Surface behaviour and peptide-lipid interactions of the antibiotic peptides, Maculatin and Citropin

Surface behaviour of Maculatin 1.1 and Citropin 1.1 antibiotic peptides have been studied using the Langmuir monolayer technique in order to understand the peptide-membrane interaction proposed as critical for cellular lysis. Both peptides have a spontaneous adsorption at the air-water interface, reaching surface potentials similar to those obtained by direct spreading. Collapse pressures (Pi(c), stability to lateral compression), molecular areas at maximal packing and surface potentials (DeltaV) obtained from compression isotherms of both pure peptide monolayers are characteristic of peptides adopting mainly alpha-helical structure at the interface. The stability of Maculatin monolayers depended on the subphase and increased when pH was raised. In an alkaline environment, Maculatin exhibits a molecular reorganization showing a reproducible discontinuity in the Pi-A compression isotherm. Both peptides in lipid films with the zwitterionic palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) showed an immiscible behaviour at all lipid-peptide proportions studied. By contrast, in films with the anionic palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol (POPG), the peptides showed miscible behaviour when the peptides represented less than 50% of total surface area. Additional penetration experiments also demonstrated that both peptides better interact with POPG compared with POPC monolayers. This lipid preference is discussed as a possible explanation of their antibiotic properties.     

In silico and in vitro characterization of phospholipase A2 isoforms from soybean (Glycine max)

At the present, no secreted phospholipase A₂ (sPLA₂) from soybean (Glycine max) was investigated in detail. In this work we identified five sequences of putative secreted sPLA₂ from soybean after a BLAST search in G. max database. Sequence analysis showed a conserved PA2c domain bearing the Ca²⁺ binding loop and the active site motif. All the five mature proteins contain 12 cysteine residues, which are commonly conserved in plant sPLA₂s. We propose a phylogenetic tree based on sequence alignment of reported plant sPLA₂s including the novel enzymes from G. max. According to PLA₂ superfamily, two of G. max sPLA₂s are grouped as XIA and the rest of sequences as XIB, on the basis of differences found in their molecular weights and deviating sequences especially in the N- and C-terminal regions of the isoenzymes. Furthermore, we report the cloning, expression and purification of one of the putative isoenzyme denoted as GmsPLA₂-XIA-1. We demonstrate that this mature sPLA₂ of 114 residues had PLA₂ activity on Triton:phospholipid mixed micelles and determine the kinetic parameters for this system. We generate a model based on the known crystal structure of sPLA₂ from rice (isoform II), giving first insights into the three-dimensional structure of folded GmsPLA₂-XIA-1. Besides describing the spatial arrangement of highly conserved pair HIS-49/ASP-50 and the Ca⁺² loop domains, we propose the putative amino acids involved in the interfacial recognition surface. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations indicate that calcium ion, besides its key function in the catalytic cycle, plays an important role in the overall stability of GmsPLA₂-XIA-1 structure.     

Interactions of ovalbumin and of its putative signal sequence with phospholipid monolayers. Possible importance of differing lateral stabilities in protein translocation.

Surface properties of ovalbumin and of its putative signal sequence, and their interactions with phospholipids at an air-water interface, have been studied. The mature protein can form an interfacial film spontaneously from its bulk solution, whereas the signal sequence cannot. Mature ovalbumin also penetrates phospholipid monolayers from the subphase (independently of the type of phospholipid present), whereas its signal sequence does not. The surface stability of a spread film of the signal sequence is, however, higher than that of a film of mature ovalbumin. Above specific threshold concentrations of signal peptide and of mature ovalbumin in mixed films with phospholipids, two separate phases are formed. In such immiscible films, the signal sequence peptide is also able to support a higher lateral surface pressure than mature ovalbumin, at corresponding areas of peptide and mature protein in the mixed monolayers. It is suggested that the differing lateral stabilities of ovalbumin and of its putative signal sequence may be relevant to the translocation of ovalbumin across the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum, and a scheme for its translocation is proposed that is based on these properties.     

Extremely high thermal stability of streptavidin and avidin upon biotin binding

The effect of biotin binding on the thermal stability of streptavidin (STV) and avidin (AVD) was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry. Biotin binding increases the midpoint of temperature Tm of thermally induced denaturation of STV and AVD in phosphate buffer from 75 and 83 degrees C to 112 and 117 degrees C at full biotin saturation, respectively. This thermostability is the highest reported for proteins coming from either mesophilic or thermophilic organisms. In both proteins, biotin also increases the calorimetric enthalpy and the cooperativity of the unfolding. Thermal stability of STV was also evaluated in the presence of high concentrations of urea or guanidinium hydrochloride (GuHCl). In 6 M GuHCl, STV remains as a tetramer and the Tm of the STV-biotin complex is centered at 108 degrees C, a few degrees below the value obtained in phosphate buffer. On the contrary, STV under fully saturating condition remains mainly in its dimeric form in 8 M urea and the thermogram shows two endotherms. The main endotherm at a lower temperature has been ascribed to the dimeric liganded state with a Tm of 87 degrees C, and the higher temperature endotherm to the tetrameric liganded form with a Tm of 106 degrees C. As the thermostability of unliganded protein in the presence of urea is unchanged upon binding we related the extremely high thermal stability of this protein to both an increase in structural ordering and compactness with the preservation of the tetramer integrity.     

