1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine and 1-2-dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol

An adsorption process of magnetite nanoparticles functionalized with aminated chitosan (Fe

Topics: Amines; Animals; Cell Membrane; Chitosan; Ferric Compounds; Humans; Kinetics; Models, Biological; Nanomedicine; Nanoparticles; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylglycerols; Surface Properties

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques in the brain. The main components of these plaques are the Aβ(1-40) and Aβ(1-42) peptides but the Aβ(25-35) sequence is the most frequently studied fragment because it represents a biologically active region of the longer Aβ peptides. In the present work, the interactions of Aβ(25-35) peptide with model membranes were investigated, taking into consideration the aggregation state of the peptide. Monolayers and liposomes were taken as model membranes with two lipid compositions: the equimolar ternary mixture of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), sphingomyelin (SM), and cholesterol (Chol) and the equimolar POPC/SM binary mixture. The interaction of Aβ(25-35) with the monolayers, investigated at low concentrations (0.25-4μM), suggested a three step mechanism: adsorption-monomers or dimers adsorb at the polar region of the lipid monolayer; nucleation-adsorbed peptides act as nucleation sites for higher aggregates; and penetration-these aggregates insert in the hydrophobic region of the monolayer. Chol slightly enhances the peptide-lipid monolayer interaction. The large aggregates nucleated in the bulk solution evidenced a weak interaction with monolayers. The interaction of Aβ(25-35) with liposomes, followed by a Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) in a large range of peptide concentrations (10-80μM), was very small, independently of the peptide concentration.

Topics: Amyloid beta-Peptides; Cholesterol; Circular Dichroism; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; Liposomes; Membrane Lipids; Peptide Fragments; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylglycerols; Protein Binding; Sphingomyelins; Thermodynamics; Unilamellar Liposomes

Lipid rafts being rich in cholesterol and sphingolipids are considered to provide ordered lipid environment in the neuronal membranes, where it is hypothesized that the cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) to Aβ (1-40) and Aβ (1-42) takes place. It is highly likely that the interaction of lipid raft components like cholesterol, sphingomylein or GM1 leads to nucleation of Aβ and results in aggregation or accumulation of amyloid plaques. One has investigated surface pressure-area isotherms of the lipid raft and Aβ (1-40) Langmuir monolayer. The compression-decompression cycles and the stability of the lipid raft Langmuir monolayer are crucial parameters for the investigation of interaction of Aβ (1-40) with the lipid raft Langmuir monolayer. It was revealed that GM1 provides instability to the lipid raft Langmuir monolayer. Adsorption of Aβ (1-40) onto the lipid raft Langmuir monolayer containing neutral (POPC) or negatively charged phospholipid (DPPG) was examined. The adsorption isotherms revealed that the concentration of cholesterol was important for adsorption of Aβ (1-40) onto the lipid raft Langmuir monolayer containing POPC whereas for the lipid raft Langmuir monolayer containing DPPG:cholesterol or GM1 did not play any role. In situ UV-vis absorption spectroscopy supported the interpretation of results for the adsorption isotherms.

Topics: Adsorption; Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Animals; Cattle; Chemistry, Physical; Cholesterol; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Liposomes; Membrane Microdomains; Peptide Fragments; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylglycerols; Plaque, Amyloid; Protein Structure, Secondary; Spectrum Analysis; Sphingolipids; Static Electricity; Surface Properties

Novel peptidomimetic backbone designs with stability towards proteases are of interest for several pharmaceutical applications including intracellular delivery. The present study concerns the cellular uptake and membrane-destabilising effects of various cationic chimeras comprised of alternating N-alkylated beta-alanine and alpha-amino acid residues. For comparison, homomeric peptides displaying octacationic functionalities as well as the Tat(47-57) sequence were included as reference compounds. Cellular uptake studies with fluorescently labelled compounds showed that guanidinylated chimeras were taken up four times more efficiently than Tat(47-57). After internalisation, the chimeras were localised primarily in vesicular compartments and diffusively in the cytoplasm. In murine NIH3T3 fibroblasts, the chimeras showed immediate plasma membrane permeabilising properties, which proved highly dependent on the chimera chain length, and were remarkably different from the effects induced by Tat(47-57). Finally, biophysical studies on model membranes showed that the chimeras in general increase the permeability of fluid phase and gel phase phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles without affecting membrane acyl chain packing, which suggests that they restrict lateral diffusion of the membrane lipids by interaction with phospholipid head groups. The alpha-peptide/beta-peptoid chimeras described herein exhibit promising cellular uptake properties, and thus represent proteolytically stable alternatives to currently known cell-penetrating peptides.

