Interaction of apoprotein from porcine high-density lipoprotein with dimyristoyl lecithin. 1. The structure of the complexes.

The morphology and structural organisation of the complexes formed from the apoprotein of porcine high-density lipoprotein and dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) have been studied using the technique of small-angle X-ray scattering. Scattering measurements made in solvents of varying electron density were interpreted in terms of a scattering-equivalent model for the structure of the complex. This model is described by an oblate ellipsoidal morphology with dimensions at 20 degrees C: major axis 11.0 nm, minor axis 5.5 nm. Within this overall shape the lipid hydrocarbon chains are organised in an apolar core whilst the lipid polar head groups and protein are located in a outer shell 0.85 nm in thickness. The oblate morphology demonstrates that the structure of the complex is directed by the fundamental bilayer organisation of the lecithin. The dimension of the minor axis (5.5 nm) indicates that phospholipid hydrocarbon chains are orientated perpendicular to the interface.     

The thickness of monoolein lipid bilayers as determined from reflectance measurements

Measurements of the reflectance of monoolein $\text{n-}\text{alkane}$ and monoolein/squalene lipid bilayers have been made. The total thickness of the bilayer was calculated from the dependence of reflectance on the refractive index of the aqueous salt or sucrose solution surrounding the bilayer. The total thickness was then compared to the thickness of the hydrocarbon chain region as determined from capacitance measurements. From this comparison, we found that the thickness of each polar region of the bilayers in salt solutions was $\text{0.5 ± 0.1}\text{nm}$, independent of the hydrocarbon solvent used. When the aqueous solutions contained sucrose, each polar region was approx. 0.9 nm thick. When $\text{n-}\text{tetradecane}$ and $\text{n-}\text{hexadecane}$ were used as solvents, microlenses of solvent trapped in the monoolein bilayer increased the reflectance. After about one hour, the coalescence of microlenses into larger lenses allowed the reflectance of the bilayer alone to be measured. The use of reflectance to measure the thickness of monoolein bilayers appears to be consistent with other methods and to give useful information about the structure of lipid bilayers.     

Structure of an adsorbed dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer measured with specular reflection of neutrons.

Using specular reflection of neutrons, we investigate for the first time the structure of a single dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer adsorbed to a planar quartz surface in an aqueous environment. We demonstrate that the bilayer is strongly adsorbed to the quartz surface and is stable to phase state changes as well as exchange of the bulk aqueous phase. Our results show that the main phase transition is between the L alpha phase and the metastable L beta'* phase, with formation of the P beta' ripple phase prevented by lateral stress on the adsorbed bilayer. By performing contrast variation experiments, we are able to elucidate substantial detail in the interfacial structure. We measure a bilayer thickness of 43.0 +/- 1.5 A in the L alpha phase (T = 31 degrees C) and 46.0 +/- 1.5 A in the L beta'* phase (T = 20 degrees C). The polar head group is 8.0 +/- 1.5 A thick in the L alpha phase. The water layer between the quartz and bilayer is 30 +/- 10 A for the lipid in both the L alpha and L'* phase. Our results agree well with those previously reported from experiments using lipid vesicles and monolayers, thus establishing the feasibility of our experimental methods.     

Structural transitions associated with changes in the thickness and density of phospholipid bilayers

Relationship between a change of bilayer density and thickness and dissociation degree of the polar groups of phospholipid molecules was studied. It has been stated that with a decrease of ionization level a transition of bilayer from liquid to ordered state should occur. The latter is accompanied by a decrease of thickness and increase of density of the bilayer.     

Bilayer dimensions and hydration of glycolipids

X-ray diffraction measurements are available on a wide range of glycolipid multilamellar assemblies in excess water, but not at the defined water contents that are needed to derive bilayer dimensions. For lamellar crystalline phases and gel phases with untilted chains, or where the tilt angle is known, the cross-sectional area per chain from wide-angle diffraction can be used to determine the area per lipid molecule at the bilayer surface. Using the lipid molecular volume from densitometry, it is then possible to obtain the bilayer thickness and hence, from the lamellar repeat spacing, the water layer thickness and degree of hydration of the lipid polar groups. This is done here by using the available data for bilayer-forming diacyl and dialkyl glycosylglycerols, and for certain glycosphingolipids. The lamellar crystalline phases of these glycolipids are largely anhydrous, and the degree of hydration of the lamellar gel phases is much lower than that of the corresponding phosphoglycerolipid gel phases. A point of current uncertainty is whether the chains in the gel phases of diacyl glycoglycerolipids are appreciably tilted, unlike their dialkyl counterparts.     

