Extraction of Phospholipids from Human Erythrocyte Membranes by Hemoglobin Oxidation Products

This investigation examines oxidation conditions under which hemoglobin extracts membrane phospholipid from erythrocytes and model membranes. In erythrocytes made echinocytic with exogenous phospholipid, addition of hemoglobin oxidized with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or Vitamin C (conditions that result in the formation of significant quantities of choleglobin), but not ferricyanide (which produces predominantly methemoglobin), induced dose-dependent shape reversion to less echinocytic forms, consistent with extraction of phospholipids from the exofacial side of the membrane. Erythrocytes preloaded with radiolabeled phosphatidylcholine or NBD-labeled phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol or phosphatidic acid, exhibited greatest extraction of radiolabel or fluorescence signal with exogenous hemoglobin oxidized via H2O2 or Vitamin C, but not ferricyanide. However, with NBD-phosphatidylserine (a preferential inner monolayer intercalator), significantly less extraction of labeled lipid occurred with oxidized hemoglobin prepared under all three oxidizing conditions. In dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes containing radiolabeled phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine or phosphatidylethanolamine, subsequent addition of hemoglobin oxidized with H2O2 or Vitamin C extracted radiolabeled lipid with significantly greater efficiency than ferricyanide-treated hemoglobin, with enhanced extraction detectable at levels approaching physiological plasma oxidant concentrations. Radiolabeled lipid extraction was comparable for phospholipids containing saturated acyl chains between 12 and 18 carbons but diminished significantly for oleoyl-containing phospholipids. Hemoglobin dimerization occurred at very low levels with H2O2 treatment, and even lower levels with Vitamin C treatment, and thus did not correlate to the high efficiency and consistent levels of lipid extraction observed with these treatments. These findings indicate that choleglobin extracts lipids from cell membranes regardless of headgroup or acyl chain length, through a process of direct hydrophobic interaction with the membrane surface.