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Membrane fluidity as affected by the insecticide lindane.

M C Antunes-Madeira¹, V M Madeira

¹Centro de Biologia Celular, Departamento de Zoologia, Coimbra (Portugal).

Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta

|June 26, 1989

Summary

Lindane disorders the gel phase of model membranes, particularly those with shorter lipid chains. It does not affect the fluid phase of model or native membranes, even with significant incorporation.

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Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Membrane Biophysics
Environmental Toxicology

Background:

Understanding how environmental contaminants interact with biological membranes is crucial.
Lindane, an organochlorine insecticide, has been widely used, raising concerns about its environmental and biological effects.
Lipid bilayers and native membranes serve as key models for studying membrane structure and function.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the interaction of lindane with model and native biological membranes.
To determine the effects of lindane on the physical properties of lipid bilayers, specifically phase transitions.
To assess lindane's impact on the fluidity and organization of different membrane compositions.

Main Methods:

Utilized fluorescence polarization of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) as a probe.
Studied liposomes reconstituted with various phosphatidylcholines (DMPC, DPPC, DSPC) to create model membranes.
Examined native membranes including mitochondria, sarcoplasmic reticulum, myelin, brain microsomes, and erythrocytes.

Main Results:

Lindane disorders the gel phase of liposomes, indicated by broadened and shifted main phase transitions.
The disordering effect is more pronounced in shorter-chain lipids (e.g., DMPC) and is concentration-dependent regarding cholesterol.
Lindane does not significantly affect the fluid phase of either model or native membranes, despite incorporation.

Conclusions:

Lindane disrupts the ordered gel phase of lipid bilayers but leaves the fluid phase largely intact.
The interaction of lindane with membranes is influenced by lipid chain length and cholesterol content.
Lindane's lack of perturbation in the fluid phase of native membranes suggests limited acute disruption of their function.

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