Characterization of daptomycin oligomerization with perylene excimer fluorescence: stoichiometric binding of phosphatidylglycerol triggers oligomer formation

Daptomycin is a lipopeptide antibiotic that binds to and depolarizes bacterial cell membranes. Its antibacterial activity requires calcium and correlates with the content of phosphatidylglycerol in the target membrane. Daptomycin has been shown to form oligomers on liposome membranes. We here use perylene excimer fluorescence to further characterize the membrane-associated oligomer. To this end, the N-terminal fatty acyl chain was replaced with perylene-butanoic acid. The perylene derivative retains one third of the antibacterial activity of native daptomycin. On liposomes containing phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol, as well as on Bacillus subtilis cells, the perylene-labeled daptomycin forms excimers, which shows that the N-terminal acyl chains of neighboring oligomer subunits are in immediate contact with one another. In a lipid bicelle system, oligomer formation can be titrated with stoichiometric amounts of phosphatidylglycerol. Therefore, the interaction of daptomycin with a single molecule of phosphatidylglycerol is sufficient to trigger daptomycin oligomerization.     

Interaction of melittin with negatively charged phospholipids: consequences for lipid organization

A characterization of the structural alterations induced by melittin in model-membranes of dioleoylphosphatidic acid and egg phosphatidylglycerol is presented, based on the use of 31P-NMR, freeze-fracture electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering. In accordance with earlier findings on the cardiolipin-melittin system, melittin is found to have an inverted phase inducing effect on these negatively charged lipids, in contrast to the influence on zwitterionic phospholipids. In phosphatidic acid this is expressed in the formation of an HII phase; in phosphatidylglycerol a less ordered, non-lamellar structure with low water content is adopted.     

Cardiolipin Prevents Membrane Translocation and Permeabilization by Daptomycin

Daptomycin is an acidic lipopeptide antibiotic that, in the presence of calcium, forms oligomeric pores on membranes containing phosphatidylglycerol. It is clinically used against various Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus species. Genetic studies have indicated that an increased content of cardiolipin in the bacterial membrane may contribute to bacterial resistance against the drug. Here, we used a liposome model to demonstrate that cardiolipin directly inhibits membrane permeabilization by daptomycin. When cardiolipin is added at molar fractions of 10 or 20% to membranes containing phosphatidylglycerol, daptomycin no longer forms pores or translocates to the inner membrane leaflet. Under the same conditions, daptomycin continues to form oligomers; however, these oligomers contain only close to four subunits, which is approximately half as many as observed on membranes without cardiolipin. The collective findings lead us to propose that a daptomycin pore consists of two aligned tetramers in opposite leaflets and that cardiolipin prevents the translocation of tetramers to the inner leaflet, thereby forestalling the formation of complete, octameric pores. Our findings suggest a possible mechanism by which cardiolipin may mediate resistance to daptomycin, and they provide new insights into the action mode of this important antibiotic.     

The phase property of membrane phospholipids is affected by the functionality of signal peptides from the Escherichia coli ribose-binding protein

We examined the effects of synthetic signal peptides from the wild-type, export-defective mutant and its revertant species of ribose-binding protein on the phase properties of lipid bilayers. The lateral segregation of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) in the lipid bilayer was detected through quenching between NBD-PGs upon the reconstitution of signal peptide into the liposome made with the Escherichia coli inner membrane composition. The tendency of lipid segregation was highly dependent on the export competency of signal peptides in vivo, with a decreasing order of wild-type, revertant, and mutant species. The colocalizations of pyrene-PG with BODIPY-PG were also induced by the signal peptides, confirming the phase separation of the acidic phospholipid. The wild-type and revertant signal peptides predominantly formed alpha-helical conformations with the presence of acidic phospholipid as determined by circular dichroism spectroscopy. In addition, they restricted the motion of lipid acyl chains as monitored by fluorescence anisotropy of DPH, suggesting a deep penetration of signal peptide into the lipid bilayer. However, the alpha-helical content of mutant signal peptide was only about half that of the wild-type or revertant peptide with a significantly smaller degree of penetration into the bilayer. An association of the defective signal peptides into the membrane was affected by salt extraction, whereas the functional ones were not. The aforementioned results indicate that the functionality of signal peptide is accomplished through its topologies in the membrane and also by its ability to induce lateral segregation of acidic phospholipid. We propose that the clustering of acidic phospholipid by the functional signal peptide is responsible for the formation of non-bilayer membrane structure, thereby promoting an efficient translocation of secretory proteins.     

