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1. Structure and Interdigitation of Chain-Asymmetric Phosphatidylcholines and Milk Sphingomyelin in the Fluid Phase

   https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13081441  

   Frewein, Moritz P. ; Doktorova, Milka ; Heberle, Frederick A. ; Scott, Haden L. ; Semeraro, Enrico F. ; Porcar, Lionel ; Pabst, Georg ( August 2021 , Symmetry)

   We addressed the frequent occurrence of mixed-chain lipids in biological membranes and their impact on membrane structure by studying several chain-asymmetric phosphatidylcholines and the highly asymmetric milk sphingomyelin. Specifically, we report trans-membrane structures of the corresponding fluid lamellar phases using small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, which were jointly analyzed in terms of a membrane composition-specific model, including a headgroup hydration shell. Focusing on terminal methyl groups at the bilayer center, we found a linear relation between hydrocarbon chain length mismatch and the methyl-overlap for phosphatidylcholines, and a non-negligible impact of the glycerol backbone-tilting, letting the sn1-chain penetrate deeper into the opposing leaflet by half a CH2 group. That is, penetration-depth differences due to the ester-linked hydrocarbons at the glycerol backbone, previously reported for gel phase structures, also extend to the more relevant physiological fluid phase, but are significantly reduced. Moreover, milk sphingomyelin was found to follow the same linear relationship suggesting a similar tilt of the sphingosine backbone. Complementarily performed molecular dynamics simulations revealed that there is always a part of the lipid tails bending back, even if there is a high interdigitation with the opposing chains. The extent of this back-bending was similar to that in chain symmetric bilayers.more »For both cases of adaptation to chain length mismatch, chain-asymmetry has a large impact on hydrocarbon chain ordering, inducing disorder in the longer of the two hydrocarbons.« less
2. Quantitative relationship between cholesterol distribution and ordering of lipids in asymmetric lipid bilayers

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0sm01709d  

   Aghaaminiha, Mohammadreza ; Farnoud, Amir M. ; Sharma, Sumit ( March 2021 , Soft Matter)

   The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells is known to be compositionally asymmetric. Certain phospholipids, such as sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine species, are predominantly localized in the outer leaflet, while phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine species primarily reside in the inner leaflet. While phospholipid asymmetry between the membrane leaflets is well established, there is no consensus about cholesterol distribution between the two leaflets. We have performed a systematic study, via molecular simulations, of how the spatial distribution of cholesterol molecules in different “asymmetric” lipid bilayers are affected by the lipids’ backbone, head-type, unsaturation, and chain-length by considering an asymmetric bilayer mimicking the plasma membrane lipids of red blood cells, as well as seventeen other asymmetric bilayers comprising of different lipid types. Our results reveal that the distribution of cholesterol in the leaflets is solely a function of the extent of ordering of the lipids within the leaflets. The ratio of the amount of cholesterol matches the ratio of lipid order in the two leaflets, thus providing a quantitative relationship between the two. These results are understood by the observation that asymmetric bilayers with equimolar amount of lipids in the two leaflets develop tensile and compressive stresses due to differences in the extent of lipidmore »order. These stresses are alleviated by the transfer of cholesterol from the leaflet in compressive stress to the one in tensile stress. These findings are important in understanding the biology of the cell membrane, especially with regard to the composition of the membrane leaflets.« less
3. Determining the Bending Rigidity of Free-Standing Planar Phospholipid Bilayers

   https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13020129  

   Zabala-Ferrera, Oscar ; Liu, Paige ; Beltramo, Peter J. ( February 2023 , Membranes)

