Fluorescent Analogs Of Sphingomyelin Research Articles

Preparation and Membrane Distribution of Fluorescent Derivatives of Ceramide.

Ceramide is a bioactive lipid with significant roles in several biological processes including cell proliferation, apoptosis, and raft formation. Although fluorescent derivatives of ceramide are required to probe the behavior of ceramide in cells and cell membranes, commercial fluorescent ceramide derivatives do not reproduce the membrane behavior of native ceramide because of the introduction of bulky fluorophores in the acyl chain. Recently, we developed novel fluorescent analogs of sphingomyelin in which the hydrophilic fluorophores, ATTO488 and ATTO594, are attached to the polar head of sphingomyelin via a nonaethylene glycol linker and demonstrated that their partition and dynamic behaviors in bilayer membranes are similar to native sphingomyelin. In this report, by extending the concept used for the development of fluorescent analogs of sphingomyelin, we prepared novel fluorescent ceramides that exhibit membrane behaviors similar to native ceramide and succeeded in visualizing ceramide-rich membrane domains segregated from ceramide-poor domains.

Emphatic visualization of sphingomyelin-rich domains by inter-lipid FRET imaging using fluorescent sphingomyelins

Imaging the distribution of sphingomyelin (SM) in membranes is an important issue in lipid-raft research. Recently we developed novel fluorescent SM analogs that exhibit partition and dynamic behaviors similar to native SM, and succeeded in visualizing lateral domain-segregation between SM-rich liquid-ordered (Lo) and SM-poor liquid-disordered (Ld) domains. However, because the fluorescent contrast between these two domains depends directly on their partition ratio for the fluorescent SMs, domain-separation becomes indeterminate when the distribution difference is not great enough. In this study, we propose the use of inter-lipid Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging between fluorescent SMs to enhance the contrast of the two domains in cases in which the inter-domain difference in SM distribution is inadequate for conventional monochromic imaging. Our results demonstrate that inter-lipid FRET intensity was significantly higher in the Lo domain than in the Ld domain, resulting in a clear and distinguishable contrast between the two domains even in poorly phase-separated giant unilamellar vesicles. In addition, we show that inter-lipid FRET imaging is useful for selective visualization of highly condensed assemblies and/or clusters of SM molecules in living cell membranes. Thus, the inter-lipid FRET imaging technique can selectively emphasize the SM-condensed domains in both artificial and biological membranes.

Raft-based sphingomyelin interactions revealed by new fluorescent sphingomyelin analogs.

Sphingomyelin (SM) has been proposed to form cholesterol-dependent raft domains and sphingolipid domains in the plasma membrane (PM). How SM contributes to the formation and function of these domains remains unknown, primarily because of the scarcity of suitable fluorescent SM analogs. We developed new fluorescent SM analogs by conjugating a hydrophilic fluorophore to the SM choline headgroup without eliminating its positive charge, via a hydrophilic nonaethylene glycol linker. The new analogs behaved similarly to the native SM in terms of their partitioning behaviors in artificial liquid order-disorder phase-separated membranes and detergent-resistant PM preparations. Single fluorescent molecule tracking in the live-cell PM revealed that they indirectly interact with each other in cholesterol- and sphingosine backbone-dependent manners, and that, for ∼10-50 ms, they undergo transient colocalization-codiffusion with a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein, CD59 (in monomers, transient-dimer rafts, and clusters), in CD59-oligomer size-, cholesterol-, and GPI anchoring-dependent manners. These results suggest that SM continually and rapidly exchanges between CD59-associated raft domains and the bulk PM.

Involvement of Lipid Rafts of Rabbit Red Blood Cells in Morphological Changes Induced by Methylated .BETA.-Cyclodextrins

