Biophysical studies on agents affecting the state of membrane lipids: biochemical and pharmacological implications

The phospholipid requirement of membrane-bound enzymes may depend on several reasons. In our laboratory we have investigated lipids (1) as a bidimensional medium required for the movement of Coenzyme Q, a lipid-soluble cofactor of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, and (2) as a hydrophobic environment necessary to impose the proper conformation to membrane-bound enzymic proteins. We have found that Coenzyme Q, once reduced by NADH dehydrogenase, must cross the inner mitochondrial membrane; only quinones having long isoprenoid side chains can easily cross phospholipid bilayers, and this is the reason why a short chain quinone such as CoQ-3 inhibits NADH oxidation. The incapability of short quinones to cross lipid bilayers is due to their disposition in the lipid bilayer, stacked within the phospholipids. The conformational role of lipids has been investigated indirectly observing the kinetics of membrane-bound enzymes, e.g. the mitochondrial ATPase, and directly by circular dichroism. Lipid removal or lipid perturbation with organic solvents induce a decrease of alpha-helical content in mitochondrial proteins, and give rise to a series of kinetic changes in ATPase, including uncompetitive inhibition, increased activation energy, and loss of cooperativity in oligomycin inhibition. The recognition of a conformational role of lipids has allowed us to postulate a working hypothesis for the mechanism of action of general anesthetics. Such drugs have been found by us, by means of spin labels and fluorescent probes, to disrupt lipid protein interactions in several membranes, including synaptic membranes. The loosening of such interactions is believed to induce conformational changes, which will alter ion transport systems necessary to the propagation of neural impulses. Conformational changes induced by anesthetics have been found by us both directly by circular dichroism and indirectly by enzyme kinetics. The conformational effect of anesthetics is not directly exerted on the proteins but is mediated through the lipids. In agreement with this hypothesis we have found that membrane-bound acetylcholinesterase is inhibited by anesthetics, whereas the solubilized enzyme is not inhibited. However, binding of the solubilized enzyme to phospholipids restores anesthetic inhibition.