Calorimetric and freeze-etch study of the influence of Mg2+ on the thermotropic behaviour of phosphatidylglycerol

In the presence of Mg²⁺ ions phosphatidylglycerol shows supercooling which leads to the formation of a metastable gel phase. This contrasts with the behaviour of this negatively charged phospholipid in the presence of Ca²⁺ ions (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 339 (1974) 432). It is demonstrated that the heat content of this phospholipid is dependent on the ionic environment.     

Serum-induced leakage of negatively charged liposomes at nanomolar lipid concentrations

An enzyme inhibition assay was developed to determine methotrexate-gamma-aspartate leakage from liposomes at lipid concentrations as low as 43 nM phospholipid. When negatively charged liposomes prepared with phosphatidylglycerol/cholesterol 67:33 or phosphatidylinositol/cholesterol 67:33 were incubated in 10% (v/v) newborn calf serum, they leaked over 90% of their contents in 2 min. In contrast, liposomes prepared from phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol 67:33 leaked 18% of their contents under the same conditions. The amount of negative charge required to induce liposome leakage was determined by preparing liposomes with varying amounts of phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine. Extensive leakage was observed only from liposomes prepared with greater than 50 mol of phosphatidylglycerol per 100 mol of phospholipid. The effect of the phase transition temperature on leakage of negatively charged liposomes in 10% (v/v) serum was investigated by using a series of phosphatidylglycerols with varying acyl chain lengths. Liposomes prepared from distearoylphosphatidylglycerol or dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol leaked less than 18% of their contents in 10% serum, whereas liposomes prepared with dilauroylphosphatidylglycerol or unsaturated lipids leaked more than 70% of their contents. Lipoprotein removal from serum followed by treatment with lipid to remove residual apoproteins reduced the leakage from phosphatidylglycerol liposomes in 10% serum. Phosphatidylglycerol liposomes leaked 73% in the presence of human low-density lipoproteins, but only 29% in the presence of bovine apolipoprotein A-I, and 25% in the presence of human high-density lipoproteins. Phosphatidylglycerol/cholesterol and phosphatidylserine/cholesterol liposomes leaked 67% in 4 mg/mL bovine serum albumin purified by cold ethanol extraction. The leakage of liposomes in albumin solutions could be substantially reduced by treating the albumin with lipid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Membrane thickening by the antimicrobial peptide PGLa

Using x-ray diffraction, solid-state ²H-NMR, differential scanning calorimetry, and dilatometry, we have observed a perturbation of saturated acyl chain phosphatidylglycerol bilayers by the antimicrobial peptide peptidyl-glycylleucine-carboxyamide (PGLa) that is dependent on the length of the hydrocarbon chain. In the gel phase, PGLa induces a quasi-interdigitated phase, previously reported also for other peptides, which is most pronounced for C18 phosphatidylglycerol. In the fluid phase, we found an increase of the membrane thickness and NMR order parameter for C14 and C16 phosphatidylglycerol bilayers, though not for C18. The data is best understood in terms of a close hydrophobic match between the C18 bilayer core and the peptide length when PGLa is inserted with its helical axis normal to the bilayer surface. The C16 acyl chains appear to stretch to accommodate PGLa, whereas tilting within the bilayer seems to be energetically favorable for the peptide when inserted into bilayers of C14 phosphatidylglycerol. In contrast to the commonly accepted membrane thinning effect of antimicrobial peptides, the data demonstrate that pore formation does not necessarily relate to changes in the overall bilayer structure.     

