Solid-state NMR spectroscopy of a membrane protein in biphenyl phospholipid bicelles with the bilayer normal parallel to the magnetic field

Bicelles composed of the long-chain biphenyl phospholipid TBBPC (1-tetradecanoyl-2-(4-(4-biphenyl)butanoyl)-sn-glycero-3-PC) and the short-chain phospholipid DHPC align with their bilayer normals parallel to the direction of the magnetic field. In contrast, in typical bicelles the long-chain phospholipid is DMPC or DPPC, and the bilayers align with their normals perpendicular to the field. Samples of the membrane-bound form of the major coat protein of Pf1 bacteriophage in TBBPC bicelles are stable for several months, align magnetically over a wide range of temperatures, and yield well-resolved solid-state NMR spectra similar to those obtained from samples aligned mechanically on glass plates or in DMPC bicelle samples "flipped" with lanthanide ions so that their bilayer normals are parallel to the field. The order parameter of the TBBPC bicelle sample decreases from approximately 0.9 to 0.8 upon increasing the temperature from 20 degrees C to 60 degrees C. Since the frequency spans of the chemical shift and dipolar coupling interactions are twice as large as those obtained from proteins in DMPC bicelles without lanthanide ions, TBBPC bicelles provide an opportunity for structural studies with higher spectral resolution of the metal-binding membrane proteins without the risk of chemical or spectroscopic interference from the added lanthanide ions. In addition, the large temperature range of these samples is advantageous for the studies of membrane proteins that are unstable at elevated temperatures and for experiments requiring measurements as a function of temperature.     

Investigating magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers with EPR spectroscopy at Q-band (35 GHz): optimization and comparison with X-band (9 GHz)

This paper presents the improvement and advantages of investigating magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers (bicelles) utilizing electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at a microwave frequency of 35 GHz (Q-band) and at a high magnetic field strength of 1.25 T when compared to weaker magnetic fields for X-band EPR studies. The nitroxide spin label 3beta-doxyl-5alpha-cholestane (cholestane or CLS) was inserted into the bicelles and utilized to demonstrate the effects of macroscopic bilayer alignment through the measurement of orientational dependent hyperfine splittings. The effects of different lanthanide ions with varying degree of magnetic susceptibility anisotropy were examined. The requirement of minimal amounts of the Tm3+ and Dy3+ lanthanide ions for well-aligned bicelles were examined for Q-band and compared with amounts required for X-band bicelle alignment studies. At a magnetic field of 1.25 T (when compared to 0.63 T at X-band), the perpendicular and parallel orientation were aligned with lower concentrations of Dy3+ and Tm3+, respectively, and thereby eliminating/minimizing the unwanted effects associated with lanthanide-protein interactions. Thus, it is much easier to magnetically align phospholipid bilayers at Q-band when compared to X-band.     

Magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers in weak magnetic fields: optimization,mechanism, and advantages for X-band EPR studies

Our lab is developing a spin-labeled EPR spectroscopic technique complementary to solid-state NMR studies to study the structure, orientation, and dynamics of uniaxially aligned integral membrane proteins inserted into magnetically aligned discotic phospholipid bilayers, or bicelles. The focus of this study is to optimize and understand the mechanisms involved in the magnetic alignment process of bicelle disks in weak magnetic fields. Developing experimental conditions for optimized magnetic alignment of bicelles in low magnetic fields may prove useful to study the dynamics of membrane proteins and its interactions with lipids, drugs, steroids, signaling events, other proteins, etc. In weak magnetic fields, the magnetic alignment of Tm(3+)-doped bicelle disks was thermodynamically and kinetically very sensitive to experimental conditions. Tm(3+)-doped bicelles were magnetically aligned using the following optimized procedure: the temperature was slowly raised at a rate of 1.9K/min from an initial temperature being between 298 and 307K to a final temperature of 318K in the presence of a static magnetic field of 6300G. The spin probe 3beta-doxyl-5alpha-cholestane (cholestane) was inserted into the bicelle disks and utilized to monitor bicelle alignment by analyzing the anisotropic hyperfine splitting for the corresponding EPR spectra. The phases of the bicelles were determined using solid-state 2H NMR spectroscopy and compared with the corresponding EPR spectra. Macroscopic alignment commenced in the liquid crystalline nematic phase (307K), continued to increase upon slowly raising the temperature, and was well-aligned in the liquid crystalline lamellar smectic phase (318K).     

