2H and31P nuclear magnetic resonance studies of membranes containing bovine rhodopsin

Summary Purified, delipidated rhodopsin is recombined with phospholipid using octyl-glucoside (OG) and preformed vesicles. Normal egg phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylcholine in which the N-methyl groups are fully deuterated, and dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine labeled with deuterium at carbons 9 and 10 were used.³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and²H NMR measurements were obtained of the pure phospholipids and of the recombined membranes containing rhodopsin.³¹P NMR of the recombined membrane (containing the deuterated phospholipid) showed two overlapping resonances. One resembled a normal phospholipid bilayer, and the other was much broader, representing a motionally restricted phospholipid headgroup environment. The population of phospholipids in the motionally restricted environment can be modulated by conditions in the media.²H NMR spectra of the same recombined membranes showed only one component. These experimental results agree with a theoretical analysis that predicts an insensitivity of²H NMR to lipids bound to membrane proteins. A model containing at least three different phospholipid environments in the presence of the membrane protein rhodopsin is described.Deceased.