Glutaryl phosphatidylcholine effects on pH and composition dependent behavior of liposomes studied by spin-labeling method

The influence of glutaryl phosphatidylcholine on the molecular organization of phosphatidylcholine liposomes was studied by spin-labeling technique. The ESR signals given by the 5-nitroxide stearic acid label showed that the presence of glutaryl lecithin (i) significantly increased the negative charge density of the polar liposome surface with increasing proton concentration depending on the bulk solution pH, and (ii) apparently decreased the packing (order) of the hydrophobic region close to the surface, essentially in the presence of saturated phospholipids. The spectral information--S (order parameter) and alpha N (isotropic nitrogen coupling constant)--resulted in the location of the probe near or in the polar zone of the membrane or in the hydrophobic region, depending on the protonation/deprotonation of the fatty acid carboxyl group of the probe. The microviscosity of the inner region of the membrane monitored by the 12- and 16-probes was not significantly altered by glutaryl lecithin. On the other hand, glutaryl lecithin has a lesser effect on liposomes containing anionic polar head groups, such as dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol or phosphatidylinositol, the anionic charge of which already had the same effect on protonation of the polar surface. The temperature dependence of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine liposome dynamic behavior indicates that the glutaryl lecithin effect is completely different above and below the gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition point.     

Formation of giant liposomes promoted by divalent cations: critical role of electrostatic repulsion.

Spontaneous formation of giant unilamellar liposomes in a gentle hydration process, as well as the adhesion energy between liposomal membranes, has been found to be dependent on the concentration of divalent alkali cations, Ca2+ or Mg2+, in the medium. With electrically neutral phosphatidylcholine (PC), Ca2+ or Mg2+ at 1-30 mM greatly promoted liposome formation compared to low yields in nonelectrolyte or potassium chloride solutions. When negatively charged phosphatidylglycerol (PG) was mixed at 10%, the yield was high in nonelectrolytes but liposomes did not form at 3-10 mM CaCl2. In the adhesion test with micropipette manipulation, liposomal membranes adhered to each other only in a certain range of CaCl2 concentrations, which agreed with the range where liposome did not form. The adhesion range shifted to higher Ca2+ concentrations as the amount of PG was increased. These results indicate that the divalent cations bind to and add positive charges to the lipids, and that membranes are separated and stabilized in the form of unilamellar liposomes when net charges on the membranes produce large enough electrostatic repulsion. Under the assumption that the maximum of adhesion energy within an adhesive range corresponds to exact charge neutralization by added Ca2+, association constants of PC and PG for Ca2+ were estimated at 7.3 M(-1) and 86 M(-1), respectively, in good agreement with literature values.     

Recognition of different pools of phosphatidylglycerol in intact cells and isolated membranes of Acholeplasma laidlawii by phospholipase A2.

Phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) from pig pancreas hydrolyzes phosphatidylglycerol in intact cells and isolated membranes of Acholeplasma laidlawii. Complete degradation of phosphatidylglycerol in intact cells at 37 degrees C does not result in lysis as shown by the retention of intracellular K+ ions and the cytoplasmic glucose-6-phosphatase, as well as the inability to detect activity of membrane-bound intracellular NADH-oxidase. A. laidlawii was grown on linoleic acid. Phospholipase A2 treatment of these cells at 5 degrees C, at which temperature the lipids are still in the liquid-crystalline state, results in a rapid breakdown of 50% of the phosphatidylglycerol. The residual phosphatidylglycerol can be hydrolyzed only at elevated temperatures and at much smaller rates, depending strongly on the incubation temperature. When membranes isolated from these cells are incubated at 5 degrees C, 70% of the phosphatidylglycerol is hydrolyzed immediately. The hydrolysis of the residual 30% is again strongly temperature dependent. Cells were grown on palmitate, elaidate, or oleate to investigate possible effects of the lipid phase transition on the accessibility of phosphatidylglycerol for phospholipase A2. Under conditions in which all the lipid is in the solid state, no hydrolysis occurs. When solid and liquid-crystalline lipid phases coexist, a limited hydrolysis of phosphatidylglycerol can be observed. The results demonstrate the disposition of phosphatidylglycerol in three different pools in the membrane of A. laidlawii. Phospholipase A2 has been used to discriminate between these pools and to estimate the amount of phosphatidylglycerol which is present in the liquid-crystalline phase. The present data, however, do not allow a definite localization of the phosphatidylglycerol pools.     