Calculating order parameter profiles utilizing magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers for 2H solid-state NMR studies

Solid-state deuterium NMR spectroscopy was used to study the structural and dynamic properties of stearic acid-d(35) in magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers as a function of temperature. Magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers or bicelles are model systems, which mimic biological membranes for magnetic resonance studies. Paramagnetic lanthanide ions (Yb(3+)) were added to align the bicelles such that the bilayer normal is colinear with the direction of the static magnetic field. The corresponding order parameters of the stearic acid-d(35) probe were calculated and compared with values obtained from unoriented samples in the literature. The addition of cholesterol to the bicelle system decreases the fluidity of the phospholipid bilayers and increases the ordering of the acyl chains of stearic acid-d(35). This study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing magnetically aligned bicelles for calculating 2H order parameter profiles for non-biological systems such as polymer-grafted membranes and Schiff's base complexes.     

Determination of membrane Peptide orientation by 1H-detected 2H NMR spectroscopy

We demonstrate the application of the proton inverse detected deuteron (PRIDE) NMR technique to the measurement of the orientation of membrane-bound peptides with enhanced sensitivity. Gramicidin D, a transmembrane peptide, and ovispirin, a surface-bound peptide, were used as model systems. The peptides were 2H-labeled by 1H/2H exchange and oriented uniaxially on glass plates. The directly detected 2H spectra of both peptides showed only a strong D(2)O signal and no large quadrupolar splittings. In contrast, the PRIDE spectrum of gramicidin exhibited quadrupolar splittings as large as 281 kHz, consistent with its transmembrane orientation. Moreover, the large D(2)O signal in the directly detected 2H spectra was cleanly suppressed in the PRIDE spectrum. For ovispirin, the 1H indirectly detected 2H spectrum revealed a 104 kHz splitting and a zero-frequency peak. The former reflects the in-plane orientation of most of the helix axis, while the latter results from residues with a magic-angle orientation of the N-D bonds. These are consistent with previous 15N NMR results on ovispirin. The combination of PRIDE and exchange labeling provides an economical and sensitive method of studying membrane peptide orientations in lipid bilayers without the influence of D(2)O and with the ability to detect N-D bonds at the magic angle from the bilayer normal.     

Rotational diffusion of membrane proteins in aligned phospholipid bilayers by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Solid-state NMR experiments on mechanically aligned bilayer and magnetically aligned bicelle samples demonstrate that membrane proteins undergo rapid rotational diffusion about the normal in phospholipid bilayers. Narrow single-line resonances are observed from 15N labeled sites in the trans-membrane helix of the channel-forming domain of the protein Vpu from HIV-1 in phospholipid bilayers with their normals at angles of 0 degrees, 20 degrees, 40 degrees, and 90 degrees, and bicelles with their normals at angles of 0 degrees and 90 degrees with respect to the direction of the applied magnetic field. This could only occur if the entire polypeptide undergoes rotational diffusion about the bilayer normal. Comparisons between experimental and simulated spectra are consistent with a rotational diffusion coefficient (DR) of approximately 10(5)s-1.     

The effects of cholesterol on magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers: a solid-state NMR and EPR spectroscopy study

This paper presents the first time that both solid-state NMR spectroscopy and EPR spectroscopy are used to study the effects of cholesterol on magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers (bicelles). Solid-state deuterium NMR spectroscopy was carried out using both chain perdeuterated 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC-d(54)) and a partially deuterated beta-[2,2,3,4,4,6-(2)H(6)]cholesterol (cholesterol-d(6)). Also, EPR spectroscopy was carried out utilizing a 3 beta-doxyl-5 alpha-cholestane (cholestane) spin probe incorporated into magnetically aligned bilayers to provide a more complete picture about the ordering and dynamics of the phospholipid and cholesterol molecules in the bicelle membrane system. The results demonstrate that cholesterol was successfully incorporated into the phospholipid bilayers. The molecular order parameters extracted directly from the (2)H NMR spectra of both DMPC-d(54) and cholesterol-d(6) were compared to that from the EPR study of cholestane. The order parameters indicate that the sterol was motionally restricted, and that the DMPC had high order and low motion for the hydrocarbon segments close to the head groups of the phospholipids and less order and more rapid motion toward the terminal methyl groups. Both methods clearly indicate an overall increase in the degree of ordering of the molecules in the presence of cholesterol and a decrease in the degree of ordering at higher temperatures. However, EPR spectroscopy and (2)H NMR spectroscopy exhibit different degrees of sensitivity in detecting the phospholipid molecular motions in the membrane. Finally, cholesterol increases the minimum alignment temperature necessary to magnetically align the phospholipid bilayers.     

Does Aliphatic Chain Length Influence Carbocyanines' Orientation in Supported Lipid Multilayers?

