Characterization of phospholipid transfer between mixed phospholipid-bile salt micelles

Concentration-dependent self-quenching of the fluorescent phospholipid N-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)phosphatidylethanolamine (N-NBD-PE) was used to measure the rate of N-NBD-PE transfer between phosphatidylcholine-bile salt mixed micelles. In a previous study using the same technique, the rate of N-NBD-PE transfer between phosphatidylcholine-taurocholate mixed micelles was found to be several orders of magnitude faster than its transfer between phosphatidylcholine vesicles as a result of an increased rate of transfer through the water at low micelle concentrations and an increased rate of transfer during transient micelle collisions at higher micelle concentrations [Nichols, J. W. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 3925-3931]. In this study we have determined the influence of bile salt structure, incorporation of cholesterol, and temperature on the rate and mechanism of phospholipid transfer between mixed micelles. We found that both transfer pathways were a common property of mixed micelles prepared from a series of different bile salts and that the rates of transfer by both pathways increased as a function of the degree of bile salt hydrophobicity. Cholesterol incorporation into phosphatidylcholine-taurocholate mixed micelles displaced taurocholate from the micelles and resulted in an increased rate of transfer through the water and a decreased rate of transfer during micelle collisions. The temperature dependence of the transfer rates was used to calculate the activation free energy, enthalpy, and entropy for both mechanisms. The activation enthalpy was the major barrier to transfer by both mechanisms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)