Phenyalanine lipid membrane interaction assessed by surface pressure studies

MATURANA PATRICIA; CEJAS JIMENA; FRÍAS MARIA DE LOS ÁNGELES; ANDREA C. CUTRÓ; HOLMANN AXEL; ANIBAL E. DISALVO

Sierra de la Ventana

Congreso; XLIII Reunión Anual SAB 2014; 2014

sociedad argentina de biofísica

Small amphyphilic molecules may partition in lipid membranes, among them, aromatic amino acids such as Tyr, Trp and Phe have an amphiphilic character due to the hydrophobicity of the indol and phenyl rings (1). In particular, Phe has been shown to damage thylakoid membranes at very low concentrations during freezing. Also, in liposomes, it also induces leakage and membrane fusion (2). Apparently, at relatively low concentrations the damage is produced on membranes under stress conditions, i.e. partial dehydration. Many amphiphilic compounds may protect membranes from oxidative stress under conditions of low water availability. Therefore, the influence of aminoacids such as Phe on the stability of membranes can be regulated by the water stress. It is well known that water/lipid ratio can be modified in lipid monolayers by changing the surface pressure. Thus, in order to evaluate the effects of Phe on the water-lipid interphase, the changes in the surface pressure of DPPC monolayers at different initial surface pressure (14mN/m; 26 mN/m and 40 mN/m) were evaluated in a Langmuir balance. The results suggest that in condensed membranes (40 mN/m), i.e. with less hydration, Phe are able to induce a higher changes of the initial surface pressure. Also with the aim to evaluate the role of the charges on the Phe-membrane interactions, the experiments were carried out at two different pHs, 5 close to Ip of Phe and 7.3 were higher changes were observed. 1. Petelska, AD et al., Cell Biochem Biophys. (2011), 289. 2. Popova, AV et al., Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (2002), 109.