UV-Vis linear dichroism was used to study the orientation of 3,3'-dihexyloxacarbocyanine (DiOC6(3)) and 3,3'-dihexadecyloxacarbocyanine (DiOC16(3)) in supported multilayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dilauroylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC). Orientational probability density functions were similar for the two carbocyanines in both lipids. Multimodal distributions were found in all cases. The main peak is at 9 degrees-11 degrees relative to the bilayer normal axis, except for DiOC16(3) in DLPC multilayers (main peaks at 13 degrees and 90 degrees). Quenching studies revealed that the two carbocyanines are localized at the interface region of the membrane regardless of the lipid matrix they are inserted in. Combining these data with linear dichroism results lead to the conclusion that both the aliphatic chain length of carbocyanines and the lipid phase have little influence in the structural organization of these probes in lipidic bilayers. The partition constants of DiOC6 (3), K(p), were determined from fluorescence anisotropy measurements; the values obtained were K(p) (DPPC) = (2.39 +/- 0.05) x 10(3) and K(p) (DLPC) = (5.01 +/- 1.15) x 10(3).     

Pegylation of magnetically oriented lipid bilayers

We report NMR data for magnetically oriented phospholipid bilayers which have been doped with a lipid derivatized with a polyethylene glycol polymer headgroup to stabilize samples against aggregation. (13)C, (31)P, and (2)H NMR data indicate that the incorporation of PEG2000-PE (1% molar to DMPC) does not interfere with the orientation properties of bicelles prepared at 25% w/v with or without the presence of lanthanide. Bicelles prepared at 10% w/v are also shown to orient when PEG2000-PE is added. The addition of PEG2000-PE to cholesterol-containing, lanthanide-flipped bicelles is shown to inhibit sample phase separation and improve spectral quality. Furthermore, the addition of PEG2000-PE to high w/v bicelles (40% w/v) is demonstrated to lead to an increase in overall sample order.     

Lanthanide chelates as bilayer alignment tools in NMR studies of membrane-associated peptides

Theequimolar complex, consisting of the lipid-like, amphiphilic chelating agent 1,11-bis[distearylamino]-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA-18) and Tm(3+), is shown by deuterium ((2)H) NMR to be useful in aligning bicelle-like model membranes, consisting of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dihexanoylphosphatidylcholine (DHPC). As shown previously (1996, R. S. Prosser et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118, 269-270), in the absence of chelate, the lanthanide ions bind loosely with the lipid phosphate groups and confer the membrane with a sufficient positive magnetic anisotropy to result in parallel alignment (i.e., average bilayer normal along the field). Apparently, DTPA-18 sequesters the lanthanide ions and inserts into the phospholipid bilayer in such a manner that bilayer morphology is preserved over a wide temperature range (35-70 degrees C). The inherent paramagnetic shifts and line broadening effects are illustrated by (2)H NMR spectra of the membrane binding peptide, Leu-enkephalin (Lenk-d(2), Tyr-(Gly-d(2))-Gly-Phe-Leu-OH), in the presence of varying concentrations of Tm(3+), and upon addition of DTPA-18. Two conclusions could be drawn from this study: (1) The addition of Tm(3+) to the bicelle system is consistent with a conformational change in the surface associated peptide, and this effect is shown to be reversed by addition of the chelate, and (2) The paramagnetic shifts are shown to be significantly reduced by addition of chelate.     

Packing of phospholipid vesicles studied by oxygen quenching of Laurdan fluorescence

Steady-state fluorescence oxygen quenching experiments were performed on phospholipid vesicles where 2-dimethylamino-6-lauroylnaphthalene (Laurdan) was inserted. The quenching efficiency was found to be much higher in vesicles in the liquid-crystalline phase with respect to the gel phase, by a factor of about 50. Since the oxygen solubility in the two phospholipid phases can differ at most by a factor of 4 based on literature values, we concluded that oxygen diffusion must be responsible for the great difference in the quenching efficiency. A relatively high quenching efficiency was also found in vesicles composed of equimolar gel and liquid-crystalline phospholipids. Simulations were performed using the linear superposition of the properties of the pure phases to demonstrate that, in the case of vesicles composed of coexisting phases, the diffusional properties of oxygen in each phase are largely modified by the presence of the other. The addition of 10 mol% cholesterol to the gel phase rendered Laurdan fluorescence approximately as quenchable as in the equimolar mixture of the two phases. This result points out that molecules such as cholesterol, which introduce packing defects in the bilayer, favor oxygen diffusion. From the oxygen quenching experiments and using the properties of generalized polarization, the rate of Laurdan dipolar relaxation can be estimated.Abbreviations used Laudran 2-dimethylamino-6-lauroylnapthalene - DLPC dilauroylphosphatidylcholine - DMPC dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine - DPH 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene - DPPC dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine - TNS p-tofuidinyl-6-naphthalene sulfonic acid - PBS phosphate-buffered saline solution - GP generalized polarization - NMR nuclear magnetic resonance - EPR electron paramagnetic resonance     