Lipid rafts on cell membranes have heterogeneity such as cholesterol-rich microdomains and sphingolipids-rich microdomains. We previously reported that beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CyD) induced morphological changes of red blood cells (RBC) from discocyte to stomatocyte, possibly due to extraction of cholesterol from cholesterol-rich lipid rafts of RBC membranes. In this study, the effects of methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (M-beta-CyD) and 2,6-di-O-methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (DM-beta-CyD) on lipid rafts and morphological changes in rabbit RBC (RRBC) were examined, compared to those of beta-CyD. In sharp contrast to beta-CyD, M-beta-CyD and DM-beta-CyD induced morphological changes of RRBC from discocyte to echinocyte. At pre-hemolytic concentrations of beta-CyDs, M-beta-CyD and DM-beta-CyD strongly released cholesterol from cholesterol-rich lipid rafts, compared to beta-CyD. Meanwhile, the lowering effects of DM-beta-CyD on fluorescent sphingomyelin analogue in sphingolipids-rich lipid rafts were more potent than those of beta-CyD and M-beta-CyD. The magnitude of the abilities of M-beta-CyD and DM-beta-CyD to extract membrane constituents was higher than that of beta-CyD, consistent with that of hemolytic activity. Furthermore, DM-beta-CyD and M-beta-CyD, not beta-CyD, lowered the amount of proteins in cholesterol-rich lipid rafts of RRBC. These results suggest that higher hemolytic activity and morphological changes from discocyte to echinocyte in RRBC induced by M-beta-CyD and DM-beta-CyD may be due to the extraction of both cholesterol and proteins from cholesterol-rich lipid rafts of RRBC, although DM-beta-CyD may interact with sphingolipids-rich lipid rafts on RRBC membranes only slightly.

Cholesterol Controls Lipid Endocytosis through Rab11

Cellular cholesterol increases when cells reach confluency in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. We examined the endocytosis of several lipid probes in subconfluent and confluent CHO cells. In subconfluent cells, fluorescent lipid probes including poly(ethylene glycol)derivatized cholesterol, 22-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)-23,24-bisnor-5-cholen-3beta-ol, and fluorescent sphingomyelin analogs were internalized to pericentriolar recycling endosomes. This accumulation was not observed in confluent cells. Internalization of fluorescent lactosylceramide was not affected by cell confluency, suggesting that the endocytosis of specific membrane components is affected by cell confluency. The crucial role of cellular cholesterol in cell confluency-dependent endocytosis was suggested by the observation that the fluorescent sphingomyelin was transported to recycling endosomes when cellular cholesterol was depleted in confluent cells. To understand the molecular mechanism(s) of cell confluency- and cholesterol-dependent endocytosis, we examined intracellular distribution of rab small GTPases. Our results indicate that rab11 but not rab4, altered intracellular localization in a cell confluency-associated manner, and this alteration was dependent on cell cholesterol. In addition, the expression of a constitutive active mutant of rab11 changed the endocytic route of lipid probes from early to recycling endosomes. These results thus suggest that cholesterol controls endocytic routes of a subset of membrane lipids through rab11.

Effect of 2,6-di- O-methyl-α-cyclodextrin on hemolysis and morphological change in rabbit's red blood cells

The effects of 2,6-di- O-methyl-α-cyclodextrin (DM-α-CyD) on hemolysis and morphological changes in rabbit's red blood cells (RBC) were examined, compared with those of α-cyclodextrin (CyD) and 2-hydoxypropyl-α-cyclodextrin (HP-α-CyD). The hemolytic activity of α-CyDs increased in the order of HP-α-CyD < α-CyD < DM-α-CyD. The three α-CyDs induced morphological changes of RBC from discocyte to stomatocyte. At the same concentration (3 mM) of α-CyDs, DM-α-CyD and α-CyD released phospholipids, rather than cholesterol, and DM-α-CyD markedly released proteins from RBC membranes, compared to α-CyD and HP-α-CyD. The treatment of RBC with DM-α-CyD lowered the extent of a fluorescent sphingomyelin analogue from lipid rafts of RBC membranes in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that DM-α-CyD has higher hemolytic and morphological change activity than α-CyD and HP-α-CyD through more extraction of phospholipids including sphingomyelin and proteins, not cholesterol, from RBC membranes than α-CyD and HP-α-CyD.

Polarized sphingolipid transport from the subapical compartment changes during cell polarity development.

The subapical compartment (SAC) plays an important role in the polarized transport of proteins and lipids. In hepatoma-derived HepG2 cells, fluorescent analogues of sphingomyelin and glucosylceramide are sorted in the SAC. Here, evidence is provided that shows that polarity development is regulated by a transient activation of endogenous protein kinase A and involves a transient activation of a specific membrane transport pathway, marked by the trafficking of the labeled sphingomyelin, from the SAC to the apical membrane. This protein kinase A-regulated pathway differs from the apical recycling pathway, which also traverses SAC. After reaching optimal polarity, the direction of the apically activated pathway switches to one in the basolateral direction, without affecting the apical recycling pathway.

