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The conformation of phosphatidylcholine in liquid-crystalline bilayers was studied with a novel, high-resolution method employing phosphatidylcholine species containing pyrenyl moieties in both acyl chains of variable length. Analysis of the intramolecular pyrene-pyrene collision data obtained for 30 such species in terms of a simple geometrical model showed that the sn-1 acyl chain penetrates, on the average, 0.84 +/- 0.11 methylene units (0.8 A) deeper into the bilayer than the sn-2 chain at 22 degrees C. A similar value was obtained at 37 degrees C. Since the penetration difference of the sn-1 and sn-2 acyl chains is inherently coupled to the conformation of the glycerol moiety, these data mean that the glycerol moiety of phosphatidylcholine is, on the average, only moderately tilted with respect to the bilayer plane in the liquid-crystalline state. This contrasts the perpendicular orientation observed previously for phosphatidylcholine crystals [Pearson, R. H., & Pascher, I. (1979) Nature 281, 499-501]. Importantly, addition of 50 mol % cholesterol, which is known to reduce dramatically the interactions between phosphatidylcholine molecules in bilayers, had only a small effect on the penetration difference of the acyl chains, strongly suggesting that the conformation of phosphatidylcholine in the liquid-crystalline state is determined largely by intramolecular, rather than intermolecular, interactions.

Metabolism and intracellular distribution of fluorescent 1, 2-dipyrenebutanoyl derivatives of phosphatidylcholine, -ethanolamine, and -serine and phosphatidic acid (diPyr4PC, -PE, -PS, and -PA, respectively) in human skin fibroblasts (HF) has been studied. When HF cells were co-incubated with phospholipid vesicles containing diPyr4PC at 8 degrees C, considerable amounts of fluorescent lipid were incorporated into the cells. This incorporation occurred mainly by spontaneous diffusion, since 10-fold less of the vesicle marker, [3H]cholesteryl oleate associated with the cells. Also diPyr4PE, -PS, and -PA were incorporated efficiently into the cells, probably by the same mechanism. HPLC analysis of the cells labeled with diPyr4PA at 8 degrees C for 1 h showed that a considerable fraction of the lipid had been metabolized to the corresponding diglyceride and triglyceride. No metabolism of the other dipyrenyl lipids was observed at this temperature. When the cells were shifted to 37 degrees C, diPyr4PA was further metabolized to diPyr4PC, which represented 90% of total diPyr4 lipids after 8 h of incubation. DiPyr4PS was converted to diPyr4PE with an apparent half-time of 3 h, probably by decarboxylation in the mitochondria. In contrast to the PA and PS derivatives, no head-group modification of either diPyr4PC or diPyr4PE was observed even at this temperature. Stability of dipyrenyl lipids toward phospholipase A degradation was investigated by labeling the cells simultaneously with diPyr4PC and NBD6PC, a commonly used fluorescent glycerophospholipid derivative, followed by incubation at 37 degrees C.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Both the phosphatidylcholine transfer protein (PC-TP) and the phosphatidylinositol transfer protein (PI-TP) act as carriers of phosphatidylcholine (PC) molecules between membranes. To study the structure of the acyl binding sites of these proteins, the affinity of 32 distinct natural and related PC molecular species was determined by using a previously developed fluorometric competition assay. Marked differences in affinity between species were observed with both proteins. Affinity vs lipid hydrophobicity (determined by reverse-phase HPLC) plots displayed a well-defined maximum indicating that the acyl chain hydrophobicity is an important determinant of binding of a phospholipid molecule by these transfer proteins. However, besides the overall lipid hydrophobicity, steric properties of the individual acyl chains contribute considerably to the affinity, and PC-TP and PI-TP respond differently to modifications of the acyl chain structure. The affinity of PC-TP increased steadily with increasing unsaturation of the sn-2 acyl moiety, resulting in high affinity for species containing four and six double bonds in the sn-2 chain, whereas the affinity of PI-TP first increased up to two to three double bonds and then declined. These data, as well as the distinct effects of sn-2 chain double bond position and bromination, indicate that the sn-2 acyl chain binding sites of the two proteins are structurally quite different. The sn-1 acyl binding sites are dissimilar as well, since variation of the length of saturated sn-1 chain affected the affinity differently. The data are discussed in terms of the structural organization of the sn-1 and sn-2 acyl binding sites of PC-TP and PI-TP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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