Examining Protein-Lipid Interactions in Model Systems with a New Squarylium Fluorescent Dye

The applicability of newly synthesized squarylium dye Sq to probing the changes in physical characteristics of lipid bilayer on the formation of protein-lipid complexes has been evaluated. Lipid vesicles composed of zwitterionic phospholipid phosphatidylcholine (PC) and its mixtures with positively charged detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), anionic phospholipid cardiolipin (CL), and cholesterol (Chol) were employed as lipid component of model membrane systems while protein constituent was represented by lysozyme (Lz). Fluorescence intensity of Sq was found to decrease on Lz association with lipid bilayer. This effect was observed in all kinds of model systems suggesting that Sq is sensitive to modification of lipid bilayer physical properties on hydrophobic protein-lipid interactions. It was found that Sq spectral response to variations in Chol content depends on relative contributions of electrostatic and hydrophobic components of Lz-membrane binding.     

Hydrated cholesterol: Phospholipid domains probed by synchrotron radiation

X-ray scattering experiments on mixed films of cholesterol and phospholipids at air-water and Si solid-water interfaces were undertaken to glean information on pathological crystallization of cholesterol bilayers. Grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction patterns at the air-water interface of various cholesterol:dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (Ch:DPPC) monolayer mixtures compressed beyond monolayer collapse yielded the established 10×7.5 Å^2 Ch bilayer motif, for Ch:DPPC molar ratios higher than 2.5:1. Attempts to obtain a diffraction signal from various Ch:phospholipid film mixtures at the Si solid-water interface, indicative of the presence of the Ch bilayer motif, were unsuccessful. Only after removal of sufficient water from the cell was a weak diffraction signal obtained suggestive of a cholesterol film two bilayers thick. Off-specular X-ray reflectivity measurements made on a 1.75:1 mixture of Ch and bovine cardiac phosphatidylcholine (BCPC) deposited as a bilayer on a Si wafer and placed in a cell filled with water yielded positive results. The derived electron density profile showed the presence of a bilayer mixture consistent with a phase separation of cholesterol and BCPC, and possible formation of a crystalline cholesterol bilayer within the hydrated mixed bilayer, but not a proof thereof.     

Laurdan in Fluid Bilayers: Position and Structural Sensitivity

Laurdan (2-dimethylamino-6-lauroylnaphthalene) is a hydrophobic fluorescent probe widely used in lipid systems. This probe was shown to be highly sensitive to lipid phases, and this sensitivity related to the probe microenvironment polarity and viscosity. In the present study, Laurdan was incorporated in 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-[phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)] (DPPG), which has a phase transition around 41°C, and DLPC (1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), which is in the fluid phase at all temperatures studied. The temperature dependence of Laurdan fluorescent emission was analyzed via the decomposition into two gaussian bands, a short- and a long-wavelength band, corresponding to a non-relaxed and a water-relaxed excited state, respectively. As expected, Laurdan fluorescence is highly sensitive to DPPG gel–fluid transition. However, it is shown that Laurdan fluorescence, in DLPC, is also dependent on the temperature, though the bilayer phase does not change. This is in contrast to the rather similar fluorescent emission obtained for the analogous hydrophilic probe, Prodan (2-dimethylamino-6-propionylnaphthalene), when free in aqueous solution, over the same range of temperature. Therefore, Laurdan fluorescence seems to be highly dependent on the lipid bilayer packing, even for fluid membranes. This is supported by Laurdan fluorescence anisotropy and spin labels incorporated at different positions in the fluid lipid bilayer of DLPC. The latter were used both as structural probes for bilayer packing, and as Laurdan fluorescence quenchers. The results confirm the high sensitivity of Laurdan fluorescence emission to membrane packing, and indicate a rather shallow position for Laurdan in the membrane.     