Gel phase polymorphism in ether-linked dihexadecylphosphatidylcholine bilayers

The structure and properties of the ether-linked 1,2-dihexadecylphosphatidylcholine (DHPC) have been examined as a function of hydration. By differential scanning calorimetry, DHPC exhibits an endothermic (chain melting) transition with the transition temperature (limiting value, 44.2 degrees C) and enthalpy (limiting value, delta H = 8.0 kcal/mol) being hydration dependent. For hydration values greater than 30 wt % water, DHPC exhibits a pretransition at approximately 36 degrees C (delta H = 1.1 kcal/mol) and a subtransition at approximately 5 degrees C (delta H = 0.2 kcal/mol). By X-ray diffraction, at 22 degrees C DHPC exhibits a normal bilayer gel structure with the bilayer periodicity increasing from 58.0 to 62.5 A over the hydration range 9.5-25.4% water. At 30-32% water, two coexisting gel phases are observed with d = 63-64 A and d = 44-45 A; at higher hydration, only the latter phase is present, reaching a limiting d = 47.0 A at 37.5% water. Two different gel phases clearly exist at low and high hydrations. Electron density profiles at low hydration (9.5-25.4%) show a bilayer thickness dp-p = 46 A, whereas at greater than 32% water the bilayer thickness is markedly reduced, dp-p = 30 A. These and other structural parameters indicate a hydration-dependent gel----gel structural transition between a normal bilayer (two chains per polar group) and the chain-interdigitated bilayer (four chains per polar group) arrangement described previously for DHPC [Ruocco, M. J., Siminovitch, D. J., & Griffin, R. G. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 2406-2411].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

High Performance Thick‐Film Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells with Efficiency over 10% and Active Layer Thickness of 600 nm

Developing efficient organic solar cells (OSCs) with relatively thick active layer compatible with the roll to roll large area printing process is an inevitable requirement for the commercialization of this field. However, typical laboratory OSCs generally exhibit active layers with optimized thickness around 100 nm and very low thickness tolerance, which cannot be suitable for roll to roll process. In this work, high performance of thick‐film organic solar cells employing a nonfullerene acceptor F–2Cl and a polymer donor PM6 is demonstrated. High power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 13.80% in the inverted structure device and 12.83% in the conventional structure device are achieved under optimized conditions. PCE of 9.03% is obtained for the inverted device with active layer thickness of 500 nm. It is worth noting that the conventional structure device still maintains the PCE of over 10% when the film thickness of the active layer is 600 nm, which is the highest value for the NF‐OSCs with such a large active layer thickness. It is found that the performance difference between the thick active layer films based conventional and inverted devices is attributed to their different vertical phase separation in the active layers.     

Electrokinetic Properties of the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Membrane Obtained from Reconstitution Studies

Electrophoretic mobility data of SR vesicles reconstituted with uncharged and two mixtures of charged and uncharged lipids (Brethes, D., Dulon, D., Johannin, G., Arrio, B., Gulik-Krzywicki, T., Chevallier, J. 1986. Study of the electrokinetic properties of reconstituted sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 246:355–356) were analyzed in terms of four models of the membrane-water interface: (I) a smooth, negatively charged surface; (II) a negatively charged surface of lipid bilayer covered with an electrically neutral surface frictional layer; (III) an electrically neutral lipid bilayer covered with a neutral frictional layer containing a sheet of negative charge at some distance above the surface of the bilayer; (IV) an electrically neutral lipid bilayer covered with a homogeneously charged frictional layer. The electrophoretic mobility was predicted from the numerical integration of Poisson-Boltzmann and Navier-Stokes equations. Experimental results were consistent only with predictions based on Model-III with charged sheet about 4 nm above the bilayer and frictional layer about 10 nm thick. Assuming that the charge of the SR membrane is solely due to that on Ca⁺⁺-ATPase pumps, the dominant SR protein, the mobility data of SR and reconstituted SR vesicles are consistent with 12 electron charges/ATPase. This value compares well to the net charge of the cytoplasmic portion of ATPase estimated from the amino acid sequence (-11e). The position of the charged sheet suggests that the charge on the ATPase is concentrated in the middle of the cytoplasmic portion. The frictional layer of SR can be also assigned to the cytoplasmic portion of Ca⁺⁺-ATPase. The layer has been characterized with hydrodynamic shielding length of 1.1 nm. Its thickness is comparable to the height of the cytoplasmic portion of Ca⁺⁺-ATPase. Received: 15 June 1998/Revised: 8 October 1998     