Topics: Animals; Cell Membrane; Cell Membrane Permeability; Cytoplasmic Vesicles; Flow Cytometry; Fluoresceins; Gene Products, tat; Guanidine; HeLa Cells; Humans; Membranes, Artificial; Mice; Microscopy, Confocal; NIH 3T3 Cells; Peptides; Peptoids; Phase Transition; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylglycerols; Temperature

Sifuvirtide, a 36 amino acid negatively charged peptide, is a novel and promising HIV fusion inhibitor, presently in clinical trials. Because of the aromatic amino acid residues of the peptide, its behavior in aqueous solution and the interaction with lipid-membrane model systems (large unilammelar vesicles) were studied by using mainly fluorescence spectroscopy techniques (both steady-state and time-resolved). No significant aggregation of the peptide was observed with aqueous solution. Various biological and nonbiological lipid-membrane compositions were analyzed, and atomic force microscopy was used to visualize phase separation in several of those mixtures. Results showed no significant interaction of the peptide, neither with zwitterionic fluid lipid membranes (liquid-disordered phase), nor with cholesterol-rich membranes (liquid-ordered phase). However, significant partitioning was observed with the positively charged lipid models (K(p) = (2.2 +/- 0.3) x 10(3)), serving as a positive control. Fluorescence quenching using Förster resonance acrylamide and lipophilic probes was carried out to study the location of the peptide in the membrane models. In the gel-phase DPPC (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) membrane model, an adsorption of the peptide at the surface of these membranes was observed and confirmed by using Förster resonance energy-transfer experiments. These results indicate a targeting of the peptide to gel-phase domains relatively to liquid-disordered or liquid-ordered phase domains. This larger affinity and selectivity toward the more rigid areas of the membranes, where most of the receptors are found, or to viral membrane, may help explain the improved clinical efficiency of sifuvirtide, by providing a local increased concentration of the peptide at the fusion site.

Topics: Acrylamide; Amino Acid Sequence; Enfuvirtide; Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; HIV Envelope Protein gp41; HIV Fusion Inhibitors; Lipid Bilayers; Membrane Fluidity; Membrane Lipids; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptide Fragments; Peptides; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylglycerols; Solutions; Water

Pulmonary surfactant is a lipid:protein complex containing dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) as the major component. Recent studies indicate adsorbed surfactant films consist of a surface monolayer and a monolayer-associated reservoir. It has been hypothesized that the monolayer and its functionally contiguous reservoir may be enriched in DPPC relative to bulk phase surfactant. We investigated the compositional relationship between the monolayer and its reservoir using paper-supported wet bridges to transfer films from adsorbing dishes to clean surfaces on spreading dishes. Spreading films appear to form monolayers in the spreading dishes. We employed bovine lipid extract surfactant [BLES(chol)] containing [3H]DPPC and either [14C]palmitoyl, oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC), [14C]dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylglycerol (DPPG), [14C]palmitoyl, oleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol (POPG), or [14C]cholesterol. Radiolabeled phosphatidylglycerols were prepared using phospholipase D. The studies demonstrated that the [3H]DPPC-[14C] POPC ratios were the same in the prepared BLES dispersions as in Langmuir-Blodgett films, indicating a lack of DPPC selectivity during film formation. Furthermore, identical 3H-14C isotopic ratios were observed with DPPC and either 14C-labeled POPC, DPPG, POPG, or cholesterol in the original dispersions, the bulk phases in adsorption dish D1, and monolayers recovered from spreading dish D2. These relationships remained unperturbed with 2-fold increases in bulk concentrations in D1 and 10-fold variations in D1-D2 surface area. These results indicate adsorbed surfactant monolayers and their associated reservoirs possess similar lipid compositions and argue against selective adsorption of DPPC.

Topics: 1,2-Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine; Adsorption; Animals; Cattle; Lipids; Membranes, Artificial; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylglycerols; Pulmonary Alveoli; Pulmonary Surfactants; Surface Properties