Interconversion of sphingomyelin and ceramide in adult Schistosoma mansoni

Fluorescent lipid analogues of the lipids ceramide and sphingomyelin, namely BODIPY® FL C 5-ceramide (( N-(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-sindacene-3-pentanoyl) sphingosine) and BODIPY C 5-sphingomyelin (( N-(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-pentanoyl) sphingosyl phosphocholine), respectively, were used to investigate the presence of a sphingomyelin cycle in Schistosoma mansoni adult males. The parasites were able to convert BODIPY FL C 5-ceramide into a fluorescent sphingomyelin analogue, and traffic it to the outer monolayer where it was lost to the medium. The vesicular trafficking inhibitors Brefeldin A and monensin were found, however, to have no effect on either the rate of sphingomyelin synthesis or its trafficking to the surface. Parasites were also shown to break BODIPY FL sphingomyelin down, forming a fluorescent ceramide analogue. Inhibitors of lysosomal function, NH 4Cl, desipramine and perhexiline, did not inhibit this breakdown, suggesting that endocytosis and trafficking to lysosomes was not involved. In addition, assays carried out on parasite homogenates for sphingomyelinase activity were unable to detect sphingomyelin breakdown at acidic pH, but did detect activity at pH 7.4. This activity was stimulated by arachidonic acid and MgCl 2. The results are discussed with respect to tegument synthesis and turnover, and cellular signalling.

Uptake and Cellular Localization of Exogenous Lipids byGiardia lamblia,a Primitive Eukaryote

Giardia lambliatrophozoites are unable to carry outde novolipid synthesis. It is therefore likely that lipids are acquired from the small intestine of the host, in which the trophozoites are exposed to free and conjugated fatty acids, various sterols, phospholipids, bile acids, and bile–lipid mixed micelles. Here we show thatG. lambliais capable of taking up exogenous phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), sphingomyelin (SM), cholesterol, ceramide (Cer), and fatty acids. Results from epifluorescence and high-resolution confocal microscopy suggest that fluorescent analogs of SM and PC were accumulated in the plasma membranes, whereas palmitic acid and Cer were localized intracellularly. Interestingly, many of these analogs were also concentrated in perinuclear regions. Similar labeling patterns were observed when the fluorescent analogs were delivered to the parasite via liposomes. To test whetherG. lambliawas capable of esterifying exogenous fatty acids into membrane or cellular phospholipids, trophozoites were pulse-labeled with3H-labeled palmitic or myristic acids and the phospholipids analyzed by thin-layer chromatography. Results document thatG. lambliawas able to incorporate exogenous fatty acids into various phospholipids, i.e., PI, PC, PE, and PG. Interestingly, a major portion of radiolabeled fatty acids was incorporated into PG, a phospholipid characteristic of prokaryotic membranes.

Internalization and sorting of a fluorescent analogue of glucosylceramide to the Golgi apparatus of human skin fibroblasts: utilization of endocytic and nonendocytic transport mechanisms.

We examined the uptake and intracellular transport of the fluorescent glucosylceramide analogue N-[5-(5,7-dimethyl BODIPYTM)-1-pentanoyl]-glucosyl sphingosine (C5-DMB-GlcCer) in human skin fibroblasts, and we compared its behavior to that of the corresponding fluorescent analogues of sphingomyelin, galactosylceramide, and lactosylceramide. All four fluorescent analogues were readily transferred from defatted BSA to the plasma membrane during incubation at 4 degrees C. When cells treated with C5-DMB-GlcCer were washed, warmed to 37 degrees C, and subsequently incubated with defatted BSA to remove fluorescent lipid at the cell surface, strong fluorescence was observed at the Golgi apparatus, as well as weaker labeling at the nuclear envelope and other intracellular membranes. Similar results were obtained with C5-DMB-galactosylceramide, except that labeling of the Golgi apparatus was weaker than with C5-DMB-GlcCer. Internalization of C5-DMB-GlcCer was not inhibited by various treatments, including ATP depletion or warming to 19 degrees C, and biochemical analysis demonstrated that the lipid was not metabolized during its internalization. However, accumulation of C5-DMB-GlcCer at the Golgi apparatus was reduced when cells were treated with a nonfluorescent analogue of glucosylceramide, suggesting that accumulation of C5-DMB-GlcCer at the Golgi apparatus was a saturable process. In contrast, cells treated with C5-DMB-analogues of sphingomyelin or lactosylceramide internalized the fluorescent lipid into a punctate pattern of fluorescence during warming at 37 degrees C, and this process was temperature and energy dependent. These results with C5-DMB-sphingomyelin and C5-DMB-lactosylceramide were analogous to those obtained with another fluorescent analogue of sphingomyelin in which labeling of endocytic vesicles and plasma membrane lipid recycling were documented (Koval, M., and R. E. Pagano. 1990. J. Cell Biol. 111:429-442). Incubation of perforated cells with C5-DMB-sphingomyelin resulted in prominent labeling of the nuclear envelope and other intracellular membranes, similar to the pattern observed with C5-DMB-GlcCer in intact cells. These observations are consistent with the transbilayer movement of fluorescent analogues of glucosylceramide and galactosylceramide at the plasma membrane and early endosomes of human skin fibroblasts, and suggest that both endocytic and nonendocytic pathways are used in the internalization of these lipids from the plasma membrane.