Detection of structural defects in phosphatidylcholine membranes by small-angle neutron scattering. The cluster model of a lipid bilayer

The oriented DPPC multilayers hydrated by D2O have been studied by a small-angle neutron scattering method in the Guinier range, and the gyration radius of the structural inhomogeneities has been estimated at about 29 A. They are interpreted as the annular defects between adjacent clusters uniting the all-trans chain 'segments' adjacent to the polar head group regions. The angle of the 'segment' tilt is determined by the hydrated polar group area (59.2 A2 for DPPC bilayers) and has been estimated to be about 44 degrees under the given experimental conditions. The hydrocarbon interior of a bilayer can be suggested as a 'sandwich' that is formed by two clustered layers (approx. 7 A of the thickness) and the central disordered (liquid) layer. The average cluster size along the bilayer surface is estimated to be approx. 24 A which correlates with the estimations of the short order region dimensions from the halfwidth of the X-ray 'packing' reflex (4.6 A)-1. The average interchain separation of approx. 5 A and the average cross-section area of a chain in a cluster (21.4 A2) were estimated from the reflex position and the chain cross-section geometry. The total volume of defects and the fraction of a bilayer surface occupied by them were estimated too.     

Protein Structure Prediction and Design in a Biologically Realistic Implicit Membrane

Protein design is a powerful tool for elucidating mechanisms of function and engineering new therapeutics and nanotechnologies. Although soluble protein design has advanced, membrane protein design remains challenging because of difficulties in modeling the lipid bilayer. In this work, we developed an implicit approach that captures the anisotropic structure, shape of water-filled pores, and nanoscale dimensions of membranes with different lipid compositions. The model improves performance in computational benchmarks against experimental targets, including prediction of protein orientations in the bilayer, ΔΔG calculations, native structure discrimination, and native sequence recovery. When applied to de novo protein design, this approach designs sequences with an amino acid distribution near the native amino acid distribution in membrane proteins, overcoming a critical flaw in previous membrane models that were prone to generating leucine-rich designs. Furthermore, the proteins designed in the new membrane model exhibit native-like features including interfacial aromatic side chains, hydrophobic lengths compatible with bilayer thickness, and polar pores. Our method advances high-resolution membrane protein structure prediction and design toward tackling key biological questions and engineering challenges.     

Electrostatic interactions at charged lipid membranes. Electrostatically induced tilt.

The changes in bilayer structure induced by surface charges in the case of an ionizable lipid were studied by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and film-balance measurements. With increasing surface charge in the ordered phase, the X-ray results show a decrease in bilayer thickness, whereas the hydrocarbon chain packing stays essentially constant, the Raman data signify that the internal chain ordering does not change, and the monolayer studies show a lateral expansion of the bilayer. These results are interpreted in terms of a tilt of the chains caused by the surface charges on the polar heads. The tilt angle between the direction of the chains and the bilayer normal is obtained by a detailed theoretical evaluation. The tilt allows for a better understanding of the electrostatically induced shift of the phase transition temperature and of the shift induced by the binding of water in the case of lecithin in contrast ethanolamine.     

Cryo-electron microscopy of coagulation Factor VIII bound to lipid nanotubes

Factor VIII (FVIII) is a key protein in blood coagulation, deficiency or malfunction of which causes Haemophilia A. The sole cure for this condition is intravenous administration of FVIII, whose membrane-bound structure we have studied by Cryo-electron microscopy and image analysis. Self-assembled lipid nanotubes were optimised to bind FVIII at close to native conditions. The tubes diameter was constant at 30 nm and the lipid bilayer resolved. The FVIII molecules were well defined, forming an 8.5 nm thick outer layer, and appeared to reach the hydrophobic core of the bilayer. The two known FVIII atomic models were superimposed with the averaged 2D protein densities. The insertion of the FVIII within the membrane was evaluated, reaffirming that the membrane-binding C2 or C1-C2 domain(s) fully penetrate the outer leaflet of the lipid layer. The presented results lay the basis for new models of the FVIII overall orientation and membrane-binding mechanism.     