   We describe a method to determine membrane bending rigidity from capacitance measurements on large area, free-standing, planar, biomembranes. The bending rigidity of lipid membranes is an important biological mechanical property that is commonly optically measured in vesicles, but difficult to quantify in a planar, unsupported system. To accomplish this, we simultaneously image and apply an electric potential to free-standing, millimeter area, planar lipid bilayers composed of DOPC and DOPG phospholipids to measure the membrane Young’s (elasticity) modulus. The bilayer is then modeled as two adjacent thin elastic films to calculate bending rigidity from the electromechanical response of the membrane to the applied field. Using DOPC, we show that bending rigidities determined by this approach are in good agreement with the existing work using neutron spin echo on vesicles, atomic force spectroscopy on supported lipid bilayers, and micropipette aspiration of giant unilamellar vesicles. We study the effect of asymmetric calcium concentration on symmetric DOPC and DOPG membranes and quantify the resulting changes in bending rigidity. This platform offers the ability to create planar bilayers of controlled lipid composition and aqueous ionic environment, with the ability to asymmetrically alter both. We aim to leverage this high degree of compositional and environmental control,more »along with the capacity to measure physical properties, in the study of various biological processes in the future.« less
4. Dynamic membranes: the multiple roles of P4 and P5 ATPases

   https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaa065  

   López-Marqués, Rosa L ; Davis, James A ; Harper, Jeffrey F ; Palmgren, Michael ( December 2020 , Plant Physiology)

   Abstract The lipid bilayer of biological membranes has a complex composition, including high chemical heterogeneity, the presence of nanodomains of specific lipids, and asymmetry with respect to lipid composition between the two membrane leaflets. In membrane trafficking, membrane vesicles constantly bud off from one membrane compartment and fuse with another, and both budding and fusion events have been proposed to require membrane lipid asymmetry. One mechanism for generating asymmetry in lipid bilayers involves the action of the P4 ATPase family of lipid flippases; these are biological pumps that use ATP as an energy source to flip lipids from one leaflet to the other. The model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) contains 12 P4 ATPases (AMINOPHOSPHOLIPID ATPASE1–12; ALA1–12), many of which are functionally redundant. Studies of P4 ATPase mutants have confirmed the essential physiological functions of these pumps and pleiotropic mutant phenotypes have been observed, as expected when genes required for basal cellular functions are disrupted. For instance, phenotypes associated with ala3 (dwarfism, pollen defects, sensitivity to pathogens and cold, and reduced polar cell growth) can be related to membrane trafficking problems. P5 ATPases are evolutionarily related to P4 ATPases, and may be the counterpart of P4 ATPases in the endoplasmic reticulum.more »The absence of P4 and P5 ATPases from prokaryotes and their ubiquitous presence in eukaryotes make these biological pumps a defining feature of eukaryotic cells. Here, we review recent advances in the field of plant P4 and P5 ATPases.« less
5. Elastic and thermodynamic consequences of lipid membrane asymmetry

   https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20220084  

   Foley, Samuel L. ; Varma, Malavika ; Hossein, Amirali ; Deserno, Markus ( March 2023 , Emerging Topics in Life Sciences)

   Many cellular lipid bilayers consist of leaflets that differ in their lipid composition — a non-equilibrium state actively maintained by cellular sorting processes that counter passive lipid flip-flop. While this lipidomic aspect of membrane asymmetry has been known for half a century, its elastic and thermodynamic ramifications have garnered attention only fairly recently. Notably, the torque arising when lipids of different spontaneous curvature reside in the two leaflets can be counterbalanced by a difference in lateral mechanical stress between them. Such membranes can be essentially flat in their relaxed state, despite being compositionally strongly asymmetric, but they harbor a surprisingly large but macroscopically invisible differential stress. This hidden stress can affect a wide range of other membrane properties, such as the resistance to bending, the nature of phase transitions in its leaflets, and the distribution of flippable species, most notably sterols. In this short note we offer a concise overview of our recently proposed basic framework for capturing the interplay between curvature, lateral stress, leaflet phase behavior, and cholesterol distribution in generally asymmetric membranes, and how its implied signatures might be used to learn more about the hidden but physically consequential differential stress.