Location of Novel Benzanthrone Dyes in Model Membranes as Revealed by Resonance Energy Transfer

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between anthrylvinyl-labeled phosphatidylcholine (AV-PC) as a donor and newly synthesized benzanthrones (referred to here as A8, A6, AM12, AM15 and AM18) as acceptors has been examined to gain insight into molecular level details of the interactions between benzanthrone dyes and model lipid membranes composed of zwitterionic lipid phosphatidylcholine and its mixtures with anionic lipids cardiolipin (CL) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG). FRET data were quantitatively analyzed in terms of the model of energy transfer in two-dimensional systems taking into account the distance dependence of orientation factor. Evidence for A8 location in phospholipid headgroup region has been obtained. Inclusion of CL and PG into PC bilayer has been found to induce substantial relocation of A6, AM12, AM15 and AM18 from hydrophobic membrane core to lipid-water interface.     

Diffusion of gases across lipid membranes with OmpA channel: a molecular dynamics study

Molecular transport across biological membranes occurs in a range of important chemical and biological processes. The biological membrane can usually be modelled as a phospholipid bilayer, but to correctly represent biological transport, the embedded transmembrane proteins must also be included. In previous molecular simulation studies on transport of small gas molecules in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayer membrane, a coarse-grained model was used to provide direct insight into collective phenomena in biological membranes. Coarse graining allowed investigation of longer time and length scales by reducing the degrees of freedom and employing suitable potentials. In this work, membranes that include transmembrane proteins are modelled. This allows one to compare the molecular transport across a lipid membrane with and without the assistance of transmembrane channels. Outer membrane protein A (OmpA) – a porin from Escherichia coli with a small pore size – was chosen in this study because its detailed structure is known, it has high stability and is known to form a nonspecific diffusion channel that permits the penetration of various solutes. In this work the pore characteristics and interaction between lipid and protein were investigated and transport of water and other small gas molecules within the channel were studied. The MD simulation results obtained are compared with previous simulation results and available experimental data. The results obtained from this study will lead to better understanding of protein functionality and advance the development of biochips and drug delivery systems.     

Probing membrane topology by high-resolution 1H-13C heteronuclear dipolar solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Membrane topology changes introduced by the association of biologically pertinent molecules with membranes were analyzed utilizing the (1)H-(13)C heteronuclear dipolar solid-state NMR spectroscopy technique (SAMMY) on magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers (bicelles). The phospholipids (1)H-(13)C dipolar coupling profiles lipid motions at the headgroup, glycerol backbone, and the acyl chain region. The transmembrane segment of phospholamban, the antimicrobial peptide (KIGAKI)(3) and cholesterol were incorporated into the bicelles, respectively. The lipids (1)H-(13)C dipolar coupling profiles exhibit different shifts in the dipolar coupling contour positions upon the addition of these molecules, demonstrating a variety of interaction mechanisms exist between the biological molecules and the membranes. The membrane topology changes revealed by the SAMMY pulse sequence provide a complete screening method for analyzing how these biologically active molecules interact with the membrane.     

Distribution of merocyanine 540 in phospholipid membranes

The interaction of the fluorescent photosensitizer merocyanine 540 (MC-540) with model phospholipid membranes was studied. Two different-colored species (monomers and dimers) of MC-540 were registered in phospholipid liposomes. Variations in both phospholipid composition (DMPC, DPPC, POPC, egg PC) and temperature (15–60°C) resulted in changes in the MC-540 monomerdimer distribution. The values of the monomer-dimer equilibrium constant of MC-540 in egg PC (K=14.8 M), in POPC (K=26.7 M), and in DMPC (K=271.0 M) were determined at the temperature of 23±2°C. Suppression of MC-540 association with phospholipid bilayers was provoked by the addition of albumin to a liposome suspension. Albumin was observed to compete very successfully with lecithins containing saturated fatty acid chains (DPPC, DMPC), while only a weak competition of albumin with unsaturated lecithins (POPC, egg PC) for binding MC-540 molecules was registered.     

Diffusion in supported lipid bilayers: Influence of substrate and preparation technique on the internal dynamics

The diffusion law of DMPC and DPPC in Supported Lipid Bilayers (SLB), on different substrates, has been investigated in details by Fluorescence Recovery After Patterned Photobleaching (FRAPP). Over micrometer length scales, we demonstrate the validity of a purely Brownian diffusive law both in the gel and the fluid phases of the lipids. Measuring the diffusion coefficient as a function of temperature, we characterize the gel-to-liquid phase transition of DMPC and DPPC. It is shown that, depending on the type of substrate and the method used for bilayer preparation, completely different behaviours can be observed. On glass substrates, using the Langmuir-Blodgett deposition technique, both leaflets of the bilayer have the same dynamics. On mica, the dynamics of the proximal leaflet is slower than the dynamics of the distal leaflet, although the transition temperature is the same for both layers. Preparing bilayers from vesicle fusion in same conditions leads to more random behaviours and shifted transition temperatures.