Phospholipids of Streptococcus faecalis

Autoradiograms of total lipid extracts from Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 9790, harvested in the stationary phase from a medium containing (32)P-orthophosphate, showed six major spots. The corresponding compounds were identified as diphosphatidylglycerol (possibly with a penta acyl structure); phosphatidylglycerol; a provisionally identified mixture of alanylphosphatidylglycerol and of the 2'-lysyl-derivative of phosphatidylglycerol; the 3'-lysyl-derivative of phosphatidylglycerol, probably together with some arginylphosphatidylglycerol; a diglucosyl derivative of phosphatidylglycerol; and a compound which was tentatively identified as the 2',3'-dilysyl derivative of phosphatidylglycerol.     

Interaction of pulmonary surfactant protein A with phospholipid liposomes: a kinetic study on head group and fatty acid specificity.

Recent work on surfactant protein A (SP-A) has shown that Ca(2+) induces an active conformation, SP-A, which binds rapidly to liposomes and mediates their aggregation. Employing sensitive real time assays, we have now studied the lipid binding characteristics of the SP-A liposome interaction. From the final equilibrium level of the resonant mirror binding signal, an apparent dissociation constant of ca. K(d)=5 microM is obtained for the complex between SP-A and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes. At nanomolar SP-A concentrations, this complex is formed with a subsecond (0.3 s) reaction time, as measured by light-scattering signals evoked by photolysis of caged Ca(2+). With palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC), the complex formation proceeds at half the rate, compared to DPPC, leading to a lower final equilibrium level of SP-A lipid interaction. Distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) shows a stronger interaction than DPPC. Regarding the phospholipid headgroups, phosphatidylinositol (PI) and sphingomyelin (SM) interact comparable to DPPC, while less interaction is seen with phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) or with phosphatidylglycerol (PG). Thus both headgroup and fatty acid composition determine SP-A phospholipid interaction. However, the protein does not exhibit high specificity for either the polar or the apolar moiety of phospholipids.     

The effect of head group structure on phase transition of phospholipid membranes as determined by differential scanning calorimetry

The phase transition characteristics of cardiolipin and phosphatidylglycerol suspensions were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. The phase transition temperatures for dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol, tetramyristoylcardiolipin, dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol and tetrapalmitoylcardiolipin were 25.0, 47.0, 40.5 and 62.2 degrees C, respectively. The phase transition temperature for a mixture of two analogous phospholipids was higher than that for phosphatidylglycerol alone, but lower than that for cardiolipin alone. It increased along with cardiolipin content. The phase transition temperature for cardiolipin was increased in the presence of divalent cations, particularly Ca2+. The results indicate that the head group of cardiolipin by itself can increase the phase transition temperature.     

胆固醇对金属离子磷脂酰甘油单分子膜成膜的影响

目的：本文主要研究不同条件胆固醇（Cholesterol,简称Chol）和金属离子（钾、镁离子）对磷脂酰甘油（Phosphatidylglycerols,简称PG）相互作用后形成的单分子膜的影响。方法：首先以金属离子作为亚相,研究胆固醇的量对磷脂酰甘油单分子膜的影响;其次加入同等量的胆固醇量,亚相为不同金属离子时,对磷脂酰甘油单分子膜的影响,最后分析磷脂酰甘油LB膜的π-A曲线,即曲线外扩、相变点、膜压等等变化特征。结果：随着胆固醇的增多,金属离子磷脂酰甘油单分子膜形成π-A曲线变化逐渐明显;当加入同等量的胆固醇时,随着金属离子价态的逐渐增高,磷脂酰甘油单分子膜形成的π-A曲线的变化也逐渐明显。结论：其一：胆固醇对金属离子磷脂酰甘油单分子膜成膜质量是有影响的。其二,金属离子对胆固醇与磷脂酰甘油混合形成的单分子膜同样也是有的影响。     