Lipid-like behavior of signal sequence peptides at air–water interface

Several protein transport processes in the cell are mediated by signal sequence peptides located at the N-terminal side of the mature protein sequence. To date, the specific interaction and the stability of these peptides at the amphipathic interface of biological membranes and the relevance of the peptide conformation when they interact with lipids is not clear. We report the surface properties and the peptide–lipid interaction of three signal sequence peptides at the air–NaCl 145 mM interface by using the Langmuir monolayer approach. These synthetic peptides have a natural sequence with a non-periodic amphiphilicity, where hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues are located on opposed sides of the peptide primary sequence. We show that signal sequence peptides form insoluble monolayers of high stability against lateral compression. At close packing, peptide molecular area, surface potential and the high stability of the peptide monolayer are indicative that signal sequence peptides are compatible with a β-sheet conformation at the interface. Structure was confirmed with PM-IRRAS and transmission FT-IR studies. The peptides show lateral miscibility with either POPC (a liquid-expanded lipid) or DPPC (a liquid-condensed lipid) in mixed peptide–lipid monolayers. This indicates that signal sequence peptides studied are laterally miscible with phospholipids independent of the phase state of the lipid.     

Calcium dependency of arachidonic acid incorporation into cellular phospholipids of different cell types.

Ca2+ -independent phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) is involved in the incorporation of arachidonic acid (AA) into resting macrophages by the generation of the lysophospholipid acceptor. The role of iPLA2 in AA remodeling in different cells was evaluated by studying the Ca2+ dependency of AA uptake from the medium, the incorporation into cellular phospholipids, and the effect of the iPLA2 inhibitor bromoenol lactone on these events. Uptake and esterification of AA into phospholipids were not affected by Ca2+ depletion in human polymorphonuclear neutrophils and rat fibroblasts. The uptake was Ca2+ independent in chick embryo glial cells, but the incorporation into phospholipids was partially dependent on extracellular Ca2+. Both events were fully dependent on extra and intracellular Ca2+ in human platelets. In human polymorphonuclear neutrophils, the kinetics of incorporation in several isospecies of phospholipids was not affected by the absence of Ca2+ at short times (<30 min). The involvement of iPLA2 in the incorporation of AA from the medium was confirmed by the selective inhibition of this enzyme with bromoenol lactone, which reduced < or =50% of the incorporation of AA into phospholipids of human neutrophils. These data provide evidence that suggests iPLA2 plays a major role in regulating AA turnover in different cell types.     

Water dynamics in glycosphingolipid aggregates studied by LAURDAN fluorescence.

We have characterized the fluorescence properties of 6-dodecanoyl-2-dimethylamine-naphthalene (LAURDAN) in pure interfaces formed by sphingomyelin and 10 chemically related glycosphingolipids (GSLs).1 The GSLs contain neutral and anionic carbohydrate residues in their oligosaccharide chain. These systems were studied at temperatures below, at, or above the main phase transition temperature of the pure lipid aggregates. The extent of solvent dipolar relaxation around the excited fluorescence probe in the GSLs series increases with the magnitude of the glycosphingolipid polar headgroup below the transition temperature. This conclusion is based on LAURDAN's excitation generalized polarization (GPex) and fluorescence lifetime values found in the different interfaces. A linear dependence between the LAURDAN GPex and the intermolecular spacing among the lipid molecules was found for both neutral and anionic lipids in the GSLs series. This relationship was also followed by phospholipids. We conclude that LAURDAN in these lipid aggregates resides in sites containing different amounts of water. The dimension of these sites increases with the size of the GSLs polar headgroup. The GP function reports on the concentration and dynamics of water molecules in these sites. Upon addition of cholesterol to Gg4Cer, the fluorescence behavior of LAURDAN was similar to that of pure cerebrosides and sphingomyelin vesicles. This observation was attributed to a change in the interfacial hydration as well as changes in the shape and size of the Gg4Cer aggregates in the presence of cholesterol. After the addition of cholesterol to gangliosides, the changes in the LAURDAN's spectral parameters decrease progressively as the polar headgroup of these lipids becomes more complex. This finding suggests that the dehydration effect of cholesterol depends strongly on the curvature radius and the extent of hydration of these lipid aggregates. In the gel phase of phrenosine, GalCer, Gg3Cer, sulfatide, and sphingomyelin, the excitation red band (410 nm) of LAURDAN was reduced with respect to that of LAURDAN in the gel phase of pure phospholipids. This observation indicates a local environment that interacts differently with the ground state of LAURDAN in GSLs when compared with LAURDAN in phospholipids.     

Bioconversion of phospholipids by immobilized phospholipase A2

Phospholipase A₂ selectively hydrolyses the ester linkage at the sn-2 position of phospholipids forming lysocompounds. This bioconversion has importance in biotechnology since lysophospholipids are strong bioemulsifiers. The aim of the present work was to study the kinetic behaviour and properties of immobilized phospholipase A₂ from bee venom adsorbed into an ion exchange support. The enzyme had high affinity for CM-Sephadex^® support and the non-covalent interaction was optimum at pH 8. The activity of immobilized phospholipase A₂ was comparatively evaluated with the soluble enzyme using a phospholipid/Triton X-100 mixed micelle as assay system. The immobilized enzyme showed high retention activity and excellent stability under storage. The activity of the immobilized system remained almost constant after several cycles of hydrolysis. Immobilized phospholipase A₂ was less sensitive to pH changes compared to soluble form. The kinetic parameters obtained (V_max 883.4 μmol mg⁻¹ min⁻¹ and a K_m 12.9 mM for soluble form and V_max = 306 μmol mg⁻¹ min⁻¹ and a K_m = 3.9 for immobilized phospholipase A₂) were in agreement with the immobilization effect. The results obtained with CM-Sephadex^®-phospholipase A₂ system give a good framework for the development of a continuous phospholipid bioconversion process.