Electron microscopy of vitrified-hydrated La Crosse virus.

La Crosse (LAC) virions were cryopreserved by rapid freezing in a thin layer of vitreous ice. The vitrified-hydrated LAC virions were subsequently imaged at -170 degrees C in a transmission electron microscope equipped with a low-temperature specimen holder. This cryoelectron microscopic technique eliminates the artifacts frequently associated with negative staining. Images of vitrified-hydrated LAC virions clearly revealed surface spikes as well as bilayer structure. Size measurements of the vitrified-hydrated LAC virions showed heterogeneity, with diameters ranging from 75 to 115 nm. Regardless of the particle size, the spike was about 10 nm long, and the bilayer was about 4 nm thick. The spikes are interpreted to be one or both of the glycoproteins, and the bilayer is interpreted to be the membrane envelope of the virus. In contrast to the pleomorphic appearance of the negatively stained LAC virions, the vitrified-hydrated LAC virions showed uniform spherical shapes regardless of their sizes.     

Architecture of bacterial lipid A in solution. A neutron small-angle scattering study

The phase structure of isolated bacterial lipid A, the lipid anchor of the lipopolysaccharides of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, has been investigated by neutron small-angle scattering. The shape of the scattering curves obtained at different H2O/2H2O ratios revealed a lamellar organisation of the lipid A at neutral pH both above and below its main phase temperature (approximately 40-45 degrees C). Analysis of the scattering curves and interpretation of the corresponding thickness distance distribution functions of the lamellar aggregates led to a model in which the lipid A molecules form a bilayer of about 5 nm in thickness. This value for the thickness of the bilayer, as well as the neutron-scattering density profile across the bilayer, can be explained by a molecular model which shows interdigitation of the fatty acid chains of the lipid A.     

The structure of Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin-induced ionic channel

Polyethylene glycols (PEG) with molecular weight less than or equal to 3000 were shown to effectively protect human erythrocytes from osmotic lysis induced by alpha-staphylotoxin (ST). PEG with MW less than 3000 do not change the conductivity of ion channels induced by ST in bilayer lipid membranes (BLM). Changing the bilayer from a pure phosphatidylcholine (PC) to a negatively charged phosphatidylserine (PS) film results in an asymmetry of the current-voltage characteristics. This is evidenced by the asymmetrical position of the ST-channel pore in bilayer membranes. The results obtained allow to conclude that the ST-channel is an interprotein pore filled with water (with an inner diameter of 2.5-3 nm and a length of approximately 10 nm). It is composed of six molecules of alpha-toxin from Staphylococcus aureus. The ST-channel incorporates into a membrane with only one mouth in contact with the polar lipid heads and the other one protruding 4.5-5 nm from the bilayer plane in water solution.     

Effect of cholesterol on the bilayer thickness in unilamellar extruded DLPC and DOPC liposomes: SANS contrast variation study

Small-angle neutron scattering on extruded unilamellar vesicles in water was used to study bilayer thickness when cholesterol (CHOL) was added to dilauroylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) bilayers in molar fraction 0.44. Using the H2O/2H2O contrast variation and the small-angle form of Kratky-Porod approximation, the bilayer gyration radius at infinite contrast R(g,infinity) and the bilayer thickness parameter d(g,infinity) = 12(0.5)R(g,infinity) were obtained at 25 degrees C. Addition of CHOL to DLPC increased the d(g,infinity) from 4.058 +/- 0.028 nm to 4.62 +/- 0.114 nm, while in case of DOPC the d(g,infinity) values were the same in the absence (4.618 +/- 0.148 nm) and in the presence (4.577 +/- 0.144 nm) of CHOL within experimental errors. The role of CHOL-induced changes of bilayer thickness in the protein insertion, orientation and function in membranes is discussed.     