Daptomycin forms cation- and size-selective pores in model membranes

Daptomycin is a lipopeptide antibiotic that is used clinically to treat severe infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria. Its bactericidal action involves the calcium-dependent binding to membranes containing phosphatidylglycerol, followed by the formation of membrane-associated oligomers. Bacterial cells exposed to daptomycin undergo membrane depolarization, suggesting the formation of channels or pores in the target membranes. We here used a liposome model to detect and characterize the permeability properties of the daptomycin pores. The pores are selective for cations, with permeabilities being highest for Na⁺, K⁺, and other alkali metal ions. The permeability is approximately twice lower for Mg⁺⁺, and lower again for the organic cations choline and hexamethonium. Anions are excluded, as is the zwitterion cysteine. These observations account for the observed depolarization of bacterial cells by daptomycin and suggest that under typical in vivo conditions depolarization is mainly due to sodium influx.     

Miscibility of phosphatidylethanolamine-phosphatidylglycerol mixtures as a function of pH and acyl chain length

We have examined the mixing properties of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), the major components of many bacterial membranes. The phase transition behavior of dilute aqueous suspensions of PE:PG mixtures with different chain lengths (n = 14, 16) in 0.1 M NaCl at pH 7 and pH 2 was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The DSC curves were simulated using an approach which takes into account the broadening of the phase transition in addition to symmetric, non-ideal mixing in the gel and the liquid-crystalline phase. Based on the temperatures for onset and end of “melting” obtained by the simulations, the phase diagrams were constructed and then refined using a regular solution model with non-symmetric mixing in both phases. The mixing properties of PE:PG mixtures were analyzed as a function of pH and acyl chain length. In almost all cases, non-symmetric mixing behavior was observed, i.e. the non-ideality parameters are different for bilayers with low PG content compared to bilayers with high PG content. For equimolar mixtures at pH 7, when PG is negatively charged, the non-ideality parameters are negative for both phases, indicating preferential formation of mixed pairs. This mixed pair formation is more pronounced for the gel phase. At pH 2, when PG is partly protonated, the non-ideality parameter is less negative and the formation of mixed pairs is reduced compared to pH 7. The formation of PE:PG mixed pairs at pH 7 might be of benefit to a bacterial membrane, because it prevents demixing of lipid components with a concomitant destabilization of the membrane. Received: 3 August 1998 / Revised version: 4 October 1999 / Accepted: 12 October 1999     

Kinetic and ultrastructural studies of interactions of target-sensitive immunoliposomes with herpes simplex virus

The bilayer phase of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (PE) can be stabilized with palmitoyl-IgG monoclonal antibody to the glycoprotein gD of the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Interactions of PE immunoliposomes with the target virions were characterized by analyzing the kinetics of lipid mixing, by liposomal content release, and by ultrastructural studies. As revealed by a resonance energy transfer assay, lipid mixing between PE immunoliposomes and virions was very rapid, with a second-order rate constant (kapp) of 0.173 (min)-1 (microgram/mL virus)-1. In comparison, content release from PE immunoliposomes was much slower and exhibited multiple-phase, mixed-order kinetics, indicating that liposome destabilization involved fusion of liposomes with HSV. The extent and the apparent rate of liposome destabilization were strongly dependent on liposome concentration. This was evident by the fact that only one to two liposomes were destabilized by each virus particle at low liposome concentration (0.1 microM). For higher liposome concentrations (1-10 microM), this value was 35-104. This finding implies that collision among the virus-bound liposomes is essential for the eventual collapse of PE immunoliposomes to form the hexagonal (HII) equilibrium phase which was observed using freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Studies employing soluble gD, immobilized on latex beads, indicated that a multivalent antigen source is essential for PE immunoliposome destabilization. Immediately after liposome-virus binding, fusion of liposome with the viral membrane then follows. Upon growth of the fusion complexes, which increase to 35-104 liposomes for each virus, an eventual collapse of the structure results, driving PE to its equilibrium structure of HII phase.     