Sphingolipid transport from the trans-Golgi network to the apical surface in permeabilized MDCK cells

We have measured the transport of de novo synthesized fluorescent analogs of sphingomyelin and glucosylceramide from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to the apical membrane in basolaterally permeabilized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Sphingolipid transport was temperature, ATP and cytosol dependent. Introduction of bovine serum albumin (BSA), which binds fluorescent sphingolipid monomer, into the permeabilized cells, did not affect lipid transport to the apical membrane. Both fluorescent sphingomyelin and glucosylceramide analogs were localized to the lumenal bilayer leaflet of isolated TGN-derived vesicles. These results strongly suggest that both sphingolipids are transported from the TGN to the apical membrane via vesicular traffic.

Uptake and degradation of several pyrenesphingomyelins by skin fibroblasts from control subjects and patients with Niemann-Pick disease. Effect of the structure of the fluorescent fatty acyl residue

Three fluorescent analogues of sphingomyelin (SPM), each containing pyrene in the fatty acyl residue, were synthesized and employed for the study of their mode of uptake by, and degradation within, intact cultured human skin fibroblasts. These were prepared by condensing sphingosylphosphocholine and the following fatty acids: pyrenedodecanoic acid (P12), pyrenesulphonylaminoundecanoic acid (PSA11) and pyrenepropenoic acid (P3:1). The cell association and catabolism of these SPM analogues by normal, Niemann-Pick-disease-Type-A and low-density-lipoprotein (LDL)-receptor-negative familial hypercholesterolaemia fibroblasts were investigated and compared with the metabolism of [cholinemethyl-14C]sphingomyelin. The catabolism of the fluorescent derivatives was monitored by measuring the appearance of the corresponding fluorescent ceramides. Two modes of uptake and degradation patterns were observed. Thus P12-SPM and radiolabelled SPM were taken up by LDL-receptor-mediated endocytosis when incubated with serum-containing medium, this conclusion being supported by the very low uptake by familial-hypercholesterolaemia fibroblasts, which lack the apolipoprotein-B/E receptor. After uptake, these compounds were metabolically degraded solely by the lysosomal sphingomyelinase, as evidenced by the fact that more than 98% of the SPM remained undegraded in Niemann-Pick-disease cells. By contrast, PSA11- and P3:1-SPMs were taken up by a receptor-independent endocytic pathway, as indicated by the similar rates of uptake in control and familial-hypercholesterolaemia cells in the absence or presence of fetal-calf serum in the culture medium. The degradation of PSA11-SPM and P3:1-SPM was brought about, in the main, by the lysosomal sphingomyelinase, but also by a yet uncharacterized process. The latter catabolic pathway, active in Niemann-Pick-disease-Type-A fibroblasts, seems to differ from the neutral Mg2(+)-dependent sphingomyelinase whose activity was undetectable in homogenates of skin fibroblasts. The present study emphasizes the influence of the structure of the fatty acyl moiety of SPM on its association with lipoproteins and/or cell membranes and on its intracellular routing and metabolic degradation.

Sorting of an internalized plasma membrane lipid between recycling and degradative pathways in normal and Niemann-Pick, type A fibroblasts.

