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Fluorescence Recovery after Merging a Droplet to Measure the Two-dimensional Diffusion of a Phospholipid Monolayer

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Lateral diffusion in sphingomyelin bilayers.

A V Filippov¹, M A Rudakova, B V Munavirov

¹Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, 18, Kazan 420008, Russia. andfil@ltu.se

Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry : MRC

|October 30, 2010

Summary

Sphingomyelin (SM) lipids diffuse slower in cell membranes than similar lipids. Longer acyl chains in sphingomyelin molecules correlate with reduced lateral diffusion, potentially due to molecular protrusion or separation.

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Area of Science:

Biophysics
Lipid Bilayer Dynamics
Membrane Biophysics

Background:

Sphingomyelin (SM) is a crucial lipid in eukaryotic cell membranes and neuronal tissues.
Understanding lipid lateral diffusion is key to comprehending membrane function and organization.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the lateral diffusion of various sphingomyelins (SMs) in oriented lipid bilayers.
To compare the lateral diffusion coefficients (LDCs) of SMs with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC).
To explore the influence of SM molecular structure, particularly acyl chain length, on diffusion.

Main Methods:

Pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG NMR) was employed to measure LDCs.
Experiments were conducted on synthetic palmitoylsphingomyelin (PSM) and natural SMs (egg yolk, bovine brain, bovine milk).
Temperature range: 45-60 °C.
Analysis of (1)H NMR spectra was used to correlate chain length with LDC.

Main Results:

Mean LDCs of SMs were 1.9-fold lower than DPPC, suggesting stronger intermolecular interactions.
Natural SMs exhibited complex spin-echo diffusion decay, indicating a distribution of LDC values.
This complexity was attributed to broad distributions of hydrocarbon chain lengths in natural SMs.
A correlation was confirmed between longer acyl chains and lower LDC values.

Conclusions:

Intermolecular interactions significantly influence SM lateral diffusion.
Variations in acyl chain length distribution among natural SMs lead to differences in their diffusion.
Longer acyl chains likely decrease LDC through mechanisms like protrusion or lateral segregation within bilayers.