Polymyxin B-induced phase separation and acyl chain interdigitation in phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylglycerol mixtures

Monolayers, fluorescence polarization, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction experiments have been carried out to examine the effect of the polypeptide antibiotic polymyxin B on the phase behaviour of dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) either pure or mixed with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC). It is shown that in both phosphatidylglycerol alone and phosphatidylglycerol/phosphatidylcholine mixtures, polymyxin B can induce either phase separation between lipid domains of various compositions or interdigitation of the acyl chains in the solid state, without segregation of the two lipids. Phase separation was observed by fluorescence and differential scanning calorimetry after addition of the antibiotic to vesicles composed of mixtures of DMPC and DPPG in conditions where polymyxin B did not saturate phosphatidylglycerol (DPPG to polymyxin B molar ratio, Ri, higher than 15). Phase separation was also observed in mixed monolayers of DPPC and of the 5:1 DPPG/polymyxin B complex, at high surface pressure. Acyl chain interdigitation was observed by X-ray diffraction in both 5:1 DPPG/polymyxin B mixtures and preformed 5:5:1 DMPC/DPPG/polymyxin B mixture, in which the antibiotic saturates phosphatidylglycerol (Ri 5). In both cases, raising the temperature gave rise to a complex double-peaked phase transition by differential scanning calorimetry, from the interdigitating phase to a normal L alpha lamellar phase. As it is known that polymyxin B does not interact with phosphatidylcholine, the data presented show that, when phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol are mixed together, a phase perturbation such as acyl chain interdigitation, which normally affects only phosphatidylglycerol, is also felt by phosphatidylcholine.     

The on-fibrillation-pathway membrane content leakage and off-fibrillation-pathway lipid mixing induced by 40-residue β-amyloid peptides in biologically relevant model liposomes

Disruption of the synaptic plasma membrane (SPM) induced by the aggregation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides has been considered as a potential mechanism for the neurotoxicity of Aβ in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the molecular basis of such membrane disruption process remains unclear, mainly because of the severe systematic heterogeneity problem that prevents the high-resolution studies. Our previous studies using a two-component phosphatidylcholine (PC)/phosphatidylglycerol (PG) model liposome showed the presence of Aβ-induced membrane disruptions that were either on the pathway or off the pathway of fibril formation. The present study focuses on a more biologically relevant model membrane with compositions that mimic the outer leaflet of SPMs. The main findings are: (1) the two competing membrane disruption effects discovered in PC/PG liposomes and their general peptide-to-lipid-molar-ratio dependence persist in the more complicated membrane models; (2) the SPM-mimic membrane promotes the formation of certain “on-fibrillation-pathway” intermediates with higher α-helical structural population, which lead to more rapid and significant of membrane content leakage; (3) although the “on-fibrillation-pathway” intermediate structures show dependence on membrane compositions, there seems to be a common final fibril structure grown from different liposomes, suggesting that there may be a predominant fibril structure for 40-residue Aβ (i.e. Aβ₄₀) peptides in biologically-relevant membranes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Protein Aggregation and Misfolding at the Cell Membrane Interface edited by Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy.     

Interactions of VIP with rigid phospholipid bilayers: implications for vasoreactivity

The purpose of this study was to determine whether vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a pleiotropic amphipathic peptide, interacts with rigid liposomes composed of gel phase phospholipids. We found that incubation of VIP with small unilamellar gel phase liposomes composed of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and egg phosphatidylglycerol (ePG) for 2h at room temperature had no significant effects on VIP secondary structure. Moreover, suffusion of VIP (0.01, 0.1 and 1.0nmol) incubated in saline or with DPPC/ePG liposomes (size, 30 and 100nm) for 2h at room temperature or 4 degrees C onto the intact hamster cheek pouch microcirculation elicited a similar concentration-dependent vasodilation except for 0.01nmol VIP (P<0.05). By contrast, incubation of VIP with gel phase liposomes overnight at 4 degrees C significantly potentiated vasodilation evoked by all three concentrations of the peptide in comparison to aqueous VIP (P<0.05). VIP-induced vasodilation was liposome size-independent. The ratio of VIP to phospholipids in DPPC/ePG liposomes was concentration-independent. Collectively, these data indicate that short-term interactions of VIP with rigid phospholipid bilayers are limited resulting in only modest effects on VIP vasoreactivity in vivo.