We examined the metabolism and intracellular transport of a fluorescent sphingomyelin analogue, N-(N-[6-[(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino]caproyl])- sphingosylphosphorylcholine (C6-NBD-SM), in both normal and Niemann-Pick, type A (NP-A) human skin fibroblast monolayers. C6-NBD-SM was integrated into the plasma membrane bilayer by transfer of C6-NBD-SM monomers from liposomes to cells at 7 degrees C. The cells were washed, and within 3 min of warming to 37 degrees C, both normal and NP-A fibroblasts had internalized C6-NBD-SM from the plasma membrane, resulting in a punctate pattern of intracellular fluorescence. Rates for C6-NBD-SM internalization and transport from intracellular compartments to the plasma membrane (recycling) were similar for normal and NP-A cells. With increasing time at 37 degrees C, internalized C6-NBD-SM accumulated in the lysosomes of NP-A fibroblasts, while normal fibroblasts showed increasing Golgi apparatus fluorescence with no observable lysosomal labeling. Since NP-A fibroblasts lack lysosomal (acid) sphingomyelinase (A-SMase), this result suggested that hydrolysis of C6-NBD-SM prevented its accumulation in the lysosomes of normal fibroblasts during its transport along the degradative pathway. We used the amount of C6-NBD-SM hydrolysis by A-SMase in normal cells as a measure of C6-NBD-SM transported from the cell surface to the lysosomes. After a lag period, C6-NBD-SM was delivered to the lysosomes at a rate of approximately 8%/h. This rate was approximately 18-19 fold slower than the rate of C6-NBD-SM recycling from intracellular compartments to the plasma membrane. Thus, small amounts of C6-NBD-SM were transported along the degradative pathway, while most endocytosed C6-NBD-SM was sorted for transport along the plasma membrane recycling pathway.

Lipid Transport During Mitosis: Alternative pathways for delivery of newly synthesized lipids to the cell surface

A number of cellular processes involving vesicle transport are inhibited during mitosis. In the present study we asked whether the transport of a newly synthesized glycerophospholipid and (some) sphingolipids from their site(s) of intracellular synthesis to the plasma membranes of Chinese hamster ovary cells was also inhibited at mitosis. (i) For phospholipids, we examined the movement of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) following its de novo synthesis from [3H]ethanolamine (Sleight, R. G., and Pagano, R. E. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 9050-9058). Plasma membrane PE was distinguished from intracellular PE by its derivatization with the amino-reactive reagent, trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid, under nonpermeating conditions. Both the steady state amount of PE and the rate of appearance of newly synthesized PE at the cell surface were quantified. Transport of newly synthesized PE to the plasma membrane was not inhibited at mitosis but was found to be a rapid process similar to that previously reported for interphase cells. (ii) For sphingolipids, we examined the transport of fluorescent analogs of sphingomyelin and glucosylceramide (GlcCer) to the plasma membrane following their de novo synthesis from the fluorescent sphingolipid precursor, N-[7-(4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole)]aminocaproyl D-erythro-sphingosine (Lipsky, N. G., and Pagano, R. E. (1985a) J. Cell Biol. 100, 27-34). Transport of fluorescent sphingomyelin and glucosylceramide to the plasma membrane was inhibited in mitotic cells but not in interphase or G1 cells. These results are discussed in terms of alternative mechanisms for delivery of the newly synthesized lipids to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane bilayer.

A series of fluorescent N-acylsphingosines: synthesis, physical properties, and studies in cultured cells.

We have previously shown that when cultured fibroblasts are briefly incubated at 2 degrees C with a fluorescent (NBD) analogue of ceramide, N-[N-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)-epsilon-aminohexanoyl]-D-e rythro- sphingosine, fluorescent labeling of the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and nuclear envelope occurs. During further incubation at 37 degrees C, the Golgi apparatus and later the plasma membrane become intensely fluorescent. Concomitantly, the fluorescent ceramide is metabolized to fluorescent analogues of sphingomyelin and glucosylceramide [Lipsky, N. G., & Pagano, R. E. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 2608-2612]. In the present study we synthesized fluorescent N-acylsphingosine analogues using various long-chain bases (D-erythro-sphingosine, L-erythro-sphingosine, D-threo-sphingosine, L-threo-sphingosine, D-erythro-dihydrosphingosine, L-threo-dihydrosphingosine, phytosphingosine, and 3-ketosphingosine) and fluorescent fatty acids (epsilon-NBD-aminohexanoic acid; D- or L-alpha-OH-epsilon-NBD-aminohexanoic acid; D- or L-alpha-NBD-aminohexanoic acid). Using previously described resonance energy transfer assays, we examined the rates of spontaneous transfer of these compounds between liposomes and their ability to undergo transbilayer movement. The fluorescent N-acylsphingosine analogues had half-times for spontaneous transfer of 0.3-4.0 min at 25 degrees C, and all were capable of transbilayer movement in lipid vesicles. The metabolism and intracellular distribution of analogues in cultured fibroblasts were also studied. While most of the fluorescent N-acylsphingosines were significantly metabolized to the corresponding sphingomyelin analogues, metabolism to glucosylceramide was strongly dependent on the long-chain base and the stereochemistry of the fluorescent fatty acid moiety.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)