cholesterol concentration per enzyme unit, and at equal amounts of lipoprotein particles per enzyme unit. About 95% of lipoprotein [3H]cholesterol was available for oxidation. The complete degradation of lipoprotein sphingomyelin by sphingomyelinase (Staphylococcus aureus) resulted in a 10-fold increase in the rate of LDL [3H]cholesterol oxidation, whereas the effects on rates of HDL3 [3H]cholesterol oxidation were less dramatic. A monolayer study with LDL surface lipids indicated that degradation of sphingomyelin loosened the lipid packing, because the ceramide formed occupied a smaller surface area than the parent sphingomyelin, and since the condensing effect of cholesterol on sphingomyelin packing was lost. The effects of sphingomyelin degradation on lipid packing in monolayers of HDL3-derived surface lipids were difficult to determine from monolayer experiments. Based on the finding that cholesterol oxidases are surface pressure-sensitive with regard to their catalytic activity, these were used to estimate the surface pressure of intact LDL and HDL3. The cut-off surface pressure of a Brevibacterium enzyme was 25 mN/m and 20 mN/m in monolayers of LDL and HDL3-derived surface lipids, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The use of monolayers for simple and quantitative analysis of lipid-drug interactions exemplified with dibucaine and substance P.

The interaction between lipids and water soluble amphiphiles was investigated by means of a monolayer technique, monitoring the area increase at constant surface pressure. The area increase could be quantitated and binding isotherms at different surface pressures were measured. A comparison of dibucaine binding to monolayers and bilayers showed that a surface pressure of 32 mN/m best represents the packing density in a lipid bilayer (Seelig, 1987). Binding isotherms measured for charged dibucaine and substance P (SP) were analyzed by means of two different models. If electrostatic effects were ignored the binding of dibucaine and SP showed biphasic Scatchard plots. If, however, electrostatic effects were taken into account by means of the Gouy-Chapman theory, the insertion of both amphiphiles was best described in terms of a partitioning into the monolayer lipids. The hydrophobic binding constant was Kp = 660 +/- 80 M-1 for charged dibucaine inserting into coarse liposomes or monolayers at 32 mN/m (Seelig et al., 1986) and 1-1.8 M-1 for SP inserting into monolayers at 32 mN/m (Seelig and Macdonald, 1989).     

Estimation of disk membrane lateral pressure and molecular area of rhodopsin by the measurement of its orientation at the nitrogen-water interface from an ellipsometric study

The internal lateral pressure of a bilayer has been estimated by numerous investigators. Most of these measurements were made by using the monolayer technique. In our approach, the disk membrane lateral pressure was estimated by assuming that this value is equal to the surface pressure necessary to maintain the transmembrane orientation of rhodopsin. The orientation of rhodopsin at the nitrogen-water interface was determined by using ellipsometry, which can measure the thickness of the film. By examining surface pressure and ellipsometric isotherms of intact and partially hydrolyzed rhodopsin, we have determined that a lateral pressure of 38 mN/m is necessary to give rhodopsin its natural transmembrane orientation and that surface pressures exceeding 45 mN/m lead to the formation of multilayers in the disk membrane film. At 38 mN/m, pure rhodopsin is found to have a molecular area of 2300 A2.