N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamines affect the lateral distribution of cholesterol in membranes

A calcium-dependent acyltransferase that produces N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamines

More than 30 years ago, a calcium-dependent enzyme activity was described that generates N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamines (NAPEs), which are precursors for N-acyl ethanolamine (NAE) lipid transmitters, including the endocannabinoid anandamide. The identity of this calcium-dependent N-acyltransferase (Ca-NAT) has remained mysterious. Here, we use activity-based protein profiling to identify the ...

The N-Membranes Problem

Lateral sorting in model membranes by cholesterol-mediated hydrophobic matching.

Theoretical studies predict hydrophobic matching between transmembrane domains of proteins and bilayer lipids to be a physical mechanism by which membranes laterally self-organize. We now experimentally study the direct consequences of mismatching of transmembrane peptides of different length with bilayers of different thicknesses at the molecular level. In both model membranes and simulations ...

Use of a fluorescent cholesterol derivative to measure lateral mobility of cholesterol in membranes.

N1-Cholesterylcarbamoyl-N8-(4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole)-3,6-dioxaoctyl-1,8-diamine (NBD-Chol), a new fluorescent derivative of cholesterol, was incorporated into L-alpha-dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (Myr2PtdCho)-based liposomes. The lateral mobility of this derivative, as well as that of N-(4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole)phosphatidylethanolamine (NBD-PtdEtn), was measured by fluorescence ...

Lateral distribution of cholesterol in dioleoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayers: cholesterol-phospholipid interactions at high cholesterol limit.

Lateral organization of cholesterol in dioleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) lipid bilayers at high cholesterol concentration (>45 mol%) was investigated using steady-state fluorescence anisotropy and fluorescent resonance energy transfer techniques. The recently devised Low Temperature Trap method was used to prepare compositionally uniform cholesterol/DOPC liposomes to avoid the problem of lipi...