Melittin-induced alterations in dynamic properties of human red blood cell membranes

The interaction of bee venom melittin with erythrocyte membrane ghosts has been investigated by means of fluorescence quenching of membrane tryptophan residues, fluorescence polarization and ESR spectroscopy. It has been revealed that melittin induces the disorders in lipid-protein matrix both in the hydrophobic core of bilayer and at the polar/non-polar interface of melittin complexed with erythrocyte membranes. The peptide has been found to act most efficiently at the concentration of the order of 10(-10) mol/mg membrane protein. The apparent distance separating the membrane tryptophan and bound 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulphonate (ANS) molecules is decreased upon melittin binding, which results in a significant increase of the maximum energy transfer efficiency. Significant changes in the fluorescence anisotropy of both 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene and 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulphonate bound to erythrocyte ghosts, which have been observed in the presence of melittin and crude venom, indicate membrane lipid bilayer rigidization. The effect of crude honey bee venom has been found to be of similar magnitude as the effect of pure melittin at the concentration of 10(-10) mol/mg membrane protein. Using two lipophilic spin labels, methyl 5-doxylpalmitate and 16-doxylstearic acid, we found that melittin at its increasing concentrations induces a well marked rigidization in the deeper regions of lipid bilayer, whereas the effect of rigidization near the membrane surface maximizes at the melittin concentration of 10(-10) mol/mg (10(-4) mol melittin per mole of membrane phospholipid). The decrease in the ratio hw/hs of maleimide and the rise in relative rotational correlation time (tau c) of iodacetamid spin label, indicate that melittin effectively immobilizes membrane proteins in the plane of the lipid bilayer. We conclude that melittin-induced rigidization of the lipid bilayer may induce a reorganization of lipid assemblies as well as the rearrangements in membrane protein pattern and consequently the alterations in lipid-protein interactions. Thus, the interaction of melittin with erythrocyte membranes is supposed to produce local conformational changes in membranes, which are discussed in the connection with their significance during the synergistic action of melittin and phospholipase of bee venom on red blood cells.