A time-resolved synchrotron X-ray study of a crystalline phase bilayer transition and packing in a saturated monogalactosyldiacylglycerol-water system

The structural changes associated with a phase transition between the gel-phase bilayer (L_β) in which the acyl chains pack in a hexagonal subcell, and a crystalline bilayer phase (L_C1) where the acyl chains are packed in an orthorhombic subcell in a saturated monogalactosyldiacylglycero-water system are reported. The phase change is cooperative and takes place isothermally after the lamellar-gel phase has been held at 20°C for about 8 min. The transformation of the acyl chain subcell from hexagonal to orthorhombic induces a change in diffraction maxima observed in the region 0.6–0.7 nm which is interpreted as a change in packing of the galactose residues from an orthorhombic to hexagonal subcell. We conclude that the rearrangement of the acyl chains into a more closely packed subcell requires the head groups to reorient to reduce the steric hindrance between the bulky galactose residues.     

Pressure-induced phase transitions of lipid bilayers observed by fluorescent probes Prodan and Laurdan

The fluorescence spectra of 6-propionyl-2-(dimethylamino)naphthalene (Prodan) and 6-dodecanoyl-2-(dimethylamino)naphthalene (Laurdan) in bilayer membranes of 1,2-distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) were observed as a function of pressure at constant temperature. The emission spectra of Prodan and Laurdan varied with the pressure-induced states of bilayer membranes. The maximum emission wavelength (lambda(max)) of Prodan characteristic of the liquid crystalline (L(alpha)), lamellar gel (L(beta)') and pressure-induced interdigitated gel (L(beta)I) phases of the DSPC bilayer was 480, 440 and 500 nm, respectively. On the other hand, the lambda(max) of Laurdan characteristic of the L(alpha) and L(beta)' phases was 480 and 440 nm in a similar manner as Prodan probe. However, no change in the lambda(max) was observed in spite of the occurrence of the interdigitation of bilayer. Since the lambda(max) reflects the solvent property around the probe molecules, we could speculate about the location of fluorescent probe in the bilayer membranes. In the L(alpha) phase the same chromophore group of Prodan and Laurdan probes distributes around phosphate group of lipid (i.e., polar region). The transformation of bilayer into the L(beta)' phase causes the Prodan and Laurdan molecules to move into the glycerol backbone (i.e., less polar) region. In the ripple gel (P(beta)') phase, the emission spectrum of Prodan shows a broad peak at about 480 nm and a shoulder around 440 nm, which means that the Prodan molecules are widespread over the wide range from the glycerol backbone to the hydrophilic part of bilayer. The P(beta)'/L(beta)I phase transition causes the Prodan molecule to squeeze out from the glycerol backbone region and to move the hydrophilic region near the bilayer surface. Contrarily, the Laurdan molecule was not squeezed out from the glycerol backbone region because the long acyl chain of Laurdan serves as an anchor in the hydrophobic core of bilayer. The ratio of fluorescence intensity of Prodan at 480 nm to that at 440 nm, F(480)/F(440), is available to observation of bilayer phase transitions. The plot of F(480)/F(440) versus pressure seems to be useful for the recognition of bilayer phase transition, especially the bilayer interdigitation.     

Interaction of apoprotein from porcine high-density lipoprotein with dimyristoly lecithin. 2. Nature of lipid-protein interaction.

The detailed molecular structure of the complex formed by the apoprotein from porcine high density lipoprotein and dimyristoly phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) has been investigated by a range of physical techniques. The complex, an oblate ellipsoid with major axis 11.0 nm and minor axis 5.5 nm (see the accompanying paper), is comprised of a section of lecithin bilayer with apoprotein at the surface. The main site of interaction between protein and lipid is in the lipid glycerophosphorylcholine group region; as with native high density lipoprotein the surface of the particle consists of a mosaic of lecithin polar groups and protein. The formation of this mosaic reduces the cooperativity of the lecithin chain motions and changes the curvature of the lipid-water interface, as compared to a bilayer. Otherwise, there are no major changes in lecithin motions indicating that no strong binding of lipid to protein occurs. The interaction involves the intercalation of amphipathic, 60% alpha-helical, apoprotein molecules among the lecithin molecules so that the protein residues at the lipid-water interface. The apoprotein has a high affinity for the lipid-water interface but specific lipid-protein interactions are not involved.